The Los Angeles Lakers have rescinded the trade with the Charlotte Hornets involving center Mark Williams, the team announced on Saturday, Feb. 8, per multiple reports.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the reason was that “Williams’ physical with the Lakers showed multiple issues and the team failed him on the exam.”
Charania noted it was not failed due to his back injury that limited him to only 19 games last season.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne also reported the Lakers were not confident after a “thorough” evaluation of Williams.
“Teams do not like to cancel trades, especially those as significant as the Lakers-Charlotte trade for Mark Williams-Dalton Knecht. But LA gave up a lot to get Williams, they needed to feel confident he’d be healthy enough to be their starting center for the next 5-10 years. After a “thorough” evaluation of his health, they were not,” Shelburne wrote on X.
The Lakers gave up rookie sharpshooter Knecht, Cam Reddish, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a pick swap in 2030 for what they thought was their center of the future.
The Athletic’s Fred Katz noted that “if a player fails a physical before the trade deadline, then the two teams can amend the trade (like with Caleb Martin recently) to make it work.”
But since the trade deadline had lapsed, that option is no longer on the table.
“If it’s after the deadline, then the team either needs to let the trade go through as is or can rescind it. No amending,” Katz explained on X.
Lakers Have a Big Hole in the Middle
It remains to be seen how the Lakers and the Hornets handle the awkwardness of the players returning to their teams.
The Lakers face a much bigger issue with only Jaxson Hayes as their legitimate center on the roster after trading away Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic.
Hayes’ backups Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III are on two-way contracts, thus they are not eligible to be rostered in the playoffs.
Christian Wood, the other center on the Lakers under a standard contract, has yet to return from knee surgery. There is no timetable for his return.
With Knecht and Reddish returning to the Lakers, their roster is once again full, meaning they could not add a center from the buyout or free-agent market.
Finding Luka’s Lob Partner Has to Wait
Doncic was the driving force behind the Lakers’ risky play on Williams, according to Shelburne.
“Lakers had been looking for a big but once they got Luka this week, they knew exactly what kind of big they wanted,” Shelburne reported via X. “From what I’ve heard, in Luka’s initial basketball conversations he told Lakers GM Rob Pelinka he played best when he had a vertical lob threat. When Charlotte called saying they liked Knecht and might be willing to discuss Mark Williams, the deal came into place…”
“The Lakers had previously looked at more veteran, slower/older bigs. But when Luka explained how much playing with Lively and Gafford opened things up for him in Dallas, LA felt like this was the move that would give them a shot this year and beyond.”
The Lakers will have to wait until the offseason to find and get Doncic’s lob partner.
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