It’s been nearly three weeks since the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers shocked the sports world by completing a trade sending big man Anthony Davis to the defending Western Conference champions and guard Luka Doncic to California.
Thursday also marked two weeks since the Lakers and Charlotte Hornets had supposedly finalized a deal, sending center Mark Williams to Los Angeles and rookie small forward Dalton Knecht and sixth-year small forward Cam Reddish east.
Just two days later, however, the Lakers rescinded the transaction after reportedly finding “multiple issues” with Williams’ physical.
Since then, Charlotte has threatened to protest Los Angeles’ decision to cancel the agreement, though NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said over All-Star Weekend that that had not occurred yet.
Agent: Doctors Say Lakers Shouldn’t Have Failed Williams on Physical
Williams’ agent (Excel Sports Management’s Jeff Schwartz) made a statement on Thursday, calling out the Lakers for the rescinded deal.
“Statement from Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management: ‘The overwhelming sentiment, after conferring with multiple, nationally recognized doctors, is that the Los Angeles Lakers should not have failed Mark Williams on his physical,’” ESPN’s Shams Charania posted on social media. “Jeff Schwartz: ‘Mark was ready and able to play for them and should have been given that opportunity.’”
Charania reported earlier this month that Williams’ failed physical wasn’t due to his back injury, which limited him to 19 games last season.
After two solid years at Duke University — which included an ACC Defensive Player of the Year award as a sophomore — the now-23-year-old was selected by the Hornets with the 15th overall pick during the 2022 NBA Draft. Williams averaged 9.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 19.3 minutes as a rookie across 43 contests (17 starts) during the 2022-23 campaign before his injury-shortened second season.
His 2024-25 debut wasn’t until Dec. 3 but when healthy, Williams has been one of the better young rim protectors in the Eastern Conference.
Williams — who’s posted 15.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 25.2 minutes per game across 24 contests (21 starts) this season — said he was stunned when the trade was called off.
“It’s crazy,” Williams said, according to the Charlotte Observer. “Your mind has to shift from you got traded, you’ve got to go to L.A. and then you’ve got to shift back from you’re not going to L.A. So, it’s definitely different.”
Williams Helped Lead Hornets to Major Upset of Lakers on Wednesday
The Hornets and Lakers squared off for the first time on Wednesday night since the controversial no deal, with Charlotte stealing a 100-97 road victory.
While Reddish didn’t play in the contest (and hasn’t suited up since January), both Knecht and Williams saw the floor.
The former finished with just three points on 1-for-5 shooting but chipped in five rebounds during his 13 minutes of action. Williams helped the Hornets pull off the upset with a near-double-double of 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds in 29 minutes.
Even though the former Blue Devil was on the winning side, he was also on the receiving end of a posterization from Lakers superstar LeBron James, as well some head-turning comments.
“(Williams) was never a teammate,” James said. “He never stepped into the locker room. He never came and we’ve never seen him. The trade went down, but we’ve never seen him so, it’s just back to what it was before. So, it was no different.”
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