Lakers trade to acquire Mark Williams rescinded due to failed physical

Lakers trade to acquire Mark Williams rescinded due to failed physical

A trade deadline deal between the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets to send Mark Williams to the Lakers has been rescinded due to a failed physical, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania first reported Saturday evening.

Charania notes, however, that Williams’ failed physical was not due to his back, which has kept him off the floor for much of his three-year career. He’s also missed time with thumb and ankle injuries–particularly in his rookie season.

Mark Williams' physical with the Lakers showed multiple issues and the team failed him on the exam, sources tell ESPN. The physical was not failed due to his back, however. https://t.co/lY4XrSIlHf

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 9, 2025

The Lakers swung the deal for Williams Wednesday with under 24 hours left ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline. The terms of the trade sent Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2030 first-round pick swap plus a 2031 first-round pick to Charlotte.

Williams, 23, has only played in 40 percent of his team’s available games in his career due to injury. Through 23 games this season, he’s averaging 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks on 58.6 percent shooting and 63.3 percent true shooting.

This is an unfortunate situation for both parties. Williams will now go from playing with Luka Doncic to go back to catching lobs from an oft-injured LaMelo Ball; he’s also back with an organization that successfully traded him until, well, it wasn’t. Now, if Charlotte tries to trade him away in the near future, it will be for a significantly worse price because of the injury concerns.

Lakers desperately need another center now

From the Lakers’ perspective, their frontcourt needed to be addressed ahead of the deadline after trading Anthony Davis for Doncic. Now that the deadline has passed, a deal cannot be amended, thus they have to back to their frontcourt of Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith. That’s a small frontcourt, respectfully. Plus, while I think Hayes is a capable rotation-level big, I still don’t quite trust him to start and get 25-30 minutes tonight–even though he is averaging 11.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per 75 possessions in 29 games.

Knecht, the Lakers’ No. 17 overall pick, will also be returning back to an awkward situation. He still fits into what they want to accomplish from a spacing standpoint, but I will be curious to see how much run he gets once Doncic becomes healthy.

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