In the aftermath of the Lakers rescinding the trade with the Hornets, big man Mark Williams and his agent, Jeff Schwartz, took a stand against the decision and released their own statement on the situation. After conferring with “multiple doctors,” they concluded that the Lakers were wrong to fail Williams’ physical and that he was ready and willing to play for them.
“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,” wrote Schwartz in a statement. “Mark was ready and able to play for them and should have been given that opportunity.”
Mark spoke to the media on the day of his “revenge game” on Wednesday, when he dropped 10 points, nine rebounds, and two assists on 42.9% shooting against the Lakers. After he previously expressed confusion over the physical,
“You go from getting traded, thinking you’re going to LA, and then they choose to fail me on my physical,” said Williams. “I don’t know if, for them, it was about what they gave up or what went into that reasoning, but I don’t think it was solely because of my physical.”
We don’t know the full details of the canceled Mark Williams trade but the deal was already made before the Lakers decided to pull it back based on a failed condition. The official reasoning was due to a failed physical but fans have doubts that it’s the full story.
Williams, 23, is having the best season of his young career so far with averages of 15.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game on 58.1% shooting. He was playing heavy minutes leading up to the trade with no signs of any significant health concerns.
Now, we have both Williams and his agent saying that he should have passed his physical. The Hornets have taken even action with the NBA office in hopes of forcing a mock trial to expose the Lakers for backing out.
With no signs of further action, all players had to report to their original teams, which put Williams back on the Hornets in time to face the Lakers. He had an impactful performance in the game but the Hornets won thanks to the Lakers’ weak frontcourt rotation.
It’s still too early to say if the Lakers made a mistake by rescinding the Mark Williams trade but it’s possible they knew something which made them cancel the deal. It could be that someone bigger will become available later this summer or maybe Rob Pelinka got top-secret intel that gave him cold feet.
Whatever it was, it was severe enough that the Lakers destroyed their last chance to add a center this season and help improve a desperate situation in the frontcourt. Williams was handpicked by Luka and his size would have been a major boost for the team on both ends of the floor.
Sadly, we may never know why the Lakers rescinded that trade but the Hornets (14th in the East at 14-39) are determined to get to the bottom of it. The Lakers devalued their player and embarrassed the front office, and Charlotte did not take it lightly.
If they discover that the Lakers failed Williams’ physical because they had regrets over the trade, it could result in some serious consequences for the organization and anyone involved. At this point, it’s unlikely to get that far but the Lakers may want to give the people some more answers to settle the accusations once and for all.
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