The NBA trade deadline saw a blockbuster trade fall through after the deadline passed, as the acquisition of Mark Williams for Dalton Knecht and two first-round picks between the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets fell through after Williams failed his Lakers’ physical. Williams has stayed away from the Hornets since their failed attempt at trading him, while Knecht has already returned to the court for LA.
Williams’ return to Charlotte is expected on Wednesday night. In a hilarious coincidence, the Hornets face the Lakers on Wednesday, meaning Williams gets to return against the team that was supposed to be his new home.
“Mark Williams has rejoined the Charlotte Hornets and is probable for Wednesday’s game at the Los Angeles Lakers. Williams had not rejoined the Hornets following his rescinded trade to the Lakers until after the All-Star break. The Lakers agreed to acquire Williams, but the trade was rescinded following the physical.”
The reason for Williams’ return to Charlotte being delayed compared to Knecht’s return to LA was because the Hornets tried challenging the trade at the league office. They weren’t happy with the Lakers citing a physical as the reason behind nixing the trade, but as the deadline had passed, neither team could do anything about it.
There was a similar case between the Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers when they exchanged Quentin Grimes for Caleb Martin, as Martin failed his physical due to a hip injury.
Instead of canceling the trade, the 76ers added a second-round pick to get the Mavericks to accept it. They could do this because Martin’s issues came to light before the deadline had passed.
If Williams had failed his physical with time left in the deadline, the Lakers could’ve negotiated a different trade package to retain the center. Unfortunately, they couldn’t justify acquiring Williams at the cost they paid with his injury concerns, so it was easier to cancel the deal and look for a center in the summer instead.
Williams is averaging 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks this season. While he’s had injury concerns his entire career, he seemed to be moving past them over the last two months. He will hope to have a healthy end to the season, as it’s all but guaranteed the Hornets will try moving him again in the summer.
If Charlotte doesn’t shop him, he definitely will request a trade after seeing the franchise move him without telling him and then go out of their way to ensure he couldn’t return to the franchise by challenging the Lakers’ physical. This should be a revenge game for Williams, as he would want to prove to the Lakers they made a mistake by not just accepting him.
The Lakers still don’t have a real center on their roster, with Williams likely easily outperforming available bigs like Alex Len and Jaxson Hayes. With LeBron James also listed as questionable after missing the All-Star Game with an ankle injury, the Lakers will have to be careful heading into this game.
It’s expected to be the first Luka Doncic game where he’s fully in charge of the offense, especially if LeBron sits. Given that Doncic was the one who wanted Williams, it’ll be interesting to see how he performs against what’ll be a motivated big man.
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