Just when the trade deadline (which has now passed) couldn’t get any crazier …
Average of 9 LIVE Regular Season games per week plus the best of the NBA Playoffs, including every game of the NBA Conference Finals & NBA Finals LIVE on ESPN, available via Kayo New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
The LA Lakers say the Mark Williams-Dalton Knecht deal with the Charlotte Hornets has been rescinded “due to failure to satisfy a condition of the trade.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports Williams’ physical with the Lakers “showed multiple issues and the team failed him on the exam,” but “the physical was not failed on his back,” where Williams has had ongoing problems.
The 23-year old has played in a total of just 85 NBA games across three seasons due to injuries, averaging 15,6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1,2 blocks in 25 minutes per contest this campaign.
The now cancelled deal would’ve seen Williams head to the Lakers in exchange for Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap.
It was the Lakers’ second big move of the trade deadline after they landed Luka Doncic last weekend to join forces with LeBron James, with Williams slated to fill the centre void left by Anthony Davis.
But unless LA signs a free agent via the buyout market, Jaxson Hayes will be its starting centre for the remainder of the season with little big man depth behind him, having already been searching for another centre before trading Davis.
As the Lakers are above the first apron they can’t sign any buyout players who were previously making more than the midlevel exception ($12,822,000).
“This is not good for the Lakers,” former Warriors Bob Myers said on ESPN.
“Their centres in no order are Jaxon Hayes, Chrstian Koloko and Christian Wood, if you want to call Jared Vanderbilt a centre.
“That’s not the group you want to have for a long playoff run. Mark Williams was supposed to be their guy.”
LeBron sets another record in win | 01:23
It’s the second time Knecht was nearly traded in recent weeks after reports stated the rookie was originally part of the Doncic deal before Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was able down to whittle down the team’s outgoing assets in talks with Mavs counterpart Nico Harrison.
“The other issue is how JJ Redick, Rob Pelinka and everybody in the Lakers organisation is going to have to lie to Dalton Knecht and tell him how much they love him and didn’t want to trade him and are happy he’s back,” former NBA championship Kendrick Perkins added.
Charlotte meanwhile has a crowded frontcourt again after it acquired Jusuf Nurkic from Phoenix in a salary dump.
Both Doncic and Williams were expected to make their Lakers debuts against Utah on Tuesday, but the Slovenian superstar will now be the sole new addition to JJ Redick’s team for the second half of the season.
The 31-19 Lakers have won five-straight games to climb into the West’s fourth seed. But after some suggested they could make a deep playoff ran following a big trade deadline splash, a lack of big man stocks muddies the waters.
MORE TO COME.
Discussion about this post