Lakers' trade for Mark Williams rescinded after failed physical

Lakers’ trade for Charlotte’s Mark Williams rescinded after failed physical

Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) reacts to a call during the first half.

Staff Writer

Feb. 8, 2025 Updated 8:02 PM PT

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The Lakers’ trade for center Mark Williams has been “rescinded” because of a “failure to satisfy a condition of the trade,” the Lakers announced Saturday night.

Williams failed his physical with the Lakers, voiding the trade, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.

The Lakers had struck a deal to send Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and the Lakers’ 2031 first-round pick to Charlotte for Williams, but the players will now return to their original teams because the trade deadline has passed.

The trade leaves the Lakers with Jaxson Hayes as the lone center on its roster and robs the team of the future 7-foot partner it hoped to pair with the newly acquired Luka Doncic. The Lakers have Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III on two-way deals, but two-way players are not eligible for the postseason. With Knecht and Redish heading back, the Lakers’ roster is full at 15 players.

None of the people involved in the deal had debuted for their new teams.

Williams has missed significant time because of ankle, back and knee issues since being drafted by the Hornets in 2022, playing just 85 games in two-plus seasons. Questions about his long-term health were raised around the NBA after the Lakers struck the surprise deal, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly. The Lakers struck the deal, which also included a 2030 draft-pick swap, in a bit of a surprise, with most people in the league under the assumption that Charlotte wasn’t trading Williams.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said earlier this week the team was not concerned about Williams’ past injuries, but said the Lakers would do “a deep dive” on him during his physical.

“So we fully vetted his health stuff,” Pelinka said Thursday. “… He’s had no surgeries. So these are just parts of, he’s still growing into his body. We vetted the injuries he’s had and we’re not concerned about those. We will have a chance to have a physical and continue to do a deep dive and make sure that what we’ve talked about and seen in the EMRs; we’re confident. So we’ll still have that step in the process of doing a full physical before the trade becomes official.”

Williams had a locker inside the Lakers locker room on Saturday but it was empty. He was listed as “questionable” due to the trade pending. He had missed just five games since debuting Dec. 3.

“We are excited to welcome Mark back to our Hornets organization,” the Hornets said in a statement. “After the other team aggressively pursued Mark, we made the difficult decision to move him. We always held great respect for Mark’s talent, work ethic, and character. We are thrilled to see him rejoin our roster as a dynamic presence at the starting center position.”

Hayes has started the last five games for the Lakers and is averaging 8.0 points and 6.6 rebounds.