Lakers-Hornets NBA trade explained: Why Mark Williams multi-player deal was rescinded

Posted by author February 19, 2025 NBA

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The awkward unraveling of an NBA trade deadline deal gone wrong gets a little more awkward Wednesday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets meet at Crypto.com Arena (10 p.m. ET) in the NBA’s first regular-season game after the All-Star break. It’s a rescheduled matchup after their original game in Los Angeles was postponed due to the wildfires in Southern California last month. But that delay means it will now be less than two weeks since the two teams appeared to complete a trade with one another only for it to fall apart two days after it seemed to be done.

The Lakers, in the aftermath of their stunning Luka Doncic trade, were attempting to acquire Hornets center Mark Williams to replace Anthony Davis on Feb. 5. Since then, Williams went to Los Angeles, came back to Charlotte and has yet to play in a game again for the Hornets. Dalton Knecht, the key Lakers’ rookie included in the trade, got introduced in Charlotte and almost made his Hornets’ debut in Detroit before returning to Los Angeles and playing once more for the Lakers.

This sort of about-face is a rarity in the NBA, and the details of what happened have trickled out after the trade never went through. Ahead of Wednesday’s game between the Hornets and Lakers, when Williams could make his official return to the court with Charlotte, here’s a breakdown of why the Lakers-Hornets trade centered around Williams was rescinded:

Mark Williams trade details

Hornets get: Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, 2031 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick swap

Lakers get: Mark Williams

Why Lakers rescinded Mark Williams trade with Hornets

The Lakers announced on Feb. 8 that its trade with the Hornets – acquiring Williams from Charlotte to fill the void left at center when Davis was traded away as part of the Doncic deal – “has been rescinded due to failure to satisfy a condition of the trade.”

The trade fell apart after Williams failed a physical, a person with knowledge of the physical told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information.

The trade was not allowed to be amended since the NBA’s trade deadline had already passed. The 23-year-old Williams already has an extensive injury history, appearing in just 85 games over his first three NBA seasons.

“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 have 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. His return strengthens our team, and we look forward to the impact he will make on and off the court.”

ESPN reported the Hornets were also exploring options to challenge the Lakers’ medical evaluation, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during the all-star break that no appeal had been filed at that time.

What Adam Silver said about Lakers-Hornets trade

Silver weighed in on the rescinded trade between the Lakers and Hornets during his news conference with reporters Saturday ahead of the NBA All-Star Game. He indicated it could lead to a change in league policy.

“The larger issue reflected in your question, in this day and age in sports science, is there a different standard of sorts that we should be applying in terms of players passing physicals in trades. It’s something we should look at as a league,” Silver said in San Francisco. “I will say this issue does not come up that often. I can’t even remember, certainly I don’t think in my tenure, there has ever been a challenge because a player has failed a physical. But almost by definition, you get into a certain level of subjectivity in where that standard is. But let’s see what Charlotte decides to do here, but I think either way, it’s gotten our attention.

“We understand that in the back and forth in teams and trades, to the extent that we can reduce uncertainty, that’s a positive thing,” he continued. “I mentioned before that, for players who are involved in trades, how disruptive it can be. I’m sure it’s equally as disruptive to think you had been traded and not to have been traded. Disruptive for the player, disruptive for their teammates. So we’ll look at it. I’d say that’s one of those areas when it comes to health and well-being of our players, medical science, there have been incredible developments. This is a rule, as interpreted now, that hasn’t changed for many decades at the league office.”

Mark Williams stats

Williams is in the midst of the best season of his NBA career. The Duke product and No. 15 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft is averaging nearly a double-double and career highs in points, assists and blocks. Here’s what his stats for the 2024-25 NBA season look like thus far: