Grading Mark Williams, Dalton Knecht trade between Hornets, Lakers
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The Los Angeles Lakers traded rookie guard Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick, and a 2030 pick swap for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, as reported by Shams Charania. Williams played three seasons with the Hornets, and in 2024-25, he’s averaging career highs in points and blocks through 23 games. The Hornets, meanwhile, get a productive rookie and veteran piece.
Hornets trade grade: B+
The Hornets earned a solid B+ in this trade for a couple of key reasons. One is that Dalton Knecht has the potential to be an elite shooter, and pairing that alongside what the Hornets already have with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller makes him a good building block alongside those guys. So far in his rookie season, he’s averaging a little over nine points per game while shooting 35.8% from deep. It’s average, but he’s a rookie, so it could be worse.
Secondly, getting a first-round pick for Mark Williams is a bigger win to some degree than getting Knecht. Williams’ numbers, 15.6 points and 9.6 rebounds, are solid, but his durability is in question. He’s played in 85 games in three years after dealing with back and lower extremities issues. The Hornets won the trade by getting draft capital, a young player, and Cam Reddish, who fits the mold of the type of player Charles Lee likes. Tough nosed, defense first players.
Lakers trade grade: B-
The Lakers land a B-. They get props for getting a rim running, shot blocker that fits Luka Doncic’s timeline and preferred player at center. Although Williams is a solid shot blocker and defender in the paint, but outside of it he struggles. Bigs that step outside give him more trouble often than not and the way the league has been trending over the last decade or so, there’s a lot of stretch fives.
On offense, Williams has solid hands and can finish inside. He should excel out the dunkers spot with LeBron James and Luka Doncic running the offense. He’ll play that Daniel Gafford or Derek Lively role for Doncic, having that similar body type. Williams is only 23 years old, which is the same age as Knecht. Although they gave up a promising perimeter player, they got a big man in return that could hold down the middle long term. As long as he continues to improve.
Jeff Peterson has continued to stack up assets
Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson has done a good job stacking up assets since he’s taken the job mid-season in 2024. After trading PJ Washington, Terry Rozier, Nick Richards, and Mark Williams, Charlotte has 24 future draft picks through 2031 mostly from those guys. In the process he landed a young player in Knecht that could attach himself to the young core.
The one knock on Peterson that needs to be addressed though, is that they could have drafted Knecht outright. They drafted Tidjane Salaun with the sixth pick in the 2024 draft while Knecht fell to the 17th pick to the Lakers. Having Knecht diversifies their wing group too. Josh Green, Josh Okogie, and Cody Martin are all defensive first guys, while Knecht’s is a scorer.
On top of that, there’s a hole at the center spot now. Trading away Nick Richards and Mark Williams in recent weeks. Peterson could have drafted Donovan Clingan, but there is no way of knowing they’d get to this point in the season. Salaun could pan out to be a solid player, but it will take some time. Overall, solid moves by Peterson in his first full year as a GM.
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