Inside failed Lakers-Hornets Mark Williams trade, what happens next?

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No team found as much success at the NBA trade deadline than the Los Angeles Lakers did before Thursday afternoon. Aside from sending shockwaves through the entire league with their massive trade for Luka Doncic at the expense of Anthony Davis, the Lakers also swung for the fences and continued to push their chips to the middle of the poker table by making a move for big man Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets.

Williams, who is known for his athleticism and length at the center position in the midst of his third NBA season, was the picture-perfect frontcourt option for Los Angeles to add next to LeBron James and Doncic. His pick-and-roll abilities, as well as his rebounding prowess, were set to provide the Lakers with everything they needed after sacrificing Davis in their trade with the Dallas Mavericks.

What Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers achieved at the NBA trade deadline almost seemed too good to be true. Well, that’s the catch: it wasn’t true after all.

The Lakers rescinded their deal with the Hornets on Saturday night for what they deemed to be the Hornets’ “failure to satisfy a condition of the trade.” This trade, which was agreed upon and announced late in the night on Feb. 5 before the deadline, is no more. Williams will rejoin the Hornets, while rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and the draft compensation the Lakers originally traded in this substantial move return to Los Angeles.

This isn’t something you see every day in the NBA, especially after the trade deadline when the trade itself can no longer be adjusted. In fact, there have been a few instances in league history of trades being rescinded due to medical concerns.

Donatas Motiejunas and Marc Thornton were traded from the Houston Rockets to the Detroit Pistons in 2016 for Joel Anthony and a first-round pick. That trade was voided by the Pistons due to a failed physical. There was also an instance of Tyson Chandler being traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a big trade during the 2009-10 season. This trade ultimately didn’t happen due to medical concerns over an injury to Chandler’s toe.

While uncommon, trades can be voided over medical concerns in the NBA.

Virtually every deal around the league made before this season’s trade deadline had been confirmed, with numerous talents, like Davis, already making their debuts with their new teams. Many around the league began to speculate why this one trade involving the Lakers and Hornets, which seemed very straightforward, had yet to be cleared by the NBA office.

The answer was given on Saturday, as the Lakers opted to decline moving forward on this trade with the Hornets due to Williams failing his physical upon arrival to Los Angeles.

Why Lakers rescinded Mark Williams trade

It would’ve been a dream scenario for the Lakers to bring in Doncic and Williams. While Doncic and Austin Reaves are the future of this organization, Williams too would’ve been an essential part of this young nucleus Los Angeles has been seeking in preparation for the forthcoming post-LeBron James era.

This deal came together quickly, and the Lakers had pinpointed a young, dynamic center who had some injury concerns through the years, but was a player they had done their homework on based on Pelinka’s comments in the aftermath of the trade deadline.

“We fully vetted his health stuff, led by Dr. Kris Jones at UCLA Health and Dr. Leroy Sims on our team and he's had no surgeries," Pelinka told reporters after the trade deadline. "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. … So we'll still have that step in the process of doing a full physical before the trade becomes official.”

Well, health concerns discovered during this physical are the main reason why Williams will not be donning the purple and gold. League sources confirmed to ClutchPoints that the Lakers rescinded their trade with the Hornets on Saturday due to Williams failing his physical.

Multiple issues presented themselves during this physical exam, and the persistent back problems the 23-year-old had dealt with early on in his career were not the reason for the failure, according to ESPN.

Williams has missed nearly 60 percent of Charlotte’s 212 possible games since being drafted 15th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. Before the trade deadline deal was originally agreed upon between the Lakers and Hornets, Williams had played in 23 games for Charlotte this season, averaging 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 58.6 percent from the floor.

The Lakers made a decision to rescind this trade with the Hornets with the best interest of their future in mind. What is being relayed as “adequate and accurate” medical records and history were not presented to Los Angeles from Charlotte at the time of the trade, league sources relayed on Saturday in response to this strange decision to refuse the deal.

Upon Williams’ examination, new concerns were discovered, leading to the failed physical and trade as a whole.

“It is very strange to see something like this happen, especially given how much research goes into these deals nowadays,” one league source shared with ClutchPoints after the Lakers decision to undo this trade. “Then again, you truly don’t know how healthy some of these guys are until you can actually get them in your hands and have your medical staff go over everything.

“This is a massive blow to what Pelinka had planned for this team because getting a center was their top priority after that Luka deal. Now, with Davis gone, they have nobody.”

That is the main concern now with Williams no longer heading to Hollywood. Jaxson Hayes is the only healthy center under contract with the Lakers due to Christian Wood being out and this trade failing to be completed.

What makes everything more complicated for Los Angeles is that two players are returning in this trade, taking the roster from 14 to 15 total players. This means the Lakers can’t go out and sign any player on the buyout market or as a free agent without first waiving a player and taking on their dead cap hit.

Not to mention, Knecht and Reddish’s returns means the Lakers’ overall tax bill increases since they were originally sending out $2.2 million more than they were receiving from the Hornets for Williams. Since they are already a second-apron team, Los Angeles’ financial situation becomes even more complicated, as does their roster and locker room.

Another league source contacted by ClutchPoints on Saturday pointed out the obvious awkward conversations that both teams will now face with the trade not going through. How will Knecht feel about the Lakers trading him while he was in the midst of an All-Rookie type of season? Can this relationship between the rookie and Los Angeles be mended?

For Williams, what does his immediate future look like after his failed physical and the Hornets already making a move to replace him in the short term with Moussa Diabate and veteran Jusuf Nurkic?

The Hornets, who threw shade at the Lakers by labeling them as the “other team” in a statement regarding the failed trade, appear to be ready to welcome Williams back with open arms.

“We are excited to welcome Mark back to our Hornets organization,” Charlotte’s statement read. “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.”

While the Hornets are a team aiming for a high draft pick, the Lakers pursued Williams and agreed to a deal with the mindset of him being the centerpiece of their frontcourt on a championship-contending roster. Without Williams, Los Angeles has a glaring weakness at the center position that can’t be replaced.

The big question facing the Lakers in the wake of this failed trade is whether or not they will upgrade their frontcourt. Should Pelinka and this front office look to free up a roster spot by waiving Reddish or someone else, few options exist in the open market.

Daniel Theis is a veteran center who was recently waived by the Thunder after being traded from the Pelicans. Mo Bamba is another interesting name for the Lakers to consider. Bamba was recently traded from the LA Clippers to the Utah Jazz and was subsequently waived. He spent part of the 2022-23 season with the Lakers.

Although other players could become available in the buyout market, the Lakers are just $1.6 million below the second apron with Knecht and Reddish returning. Los Angeles also can’t pursue any player in the buyout market who was previously making more than the mid-level exception ($12.8 million) this season since they are an apron team.

Williams and his failed physical have left the Lakers vulnerable, and their chances of possibly winning a championship have taken a major blow.

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