Lakers trade grade for Mark Williams deal
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The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most active teams in the days leading up to the NBA trade deadline. On Thursday, the Lakers made their third trade of the season, acquiring center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, the Lakers' 2031 first round pick and a pick swap in 2030.
The Lakers kicked things off back in December when they traded D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. They followed that up this weekend with the massive blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and their 2029 first round pick.
Following the Doncic trade, the Lakers seemingly created more holes on their roster than before, even with Doncic's talent. Specifically, they had no staring center on their roster. And now, it appears they have the answer.
It's not clear yet when Mark Williams will make his Lakers debut following the trade, but here's our initial grade for the purple and gold's latest deal.
Mark Williams becomes Lakers' starting center
The most obvious hole on the Lakers' roster following the departure of Anthony Davis was a starting caliber center. While Jaxson Hayes has done an admirable job filling in for Davis this season, and played well in the Lakers' 122-97 win in their first game since the Doncic trade, he just isn't a starting center.
In the immediate aftermath of the Doncic-Davis trade, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka admitted that it was unlikely the team made another big trade by the deadline. That any major move for a potential big man was likely to come in the offseason.
Well, the Lakers were able to make their major move for a starting caliber center. Williams was a first round pick, the No. 15 overall pick by the Hornets in the 2022 NBA Draft. He's in his third season in the league and only 23 years old.
Williams has dealt with a foot injury this year causing him to miss the first few months of the season, but the Lakers reportedly don't have any concerns about that, as per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
He's appeared in 22 games this season, at just about 25 minutes per game. He was averaging 16.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots with splits of 59.7 percent shooting from the field and 77.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Knecht was solid for the Lakers this season. As a rookie, he had earned JJ Redick's trust and was a mainstay in the rotation. While he dealt with his ups and downs like any rookie, in recent games he had found his shot again.
Reddish initially moved into the starting lineup when Redick opted to move Russell to the bench, ended up moving back to the second unit, and had since fallen out of the rotation.
The chance to acquire a legitimate starting center was too good to pass up. The Lakers made it clear that they are still in win-now mode. Although the Doncic trade sets them up with a generational superstar for the next decade, the Williams trade ensures that the Lakers will be a factor in the Western Conference this season.
With LeBron James still on the roster, the Lakers owe it to him to remain competitive in the immediacy. Getting Williams solidifies that. This was a home-run trade for the Lakers.
Final trade grade: A
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