{"id":122921,"date":"2025-02-09T12:00:57","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T17:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=122921"},"modified":"2025-02-09T12:00:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T17:00:57","slug":"nullification-mark-williams-trade-surprises-jj-redick-next-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/09\/nullification-mark-williams-trade-surprises-jj-redick-next-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Nullification of Mark Williams Trade Surprises JJ Redick, What’s Next For The Lakers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> and Charlotte Hornets<\/a> trade deadline deal really didn’t happen. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania<\/a>, the Lakers rescinded their trade for Mark Williams<\/a> because the 7-footer failed his physical.<\/p>\n

It was originally thought that Williams would make his debut for the Lakers against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday afternoon. However, as late as an hour and a half before tipoff, Williams was listed as questionable.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Williams<\/a> was declared out because the trade remained pending. Still, Lakers coach JJ Redick<\/a> didn’t expect the trade to fall through, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.<\/a> Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a>\u00a0hasn’t been cleared to return yet, and LeBron James<\/a> (ankle) also sat out the Lakers 124-117 victory over the Pacers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why we wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Redick told reporters yesterday when asked if the Lakers would have all their guys Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nullification of Mark Williams Trade Surprises JJ Redick, What’s Next For The Lakers?<\/h2>\n

LA, needing a center after trading Anthony Davis<\/a>, turned to the often-injured Williams. The Lakers sent Dalton Knecht,<\/a> Cam Redish,<\/a> and their 2031 first-round pick to Charlotte in the trade.<\/p>\n

Williams is a talented big who was expected to anchor the Lakers for years. However, injuries plagued the 23-year-old throughout his rookie contract. Williams didn’t make his 2024 season debut until December, and he has only played in 23 games this season and 84 out of a possible 221 contests (40.1%).<\/p>\n

Knowing this, why did the Lakers make the trade, and could they rework it? The answer to the first question is that the Lakers Vice President and General Manager Rob Pelinka were confident in Williams’ medicals.<\/p>\n

“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 said. “So these are just parts of, he’s still growing into his body. We vetted his injuries, and we’re not concerned about those.<\/p>\n

For the second question, no, Los Angeles and Charlotte couldn’t amend the trade, as the NBA trade deadline is just that.\u00a0 Bobby Marks of ESPN<\/a> said that although the news of Williams heading to Los Angeles broke on February 5, the teams didn’t notify the league office until Thursday morning. Therefore, the teams had to complete their physicals before the deadline.<\/p>\n

“There is always a risk of making a trade the day before or on deadline day, Marks tweeted. “Once the 3 p.m. (ET) passes on Thursday, [teams] only have two choices: Approve the trade or rescind the trade.<\/p>\n