After pulling off one of the biggest trades in NBA history, acquiring Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers turned their sites to the center market to find a replacement for Anthony Davis.
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While general manager Rob Pelinka said at Doncic’s introductory press conference that the center market was dry ahead of Thursday’s deadline, he obviously continued to be aggressive and was able to get a deal done. On the eve of the deadline, reports came out that the Lakers are acquiring Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2030 pick swap and a 2031 unprotected first round pick.
Williams is a 23-year-old former first round pick out of Duke that is in the midst of a breakout season. In 22 games (19 starts), he has averaged 16.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per game.
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He has dealt with some injuries in the past though as in addition to only playing 22 games this season, he was limited to 19 last season and 43 the year before. Despite that though, the Lakers don’t appear to be concerned about his long-term outlook, per Dan Woike of the L.A. Times:
Lakers, per sources, confident that Mark Williams’ back issues from