The night before the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with a young, budding star and a draft pick in exchange for a center. The transaction, coming days after the shocking acquisition of Luka Doncic, was applauded for achieving a huge need for the Purple and Gold in pursuit of championship No. 18.
But now, even after the trade was announced officially and the Lakers said goodbye to Dalton Knecht, he’s headed back to L.A.
What happened? Let’s take a look.
What was the trade?
- Lakers get: Mark Williams
- Charlotte Hornets get: Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, Lakers’ 2031 first-round draft pick, option to swap first-round picks with Lakers in 2030
The trade, made on Wednesday night, came after Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka admitted that the team needed to make a deal for a center after sending Anthony Davis to Dallas in the Doncic trade.
Williams, a 23-year-old center standing at 7-feet tall, was the perfect target for a team with Doncic and LeBron James. He’s known for his verticality and ability to make plays at the rim, which is a new weakness for L.A. without Davis.
Trading away Knecht in particular was a heavy price to pay. The rookie, selected by the Lakers at No. 17 overall in this year’s draft out of Tennessee, has been a superb shooter, making shots at a 46% clip.
But next to Doncic and Austin Reeves, who was terrific Saturday with a 45-point performance, Knecht’s shooting ability wasn’t as necessary as having a rim protector like Williams, hence the deal.
What happened on Saturday?
As first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, the deal fell through on the Lakers’ end. After performing a medical examination on Williams, the team decided to fail his physical, nixing the trade.
Subsequent reporting by Charania and ESPN’s Dave McMenamin revealed that the failed physical was due to mutliple health issues, but not related to Williams’ back.
Williams had battled back injuries throughout his young career. According to ESPN, he’s played just 85 out of a possible 212 games.
Pelinka on Thursday said that the team would be vetting him medically, which is standard procedure for trades in professional sports.
Since the trade happened so close to the trade deadline, which has since passed, neither team is able to do another trade.
What now?
What’s next for both teams? In the short term, awkward conversations.
Knecht and Reddish will return to L.A. along with the draft capital, and run it back for the Lakers to finish out the season. Barring any potential signings on the buyout market, it appears that the new-look Lakers will maintain Jaxson Hayes at the starting center spot, unless Christian Wood can return from injury at some point.
In a statement, the Hornets welcomed back Williams.
“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,” the team said. “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.”
It could be an uncomfortable reunion for the three players involved in the deal, as they know that their employers just tried to send them across the country, but for someone like Knecht, the rest of the season could be a tryout.
At 23 years old, Knecht is a player that could be part of the next phase of the Lakers, post-LeBron James. Or, he could be a trade chip in the summer.
Only time can tell.
