Lakers acquire Mark Williams from Hornets for Dalton Knecht, draft capital

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertFebruary 08, 2025
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#nba #nba trade deadline #los angeles lakers #charlotte hornets

After making two deals earlier in trade season that left with him a hole at center, the Lakers went all-in to fill it. The Hornets continued picking up draft capital and young players.

Here are the particulars:

Los Angeles Lakers acquire: Mark Williams

Charlotte Hornets acquire: Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, rights to swap 2030 first-round picks, 2031 Lakers first-round pick

Let’s dive in!

Los Angeles Lakers

Incoming salary: $4.1 million in 2024-25

  • Mark Williams (C, two years, $10.4 million)

Outgoing salary: $6.3 million in 2024-25

  • Dalton Knecht (SF/SG, four years, $14.5 million (rookie scale deal))
  • Cam Reddish (SF/SG, one year, $2.1 million)

After trading Anthony Davis in the deal to get Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers were really thin at the center position. Los Angeles had Jaxson Hayes, two-way players and small-ball options. They filled that need with Mark Williams.

When healthy, Williams has been a solid starting center. He’s a good rebounder, decent rim protector and a solid finisher around the rim. Williams is the type of athletic lob-catch that thrives playing with Doncic. The two should make a very good pick-and-roll pairing for years to come.

The issue is that Williams has rarely been healthy in his NBA career. He’s missed considerable time in each of his first three seasons. The good news is that none of the injuries are directly related and none of them seem to a chronic thing.

The other issue with this trade is that the Lakers gave up their remaining draft capital to add Williams. Paying a first-round pick in six years, plus a swap the year before, is a lot for a guy who will probably never be more than a solid starter. In addition, Los Angeles gave up Dalton Knecht, who was a prized draft pick in just this past draft.

In the immediate, the loss of Knecht isn’t that big of a deal. The Lakers weren’t going to be able to play him with two of Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves very often. Not without Davis to clean up for them. That was going to limit Knecht’s role. Given those three players seem entrenched in Los Angeles for now, it was best to move Knecht while they could get something for him. Cam Reddish has been out of the rotation while, so there’s no production loss there.

The Lakers needed to do something up front. They reportedly sought out Doncic to find out what type of center he wanted to play with. Williams fits that mold. This was just a very high price to pay for a non-All-Star.

Charlotte Hornets

Incoming salary: $6.3 million in 2024-25

  • Dalton Knecht (SF/SG, four years, $14.5 million (rookie scale deal))
  • Cam Reddish (SF/SG, one year, $2.1 million)

Outgoing salary: $4.1 million in 2024-25

  • Mark Williams (C, two years, $10.4 million)

This trade is a massive win for the Hornets. It’s not that Mark Williams isn’t a good player. He is. Williams was also a good fit with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller on the young Charlotte roster.

But Williams wasn’t projecting to be an All-Star. He’s also regularly out of the lineup due to injuries. Center is a spot where teams can find affordable talent almost every offseason. And the Hornets got paid handsomely to move on from Williams.

Knecht is a nice prospect to work with, even if he’s eight months older than Williams, who was drafted two years earlier. Charlotte needs more shooting and scoring on the wing. With Miller out for the season, Knecht should have a clear runway to minutes. He’ll help the Hornets with his shooting and knack for drawing contact and free throws.

The real get here though is the control of the Lakers draft in the “who knows?” years. 2030 and 2031 will be post-LeBron James and we have no idea what Los Angeles will look like at that point. That’s so far out, there’s a decent chance Doncic may have also moved on. If nothing else, it’s worth the gamble for the Hornets.

 


#nba #nba trade deadline #los angeles lakers #charlotte hornets
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