NBA Trade Rumors: Lakers re-do trade for Mark Williams in mock deal exchanging three role players

The LA Lakers pulled off the biggest move of the season by acquiring Luka Doncic. Notably, they almost double down on it by also giving him an athletic rim protector in Mark Williams.

Unfortunately for them, Williams failed his physical and the deal fell. The trade deadline had passed, so Rob Pelinka couldn’t target another big man for his roster.

That eventually hurt the Lakers in the playoffs, as they had no one to match the Minnesota Timberwolves’ size.

With that in mind, Reddit user NBATradeideas proposed an interesting trade to solve their woes and get William to Los Angeles in the summer.

In this scenario, the Lakers would send Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, Maxi Kleber, swap rights on their 2030 first-round picks and a top-three protected 2031 first-round pick.

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In return, they would get Williams, Josh Green, Josh Okogie and a 2025 second-round selection.

Per the Hornets and individual doctors, there was no reason Williams shouldn't have passed his physical.

Even so, he's had struggles with injuries in the past. Moreover, he seemingly refused to return to Charlotte after being traded, and while he ultimately caved in, the writing might be on the wall for him to find a new home in the offseason.

James Worthy blames failed Mark Williams trade for postseason woes

Despite being the higher seed, the Lakers could only win one game in the first round. They were overmatched by the Timberwolves' physical and big frontcourt, with Rudy Gobert having no opposition on the glass.

Looking back, Lakers legend James Worthy wasn't surprised, as he knew the team would struggle to go far in the playoffs without a traditional big man like Mark Williams out there.

“When we did not get Mark Williams in that trade, I knew we could be successful throughout the regular season, but as you know and you’ve seen when you get with a team for seven games — look at what happened to Cleveland,” Worthy said.

“A lot of teams that are favored, doesn’t always happen. I still don’t think the synergy was complete with Luka.”

J.J. Redick seemingly refused to play Jaxson Hayes, up to the point where he chose to give Kleber, who hadn't even practiced with the team, some minutes in the first half of their season-ending loss.

Needless to say, adding a traditional big or two should be at the top of this team's offseason priority list.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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