The nixed trade deadline deal between the Lakers and Hornets returned to haunt Los Angeles one final time in the 2024-25 season.
It took just five games for the Timberwolves to eliminate the Lakers in the opening round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, and L.A.’s thin frontcourt rotation helped lead to its demise. With respect to the deadline, things fell apart less than three months after the Lakers failed the physical of Hornets center Mark Williams, thus voiding an agreed-upon trade.
Since the failed physical, Williams has not spoken much about L.A., but has maintained that he is in good health. Once the Lakers were eliminated, however, Williams took a well-deserved victory lap.
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Mark Williams trolls Lakers on social media
After the final buzzer sounded in the Timberwolves’ 103-96 win over the Lakers, Williams took to X (formerly Twitter) with a simple post:
🙂
— Mark Williams (@MarkWi1liams) May 1, 2025
Williams clearly subscribes to the notion that less is more, as the smiling emoji says more than any words could. He wasn’t done yet, either, as he then took to Instagram to share a meme on his story.
Mark Williams on IG celebrating the Lakers’ downfall: pic.twitter.com/aiCVP5lCW3
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 1, 2025
The photo Williams shared originally came with the caption that, in part, reads, “I Stopped By One Of My Biggest Haters Funeral Today.”
In this case, the Lakers are Williams’ biggest hater, and the funeral is the abrupt end to their 2025 playoff run.
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After L.A. failed his physical, the 7-footer returned to appear in 21 of the Hornets’ final 33 games, with absences tied to reconditioning and rest rather than injury. Over that span, Williams averaged 14.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game.
In the Lakers’ Game 5 loss, LeBron James was the tallest player to play more than 10 minutes, Wolves center Rudy Gobert finished with 27 points and 24 rebounds, and L.A. was outrebounded, 54-37.
Playing the “What if?” game can be a slippery slope in sports, but Williams’ post certainly makes you wonder if L.A. could have had a different outcome with a reliable rotational big man on its roster.
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Why was Hornets-Lakers trade rescinded?
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Williams’ physical with the Lakers showed “multiple issues and the team failed him on the exam.”Â
The agreed-upon deal sent Williams to Los Angeles in exchange for first-year wing Dalton Knecht and former lottery pick Cam Reddish. No NBA trade is finalized until all involved parties pass their physical examination.
As ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne noted, the Lakers gave up a lot to get Williams and “needed to feel confident he’d be healthy enough to be their starting center for the next 5-10 years. After a thorough evaluation of his health, they were not.”
The deal was rescinded after the trade deadline, leaving Los Angeles with no other trade outlets to improve its center rotation.
