A few days after the Los Angeles Lakers poached Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, the organization appeared to have replaced Anthony Davis (who was included in the blockbuster deal) with an injury-prone Charlotte Hornets center via a Dalton Knecht swap.
However, the deal fell through at the last second, leaving Los Angeles with limited frontcourt options.
Could the Lakers attempt to acquire Williams in the offseason? Silver Screen and Roll’s Jacob Rude believes so.
“(Mark) Williams is an athletic, lob-catching center who has a whole lot of potential,” Rude wrote Monday. “At the same time, he also, as we learned, has some pretty concerning injury concerns.”
“But it’s hard to imagine the Lakers’ concerns were necessarily about the short term, but instead the long term when it comes to Williams. Conveniently, we also know where the line in the sand is for the Lakers. It’s definitely something less than Dalton Knecht, a first-round pick, and a pick swap!”
“In reality, I think two of those three things would probably be off the table. Would they do a straight swap of Knecht for Williams? Potentially. A first- round pick for Williams? Potentially.”
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“The pick swap would just be a sweetener to any deal because, odds are, a Luka-led Lakers team will finish in a better position than the Hornets. It feels most likely, then, that the trade would be built around Knecht and Williams.”
As Rude noted, Williams’ kryptonite is his health. The Duke product has only competed in 106 regular-season contests since 2022 due to injuries, making him arguably the most high-risk frontcourt target on the market.
However, Williams’ above-the-rim athleticism, high-energy contributions on both ends and star potential at age 23 would likely give the Lakers optimism for the future.
Williams, a 2022 first-round pick, averaged 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game, shooting 60.4% from the field in 44 games.
Landing Williams in free agency shouldn’t be complicated, considering that featuring Knecht and draft capital in a trade for the 7-foot big man sufficed before a failed physical sent Williams back to Charlotte and Knecht back to Los Angeles.
It wouldn’t be surprising to witness the Lakers target Williams in the next few weeks.
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