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The trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets involving Mark Williams and rookie Dalton Knecht has reportedly been rescinded. It appears that a particular condition in the transaction caused the trade to break down.
“The trade between the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers has been rescinded due to failure to satisfy a condition of the trade,” ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday night.
The said trade also involved Cam Reddish going to the Hornets with Knecht while the Lakers were supposed to get a 2031 first-round pick and a swap for a 2030 first-rounder with the Hornets
The Hornets appeared to be the party who failed to deliver on the condition, as noted in a follow-up X post by Siegel.
Williams would have been a solid addition to the Lakers’ frontcourt that had just lost one of the greatest big men in league history when Los Angeles decided to include Anthony Davis in a trade package sent to the Dallas Mavericks for mainly Luka Doncic.
It remains to be seen what the exact nature of the reason behind the trade’s revocation, though, it could possibly be related to Williams’ health. There were increased concerns about the former Duke Blue Devils star big man's weight following the Lakers' move to acquire him from the Hornets.
Williams, taken in the first round (15th overall) of the 2022 NBA draft by Charlotte, is averaging a career-high in points in the 2024-25 NBA season, as he put up 15.6 points on 58.6 percent shooting from the field in 23 games for the Hornets before trade. With the trade not pushing through, Williams apparently will head back to the lottery-bound Charlotte squad instead of joining a Lakers squad that is on track to make the NBA playoffs.
As for Knecht, this turn of events means that he will continue his rookie season in the NBA with the Lakers, who selected him in the first round (17th overall) of the 2024 NBA draft. Before the now-canceled trade, the former Tennessee Volunteers bucket-getter was averaging 9.4 points on 46.5 percent shooting from the field and 35.8 percent from behind the arc in 48 games (including 12 starts) for the Lakers.
