Mark Williams set to carry Lakers into Luka-Era

Wednesday night gave us more of the same in this 2025 NBA trade deadline: mayhem. The Los Angeles Lakers secured their future even further by trading for Hornets center Mark Williams.

In a deal that sent Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, the 30′ first-round pick swap, and the ’31 first-round pick to Charlotte, the Lakers found the perfect big to pair with Luka Dončić.

Just In: The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/QGUwETssGd

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2025

This trade, much like the two that preceded it, came out of nowhere. Mark Williams, for the most part, was a piece many thought Charlotte wouldn’t part with, but Ramona Shelburne reported that Charlotte actually reached out to the Lakers for this deal.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the deal really only materialized over the course of the last 2-3 days.

This move for Mark Williams signals to the rest of the league that the Lakers are not punting to the future by trading for Luka Dončić. They want banner eighteen this season.

Who is Mark Williams?

Since the Charlotte Hornets drafted Mark Williams, there is a high likelihood not many of you have had the chance to watch much of the Lakers’ newest center.

Coming out of Duke, Williams was drafted 15th overall in the 2022 NBA draft with fairly high expectations. Although Williams has already been in the league for three seasons, he’s actually younger than Knecht.

The 3rd year center boats one of the larger frames in the league. Williams stands at 7’2, 240lbs, and has a league-leading 9’9 standing reach. The highest standing verticle in NBA combine history, and two inches higher than Victor Wembenyama’s standing reach. That is an imposing presence down low the team has not had outside of AD in some time.

Currently, this season, Williams is averaging 16.0 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 1.1 BPG on 60% FG. When you take a deep dive into his per/36 stats, that’s when he really pops off the page. Per/36, Williams averages 23 PPG, 14.1 RPG, and 1.8 BPG on the same 60% FG.

THE LAKERS GOT A 7 FOOT MONSTER pic.twitter.com/CkVItjFA23

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) February 6, 2025

Williams is a beast down low on the glass, a tremendous new lob threat for Luka Dončić, and has shown flashes of defensive brilliance in his first few seasons. The only downside to Williams is that he has struggled with injuries for much of his young career.

Unfortunately, the young center’s back has plagued him throughout his career. I would be more concerned if it weren’t for Dan Woike’s report in the LA Times. Woike reported that although Williams has experienced back issues, the Lakers are confident he is healed and that it will not be a future issue.

Lakers, per sources, confident that Mark Williams’ back issues from a year ago are healed and that they’re getting one of the game’s top young centers who fit the Doncic archetype

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) February 6, 2025

Mark Williams is perfect for Dončić and the Lakers

In Dončić’s time with the Dallas Mavericks, he was able to turn fairly talented big men into game-breakers. Relatively lesser-known names like Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively became household names over the course of the last year, thanks to Luka and the Mavericks’ run to the Finals.

Both bigs are long, athletic rebounders who have the ability to rim run and act as a lob threat. That sounds a whole lot to me, like Mark Williams.

Williams’s large frame will create space for both LeBron and Luka by screening, and his rim running ability will make him a comfort blanket type of option for both facilitators as well.

When it comes more specifically to the Lakers, we are about to witness a Mark Williams we haven’t seen before. For all of Williams’s career, he’s played for a franchise that doesn’t have any championship expectations, let alone the playoffs.

Coming to LA and playing for the first winning organization since Duke, I think we can expect even more from Williams. When a player is playing with hardly anything on the line, little things might slip, especially effort in spurts.

Those lapses aren’t tolerated when you play for a team with legitimate championship expectations. I believe Williams is up to the task.