Mark Williams Trade to Lakers 'Stunned' NBA Exec; Center Has 'A lot of Upside'

It became clear the Los Angeles Lakers needed more frontcourt help after they gave up Anthony Davis in the trade that landed them Luka Dončić, and they wasted little time addressing that in a move that shocked at least one NBA executive.

Los Angeles traded Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams after the Dončić acquisition.

"Of all the things that happened today, that was the one that stunned me the most," an executive told ESPN's Tim Bontemps after the deadline.

"There will definitely be pain along the way, but there's a lot of upside with him."

Charlotte selected Williams with a first-round pick in 2022, and he quickly established himself as a double-double threat by averaging 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in his second season. He has been even better in 2024-25 and is posting 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a night while shooting 58.6 percent from the floor.

However, durability is a major concern.

The 23-year-old played 43 games as a rookie and 19 games in his second season. He has appeared in just 23 games this season, although three of them were in February.

Williams is also playing excellent basketball of late and dropped 38 points on Jan. 22 against the Memphis Grizzlies to go with two double-doubles in the three February games he has participated in.

There will undoubtedly be some growing pains as Williams becomes accustomed to playing alongside LeBron James and Dončić. But if he remains healthy, he can be a pick-and-roll and lob threat with those two stars and elevate the Lakers' ceiling.

And that is surely what the front office envisioned when it made the trade.