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NBA insider Jovan Buha says the Los Angeles Lakers’ trade for Mark Williams has received “mixed reactions” around the league.
The Lakers traded Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish, alongside a 2030 pick swap and an unprotected 2031 first-rounder, to acquire Williams from the Charlotte Hornets, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“I’ve already seen some reactions saying that they overpaid,” Buha said Wednesday night on his Buha Block podcast (4:45 mark of the video below.) “I know talking to some other people around the league, people have kind of mixed reactions about the price tag.
“They’re high on the fit of Mark Williams, but just kind of wondering if Dalton Knecht, plus a first, was a little bit too much.”
The trade looks particularly costly when compared to the blockbuster deal the Lakers recently made for former Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić, which required the franchise to send out just one of their tradable first-round picks. Keeping the 2031 selection allowed the Lakers to later put together the package for Williams.
Fred Katz, Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported after the Dončić trade that the Lakers did not want to use the pick to bring in “a patch-up role player” or commit to “long-term money.” The team apparently did not see Williams, who is in the third year of his rookie deal, as fitting into either of those categories.
Williams, who was held to playing 62 total games through his first two NBA campaigns, was again limited by injury as he sat out the first 20 games of the 2024-25 season.
He has been effective when healthy, however, putting up a career-high 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks through 23 appearances.
Williams also just turned 23 in December, raising the possibility the Lakers could extend him and use him as a building block as the team looks to construct a contender around Dončić going forward.
The Lakers needed a frontcourt addition after sending out Anthony Davis as part of the trade for Dončić. Given Christian Wood’s long-term injury absence and the lack of other veteran center options outside Jaxson Hayes, Williams staying healthy will be key to the Lakers’ front-court depth down the stretch.
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