James Worthy seemingly knew Lakers would have issues in playoffs after Mark Williams trade fell through

The Los Angeles Lakers were very close to adding a player who would have helped fill the hole left by big man Anthony Davis’ departure before the trade deadline.

The Lakers agreed to trade draft capital along with forwards Cam Reddish and Dalton Knecht to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for big man Mark Williams, but the Lakers nixed the deal over an alleged failed physical from Williams.

Lakers legend James Worthy seemingly had an inkling that the Lakers would be doomed when the 2025 NBA Playoffs rolled around after the Williams deal fell through.

“When we did not get Mark Williams in that trade, I knew we could be successful throughout the regular season, but as you know and you’ve seen when you get with a team for seven games — look at what happened to Cleveland,” Worthy said. “A lot of teams that are favored, doesn’t always happen. I still don’t think the synergy was complete with Luka [Doncic].”

To be fair, the Lakers had reason to be skeptical about whether Williams could consistently stay on the floor for them. He’s three seasons into his NBA career, and yet he’s suited up in just 106 contests. Williams also played in only 44 games for the Hornets in the 2024-25 regular season, and believe it or not, that marked a career-high in appearances for him in a single NBA campaign.

But what makes the Lakers’ decision to nix the trade controversial is that it isn’t clear that the Lakers put the kibosh on the Williams trade for health reasons alone. Williams went on record as saying that he doesn’t think how he fared in his physical is solely responsible for why the trade fell through.

Maybe Williams could have given the Lakers some much-needed productive minutes at the center spot in the team’s stint in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, as he did suit up for several games with the Hornets in the month of April. The Lakers didn’t have a true center out on the floor for much of their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves sans him, as Jaxson Hayes averaged just 7.8 minutes of playing time across four games in the series.

Like Worthy allegedly foresaw, the Lakers ended up bowing out early on in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, as they lost to the Timberwolves in a gentleman’s sweep in the opening round. Perhaps a healthy Williams on the floor for the Lakers could have altered the trajectory of the series.