Charlotte Hornets big man Mark Williams has had quite the turbulent past two weeks or so. Ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and thought he’d soon be teammates with some of the biggest stars in the league such as forward LeBron James and guard Luka Doncic.
However, the trade was rescinded after Williams allegedly failed a physical. Williams said that he was in a hotel in Los Angeles when he caught wind of the trade getting nixed and was shocked by the news.
“Shocked,” Williams told FOX Sports. “I didn’t think there was any possibility of me failing my physical. Every time I’ve been out, it’s been documented.”
Interestingly, Williams also claimed that he did not ask the Lakers for an explanation as to why he failed his physical.
“It was more like denial,” Williams said. “I was like, I don’t believe it. I was like, there’s no way, like, God.”
The fact that the Lakers rescinded the trade might’ve stung especially hard for Williams during Charlotte’s game against the storied franchise on Wednesday night. But he was productive against Los Angeles with 10 points and nine rebounds, and his Hornets won the game by three, too.
James showed Williams what kind of talent the youngster was denied an opportunity to play alongside with. He stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists, one steal and two blocks. The NBA’s oldest player was only three rebounds away from a triple-double. Granted, Doncic didn’t play all that well, but he’s still trying to find his footing in a Lakers uniform and has played just three games with the team.
For as difficult as it may have been for Williams to play against the Lakers after all that’s transpired since the start of the month, maybe the contest provided him with some closure. Williams’ Hornets won’t take on Los Angeles again in the 2024-25 season after all, and he can simply focus on helping Charlotte finish the campaign on a strong note.
Hopefully, Williams can carry over his solid two-way play against the Lakers into the Hornets’ looming matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 20.
It’ll be interesting to find out whether he’ll be tasked with defending Nuggets star big man Nikola Jokic, who is averaging a triple-double of 29.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game this season.
