LOS ANGELES —The Lakers’ trade for center Mark Williams has been “rescinded” because of a “failure to satisfy a condition of the trade,” the team announced on Saturday evening.
The Lakers on Wednesday night acquired Williams from the Charlotte Hornets in a deal that was officially announced on Thursday night for rookie wing Dalton Knecht, veteran wing Cam Reddish, their 2031 unprotected first-round draft pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap.
But the trade was voided, with no elaboration from the Lakers on what condition of the trade wasn’t met.
ESPN’s Shams Charania, citing unnamed sources, reported after the announcement that Williams’ physical with the Lakers showed multiple non-back issues and that “the team failed him on the exam.”
The Lakers’ full statement from Saturday night read: “The trade between the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers has been rescinded due to failure to satisfy a condition of the trade.”
Durability/health was one the concerns with Williams before and after the trade was made.
Williams has only played in 85 NBA games: 43 as a rookie (he also played 11 G League games), 19 the following year and 23 of the Hornets’ 48 games this season.
He dealt with multiple sprained left ankles as a rookie and had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb during the offseason after his first season.
Williams missed most of last season because of a lower back issue. He sat out the first 20 games of this season because of a strained tendon in his left foot before playing in 23 of 28 games.
After the trade was made but before Williams went through his full physical, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka expressed confidence that Williams’ injury history wouldn’t be an issue.
“We fully vetted his health stuff, led by Dr. Kris Jones at UCLA Health and Dr. Leroy Sims on our team and he’s had no surgeries,” Pelinka said. “He’s still growing into his body. We vetted the injuries he’s had and we’re not concerned about those. We will have a chance to have a physical and continue to do a deep dive. So we’ll still have that step in the process of doing a full physical before the trade becomes official.”
More to come on this story.
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