Third-year center Mark Williams averaged 16 points and 9.8 rebounds in 22 games with the Hornets this season.
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Days after stunning the NBA with their acquisition of Luka Dončić, the Lakers were at it again on Wednesday, sending rookie guard Dalton Knecht, veteran forward Cam Reddish, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Hornets for burgeoning young center Mark Williams, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Just In: The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/QGUwETssGd
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2025
Lakers receive:
Hornets receive:
The Lakers had already been thin up front even before sending All-NBA forward Anthony Davis to Dallas as part of their package for Dončić. But Williams’ addition offsets at least some of that scarcity, giving the Lakers a promising young 7-footer who just turned 23 in December.
Sidelined through November, Williams averaged 16 points and 9.8 rebounds with 60 dunks over his final 22 appearances with the Hornets, who took him 15th overall out of IMG Academy in 2022.
Charlotte, meanwhile, continues to amass draft capital and assets as its rebuild wears on. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Hornets hold all of their first-round picks for the next seven years as well as additional firsts from Miami (2027 or ’28), Dallas (2027) and now the Lakers (2031).
The Hornets have nicely built their first-round picks in future years
*⃣Own first in the next 7 years*⃣Top-14 protected first from Miami (2027, unprotected in 2028)*⃣Top-2 protected first from Dallas (2027)*⃣Right to swap firsts with LA Lakers (2030)
*⃣Unprotected first from…
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 6, 2025
They also add a solid rookie in Knecht, who averaged 9.4 points while shooting 35.8% on 3-pointers in 48 games with the Lakers.
