Mark Williams - Lakers blockbuster trade blowing up is a huge win for the Nuggets

The NBA trade deadline passed on Thursday at 1 PM MT and we figured that would be the end of the big transaction news for a while. Sure, there would be players waived and bought out and subsequently signed to teams, but those are rarely needle-moving deals.

For the most part, teams and rosters were set, and we knew what contending teams would be going to war with down the stretch for playoff runs. But, on Saturday, we got some shocking news that altered that line of thinking.

Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the Lakers/Hornets trade that sent Mark Williams to LA in exchange for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and draft capital was being rescinded by the Lakers due to “failure to satisfy the conditions” of the deal.

News came out later from Charania that WIlliams failed his physical for “multiple issues” thus voiding the entire trade. Since the deadline had already passed, there was no way for the Lakers and Hornets to get back to the table and make modifications, so all players and picks are going back to their original teams.

Lakers’ center position a complete disaster with no fix in sight

This is a huge deal for a number of reasons, but in the short term, it means the Lakers don’t have a legitimate center on the roster. Williams had his warts; he’s not a good defender and he obviously has injury concerns. But he was an impact player when on the floor, especially on the offensive end. He would have offered a stabilizing post presence that the team lacks after trading Anthony Davis.

Now, the Lakers don’t have Williams, and the deadline has passed - they are stuck with what they’ve got. And what they’ve got is Jaxson Hayes and not much else. If this trade had been voided sooner, surely LA would have pivoted and targeted another starting center on the trade market but that’s no longer an option.

They can - and likely will - add center depth on the buyout market, but those guys were bought out for a reason. Adding someone like Daniel Theis or Alex Len is not going to solve this problem come playoff time. 

Nikola Jokic will completely dominate any Lakers matchup

After pairing Luka Doncic with LeBron James and adding Williams, the Lakers were suddenly looking awfully threatening. That even went for a Nuggets team that’s had its way with LA in recent years. Adding Doncic totally changed things for that entire matchup. 

Was Mark Williams going to shut down Nikola Jokic? Of course not. But he would have offered size and athleticism to at least make things difficult and he has already proven that he can dominate the Nuggets on offense in past matchups with the Hornets.

But now the Nuggets can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that if these teams face off in the playoffs, the Lakers will have zero inside resistance and post presence. They can’t possibly expect to beat Denver in a series, trotting out Hayes at center, but yet they don’t really have any other options after the trade fell apart.