Hornets trade Mark Williams to Los Angeles Lakers, acquire Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish
When Mark Williams walked out of Spectrum Center on Wednesday night, following the Charlotte Hornets’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, he probably had no idea he wouldn’t be back in the building Thursday morning.
The Hornets traded their starting center to Los Angeles Lakers for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, the right to swap first-round picks in 2030 and an unprotected 2031 first-rounder, league sources confirmed to The Observer. The move came in advance of Thursday’s 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline and further signaled president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson’s vision to acquire assets while trying to build the roster for long-term success.
It also showed how quickly things can come together.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ general manager, said during Tuesday’s introductory press conference for Luka Dončić that he could not waive a magic wand and land a premium, starting big man before the deadline because the market was “dry.”
Apparently, Peterson found a way to whet Pelinka’s appetite because the Hornets secured a haul for a player who hasn’t been able to stay healthy and has room for improvement on the defensive end.
Williams, who averaged 16 points and 9.8 rebounds in 23 games this season, never found consistency with the franchise that acquired him in a draft-day trade with Detroit in 2022 for Jalen Duren. He was plagued with injury woes for his entire tenure with the Hornets, only playing in 19 games in 2023-24 due to a back issue. That came after logging 43 games in his rookie season.
A foot injury prior to the start of training camp in October kept Williams out for the season’s initial 19 games, and that pushed his absence in the Hornets’ lineup to 359 days — almost a full calendar year — before making his return in December.
Knecht, selected by the Lakers with the 17th overall pick last June, averaged 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 42 games with Los Angeles. The 23-year-old forward is a good shooter, knocking down 46.5% of his attempts and 35.8% from 3-point range, and should help stretch the floor when he’s on the court with Hornets’ star LaMelo Ball.
Reddish, a 6-foot-8 small forward, has played for three teams since entering the league in 2019 and started in eight of the 31 games he appeared in this season for the Lakers.
By sending Williams out of town on the heels of trading Nick Richards to the Phoenix Suns last month, it leaves the Hornets with a huge hole at center. They’ll have to figure something out with Moussa Diabate the lone holdover from the three-man rotation utilized by coach Charles Lee throughout the season.
Charlotte certainly has plenty of draft capital stockpiled over the coming years.
Besides owning their own first-round selection for the next half-decade plus, the Hornets also have a 2027 top-14 from Miami, a top-two protected selection from Dallas in 2027 along with the rights to swap first-round picks with the Lakers in 2030 and a 2031 unprotected first-round selection from the Lakers.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 12:49 AM.
