A day before the NBA trade deadline ended, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, the Los Angeles Lakers attempted to trade away Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and two draft picks for the Charlotte Hornets’ center, Mark Williams.
Five days before the NBA trade deadline ended, the Lakers and Mavericks had an unexpected trade that sent shock through basketball fans. Nobody expected the trade; sending Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks and receiving Luka Doncic who was labeled “untouchable” in return.
Mavericks fans went crazy and protested against the NBA trade, but by then, the trade had already been completed.
After Doncic got traded to the Lakers, he requested the Lakers to make a trade to obtain a lob-threat to play alongside. The Lakers traded their main center to the Mavericks in the trade while receiving Doncic.
Shams Charania, a ESPN Senior NBA insider, tweeted, “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.”
Lakers fans were thrilled to receive a center because they needed one. As a Lakers fan, I was happy to hear we got a young center who has a future ahead of him. On the other hand, I was more sad to find out the Lakers traded away rookie Knecht. He was one of my favorite players on the team and a young star who was a draft steal.
Charania tweeted, “Lakers say the Mark Williams/Dalton Knecht trade has been rescinded.”
Nobody expected the trade to be rescinded, which makes this the first time a trade has failed since Dec. 8, 2011 when the NBA didn’t allow Chris Paul to go to the Lakers and team up with Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers made an Instagram post earlier announcing Williams as a Laker officially, but I had a gut feeling the trade wasn’t complete because there wasn’t much information on Williams being on the team.
Even though I liked Knecht, I feel like a center was more fitting for the Lakers. The trade rescinded after the trade deadline ended because Williams did not pass his physical exams, which leaves the Lakers without a center to trade for. The Lakers have to recruit a free agent now.
Senior Benji Gotfried said, “I think it’s absolutely hilarious to see the Lakers go through something like this.”
Freshman Kingston Livingston commented on the Lakers not having a dominant center, “It’s kind of bad to be honest. The Lakers now need a center, a center plays a really good part in basketball.”
Centers in basketball are important for the team in regard to grabbing rebounds, scoring in the paint and assisting the playmaker. Centers are important in the game of basketball, but team chemistry and favorable players is important to fans and players who enjoy basketball.
