Hornets in contact with the NBA to dispute the Lakers' failed Mark Williams physical

The Charlotte Hornets have been in contact with the NBA as they explore options to dispute the Los Angeles Lakers' failed physical assessment of Mark Williams, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Charlotte Hornets have been in contact with the NBA as they explore options to dispute the Los Angeles Lakers' failed physical assessment of Mark Williams, sources tell ESPN. The Williams/Dalton Knecht trade was nixed Saturday, and now Hornets weigh avenues to challenge.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 11, 2025

The Hornets and Lakers completed a deal last Wednesday that involved Charlotte sending Mark Williams to the Lakers for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and draft capital. The deal was rescinded Saturday night, where the Lakers failed Williams on his physical for multiple issues.

Mark Williams' physical with the Lakers showed multiple issues and the team failed him on the exam, sources tell ESPN. The physical was not failed due to his back, however. https://t.co/lY4XrSIlHf
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 9, 2025

Williams has dealt with back problems during his career, yet the physical was not failed due to it. The former Blue Devil is averaging a career high in points at 15.6.

Part of the reason the deal was nixed was due to the Lakers being concerned that Williams would not stay healthy enough to be their center of the future.. Williams has missed 161 games over the three seasons in his career and has never played more than 45 games in a season.

The Lakers dealt for superstar Luka Doncic a few days prior to the Williams deal, and Doncic handpicked Williams to be his center, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Dalton Knecht was expected to play Monday night against the Utah Jazz but was announced out 30 minutes prior to tip-off. Williams was announced out for "Not With Team," and Reddish continued to be out for personal reasons, which Head Coach Charles Lee mentioned in his pregame press conference on Friday.

Cam Reddish is “going through some personal issues” per Charles Lee, and they will “continue to work through those”. He’s listed as not with the team. @hornets
— Will Palaszczuk (@WilliePStyle) February 7, 2025

It feels unprecedented if the trade were to go through, and the question really is to how Mark Williams is doing through all of this.

The team really traded him out of relative no where, and he was returned to the team a few days later. After a statement where the team said they were thrilled to have Mark back, they seem to want to get the deal to go through and send him back to Los Angeles.

Williams has only been in the league for three seasons and really has only been in one state, as his two years in college were spent down the road at Duke University.

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