Rob Pelinka Shares Long-Term Thoughts on Mark Williams With Lakers

The Lakers' GM gave his thoughts on adding Williams to the Lakers' roster.

Feb 4, 2025; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka speaks before introducing Luka Doncic at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the most active teams in the NBA ahead of the trade deadline. Los Angeles was able to add two dynamic players to their roster for the rest of the year.

Luka Doncic was the headliner of the deadline because no one knew that he was available. The Lakers traded Anthony Davis in order to grab him, which was a no-brainer.

Doncic wasn't the only player that the Lakers got before the deadline passed. They also traded Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish for Mark Williams.

Williams gives the Lakers some rim protection now that Davis is in Dallas. He is also a great rim-runner, which is important to how the rest of the roster is constructed.

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The Lakers identified Williams as someone they wanted because he's still young, and he has a lot of potential. They think he can contribute greatly this year as well, as long as he can stay healthy.

General Manager Rob Pelinka talked about why they decided to bring in Williams and what his long-term potential with the Lakers might be.

Rob Pelinka on Mark Williams: "He lined up so well just in terms of his age and career trajectory with Luka and other parts of our roster so when the opportunity came our way we were aggressive." pic.twitter.com/ouj1dU0ZiA

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 7, 2025

Obviously, the most important thing to Pelinka was the timeline that he and Doncic are on together. They are both extremely young guys with a lot of basketball in front of them, so that's why Pelinka targeted Williams.

Williams is just 23 years old and already has shown the potential to average 15 points and 11 rebounds per game consistently. The Lakers just expect him to get better as he continues to age.

Staying healthy is a massive concern for Williams. He has played just 85 games so far in his three-year career.

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If Williams is able to stay healthy, the Lakers will feel confident that they have their center for the present and the future.

Pelinka expects to have both Doncic and Williams on the roster for quite a while. These are the players of the future when James retires in the next few years.

So far this season, Williams has been averaging 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

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