At this point, many are acutely aware of the drama surrounding the still-ongoing Mark Williams trade fiasco. Less than a week ago, the Charlotte Hornets agreed to a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers that would send Williams to LA while bringing Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and two draft picks back to Charlotte.
It was a deal that the Hornets were pleased with making. But around 72 hours after the move was announced, news broke that the trade had been shockingly rescinded. After completing a physical evaluation of Williams, the Lakers failed him on the assessment and opted to back out of the deal to allow Mark to remain in Charlotte.
This was a stunning turn of events, and one that the Hornets opted to fight back on. They have since challenged the outcome of the failed physical, hoping to reverse the decision and allow the trade to go through. But according to ESPN's Bobby Marks, there is a low chance Charlotte ends up with the result they are hoping for.
Marks recently appeared on Wes and Walker on WFNZ and spoke about the whole situation. He explained that there is likely a 99.9% chance that the decision will not be reversed, simply because the trade deadline has already passed. If the trade had happened in say, August or September, he explained, there would have been additional time to amend the trade legally.
Bobby Marks: NBA has to look at "giving a little more flexibility"
So with that being the case, the natural next question becomes whether this situation will have an impact on the way trades can be amended or changed after the fact at the deadline in the future. Marks gave his thoughts on this possibility.
"This is something the league would have to talk about," Marks said. "Could you give a window where, I'm not saying changing players, but if there's a condition where you're concerned from a medical standpoint and if you're Charlotte, you're saying, okay, we're going to give you back swap rights, and then the Lakers have to make a decision on it here. So I do think they have to look at giving a little bit more flexibility for that where it's not just cut and dry."
Certainly, Hornets fans would be happy to see something like this implemented in the future. Although they would unquestionably be much more satisfied with the outcome just being reversed, it would be good for other teams to not have to undergo these same circumstances down the line.
As Marks says, it would not be reasonable to allow players involved in trades to be changed after the fact. If you start to do that, what is even the point of the trade deadline? But allowing small tweaks like which picks are attached and revisions to physical examinations could be a smart move for the future.