If you were around on social media Wednesday night, you likely came across Mark Williams' viral social media post at one point or another. After the Los Angeles Lakers fell in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one of the playoffs, Charlotte Hornets fans got a kick out of Williams' reaction.
Directly after the game, he added to his story on Instagram, posting a meme that pretty clearly referred to LA and their situation. In taking a jab at the team that nearly traded for him back in February, Mark made it relatively clear that he does not care much for the Lakers.
After the team in purple and gold failed Williams on his physical for no more reason than they "just couldn't live with what they saw," it put something of a stain on Mark's reputation and made others unfairly question his health. It was an understandably frustrating situation for a player who was already trying to get back in the swing of things following injury trouble.
The last thing Williams needed was an unfair narrative chasing him around as well. So of course, he didn't take too kindly to the Lakers' actions, and he didn't mind roasting them after their embarrassing defeat in the playoffs.
Mark Williams' reaction to the Lakers' loss likely ends any LA trade rumors
Ironically, the Lakers probably really wished they had Mark during that first round matchup with Minnesota. LA had no reliable interior defenders, and JJ Redick was so unconfident in Jaxson Hayes that he didn't play him at all in their Game 5 loss.
As a result, Rudy Gobert went off on the Lakers for one of the best playoff games of his entire career. The Stifle Tower finished with 27 points and 24 rebounds, simply dominating LA in the paint. Mark Williams probably wouldn't have shut Gobert down, but he has the physical tools to make like more difficult for him than anyone currently on the Lakers' roster.
On top of that, Luka Dončić looked like a much different player in this series against the Timberwolves than he did when he was bulldozing his way to the NBA Finals a year ago. In part, that was due to him not having the kind of lob threat that opens up his playmaking that much more.
Ironically, it was Williams that Dončić wanted so badly to play alongside in Los Angeles. There's little question this series looked different for the Lakers if they had simply accepted the conditions of their trade deadline deal. Instead, now Mark is content celebrating their failures while still rocking the purple and teal.
All in all, this situation probably serves to confirm the Hornets and Lakers won't be re-visiting trade talks concerning Williams anytime soon. Mark is still clearly not thrilled with how everything went down, and he's not afraid to show it.