The Charlotte Hornets have a Mark Williams dilemma only because the Los Angeles Lakers decided to abort the trade-deadline deal that would have seen the center help the Purple and Gold try to contend for the championship.
However, its medical team failed his physicals due to concerns about his medical history. Williams clapped back at that notion recently, saying that he didn't miss a game this season because of knee or back injuries, which are presumably what the Lakers identified as grounds to back out of the trade. He also stated in his exit interview that he is in a good place now.
It's unclear what the Hornets will do in the summer. Williams may have been mentioned as part of their core four, but there is still the possibility of the organization attempting to move on from him again if the right deal comes along.
As for the Lakers, it remains to be seen how much the non-acquisition of Williams would impact them. They managed to thrive during the regular season, clinching the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. However, their loss in the series opener to the Minnesota Timberwolves showed why changing their minds after agreeing to a trade with Charlotte could cost them a deep playoff run.
Lakers clearly have a hole at the big man position
Los Angeles' decision to reverse its trade with the Hornets left it no more time to seek another center because the trade deadline had already passed. As such, it has had to rely on Jaxson Hayes to man the paint and on small-ball lineups to hide its lack of big man depth. But while that may do the trick in the regular season, the playoffs can be a different beast.
The fact that the Lake Show drew the Wolves in the first round may have exposed its glaring weakness even more. Without someone like Williams to play the five, Los Angeles became the only team so far to lose at home in the playoffs.
The Lakers didn't have an answer for Minnesota's platoon of big men, including Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid. Some might say that any opponent would be bound to lose with the T-Wolves shooting 21-42 from 3-point range. However, LeBron James and company also had to deal with a major disadvantage in the paint and rebounding department. The Laker who hauled in the most boards was Luka Doncic, who had eight.
Hayes saw just eight minutes of action, grabbing three rebounds, which were the same number of boards the almost-Hornet Dalton Knecht recorded in five fewer minutes. If the Lakers had Williams, they wouldn't have had to rely on small ball, which the Wolves were actually able to exploit, and could have won the battle of the boards.
Of course, there's still time for Los Angeles to regroup, but one can't help but wonder if it would have been better off not screwing up the Hornets at the trade deadline and instead pushing through with its decision to acquire Williams.