It seems the Mark Williams trade still has ramifications for the Lakers as teams around the league reportedly wanted a similar package for their centers.
The Lakers have made a couple of moves to add depth to their frontcourt. The first move was acquiring Deandre Ayton via a buyout and the second was re-signing Jaxson Hayes.
At the start of the summer, most Lakers fans would’ve assumed Hayes was out and a trade was the most likely way for L.A. to improve at the center spot.
However, Hayes mentioned a willingness to return even after a disappointing end to the year and backed that talk up by re-signing. Then, once Ayton wanted out of Portland, he became suddenly available, and the Lakers acquired him.
But what happened to the Lakers making a trade for a big? Was there a way for them to upgrade their roster by making a deal with another team?
Well, Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN are reporting that the Mark Williams trade has set the market for the Lakers trading for a center. So, unless L.A. was giving up a first-round pick and a couple of quality players, it seems like a deal was unlikely to happen.
Teams who had centers available were keeping their price for the Lakers high when they called, sources said, after they had established what they were willing to pay for Mark Williams (in February’s rescinded trade).
Issac Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For Los Angeles, although the Williams trade was rescinded, in the minds of NBA general managers, the action still occurred.
President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka made a deal giving up Dalton Knecht, an unprotected first-round pick in 2031 and an unprotected pick swap in 2030. So, it makes sense that teams would want the same or better if they had a center at or above Williams’ caliber.
Fans can view this as a Lakers tax or a market setter that wasn’t wise for Pelinka to have established. Ultimately, if teams don’t want to take less than what Williams went for, then making a trade appears to have been difficult for the Lakers to do and still improve.
Even at the time, the Williams trade was a lot to give up, but it was an attempt midseason to go for it and appease Luka Dončić, who wanted a center.
Currently, as a new season begins and options such as re-signings and buyouts are available, the Lakers have found ways to improve their frontcourt without sacrificing everything of value they have.
Hopefully, this is the end of the Williams trade having any more impact on the franchise. Now that the Lakers have found other options, ideally, teams will no longer reference the Williams trade as the market setter moving forward.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.