NBA nixes Lakers’ deal for Mark Williams

The trade that would have sent centre Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers and Dalton Knecht to the Charlotte Hornets was nullified by the NBA on Saturday night, more than 48 hours after the league’s trade deadline.

The Lakers announced the news with a brief statement, saying the league rescinded the deal due to “failure to satisfy a condition of the trade.”

All trades are conditional on player physical examinations with their new teams. Williams failed his physical, multiple media outlets reported.

Williams’ physical revealed “multiple issues,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.

After losing Anthony Davis in the Luka Dončić deal earlier in the week, the Lakers had agreed to trade Knecht, Cam Reddish, a first-round pick and a pick swap to Charlotte for Williams.

Williams, in his third season out of Duke, has played just 85 games since the Hornets drafted him with the 13th overall pick.

Williams missed the first five weeks of this season while recovering from foot surgery. He is averaging 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 23 games this season.

Now without Davis or Williams, Los Angeles have become dangerously thin on the front line.

Jaxson Hayes started at center for the Lakers’ 124-117 win over the Indiana Pacers earlier on Saturday, with undrafted second-year man Trey Jemison playing 12 minutes off the bench.