Does Mark Williams look injured to you? Did LA make the right decision?

[Im Still Ballin]

He's rounding back into form after a few mediocre games.


- 31 minutes played vs. DAL: 26 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers; 10-18 FG, 6-7 FT, 61.7% TS
- 34 minutes played vs. WAS: 24 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers; 11-14 FG, 2-2 FT, 80.7% TS

He's moving fairly well by my eye. Even if LA's issue was more durability in the long term, was it a mistake not to acquire him?

They've got a real chance to compete for a championship this season. The Luka-LeBron fit looks great (67.3% eFG for LeBron with Luka on-court + best shot quality from a teammate's passes ever; lineup numbers are very strong: [LeBron, Dončić, Rui, Hayes, Reaves]: 44 minutes played, 119.2 ORtg, 97.0 DRtg, +22.2 net rating, [LeBron, DFS, Dončić, Rui, Reaves]: 30 minutes played, 115.6 ORtg, 95.4 DRtg, +20.2 net rating) and they're only one game out of the 2nd seed.

Even with Mark's supposed defensive deficiencies, his offense and rebounding are that good he'd make an immediate impact. Was holding on to Dalton and that first-round pick really worth it? Imagine the numbers he'd be doing with Luka, LeBron, and Reaves feeding him. He's arguably the best offensive rim-running center in the league at the moment.

Check out this end-to-end play from tonight's game. Look at how fast he gets down the court:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jH9MVwacDw

Highlights from both games:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxpCyp4DcDU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXB01L1VF2I

[Full Court]

Whatever really happened, Lakers pulled some shady crap.

[Real Men Wear Green]

They have to have seen something alarming from a long-term perspective but it would be hilarious if he ends up looking like the missing piece.

[sdot_thadon]

My theory is they feel they can get him or better for less in the summer.

[Real Men Wear Green]

My theory is they feel they can get him or better for less in the summer. They may think they can do better but they can't be trading for him now. The Hornets filed a grievance(or at least threatened to) so any negotiation with them would be problematic and Williams himself is mad at them for damaging his market value.

If their concern is that he won't be good when he's thirty but can play for the next few years they should have kept him. Doncic and James are a contender level duo with the right players around them.

[Jasper]

he is a pretty good player... last night watched Bucks play Mavs

Brown a 5 is on a 10 day contract that cn not play for Mavs any more.

Brown would be an excellent backup to lopez.

[sdot_thadon]

They may think they can do better but they can't be trading for him now. The Hornets filed a grievance(or at least threatened to) so any negotiation with them would be problematic and Williams himself is mad at them for damaging his market value.

If their concern is that he won't be good when he's thirty but can play for the next few years they should have kept him. Doncic and James are a contender level duo with the right players around them.

Yeah maybe they had buyers remorse after giving up the pick and Knecht and realizing Williams' shelf life may not be worth the inflexibility that comes with it. Pelinka was on a roll and took a heat check and thought better of it lol.

[Neal Romer]

I dont think it's a big deal.

You can look at his numbers but the reality is if hes so good and Lamelo's so good and Brandon Miller is so good and Miles Bridges is so good (remember when Laker fans were interested in him?) then it wouldnt make sense the Hornets suck so bad.

Stats can make guys look more important than they are. It happens on bad teams, and it can happen on good teams (Tatum for instance).

Rim runners arent some hugely rare commodity. The Lakers can find someone really tall this offseason and Lebron and Luka can turn him into Mark Williams. The teams that win right now shoot threes. The Warriors didnt have a Mark Williams type in 2022, Nuggets didnt have one in 2023, KP is kinda like MW but with a lot of other stuff on top, and the Celtics won most of their playoff games without him anyway.

So, giving away a shooter and unprotected pick in today's game for a pretty generic big... doesnt seem to be ideal. Regardless of what stats the guy is putting up on the Bobcats.

[ILLsmak]

If they could take it back, yeah, but who knows if they damaged dalton. Dalton may be the better piece in a vacuum. We shall see how he turns out. But I think he got a reality check. Everyone thinks it’s a business, but probably not that they will get shipped. His innocence is crushed.

@neal, hornets u hi ass mfer.

-Smak

[tpols]

I dont think it's a big deal.

You can look at his numbers but the reality is if hes so good and Lamelo's so good and Brandon Miller is so good and Miles Bridges is so good (remember when Laker fans were interested in him?) then it wouldnt make sense the Hornets suck so bad.

Stats can make guys look more important than they are. It happens on bad teams, and it can happen on good teams (Tatum for instance).

Rim runners arent some hugely rare commodity. The Lakers can find someone really tall this offseason and Lebron and Luka can turn him into Mark Williams. The teams that win right now shoot threes. The Warriors didnt have a Mark Williams type in 2022, Nuggets didnt have one in 2023, KP is kinda like MW but with a lot of other stuff on top, and the Celtics won most of their playoff games without him anyway.

So, giving away a shooter and unprotected pick in today's game for a pretty generic big... doesnt seem to be ideal. Regardless of what stats the guy is putting up on the Bobcats.

It was definitely worth it as a home run swing. Guy is showing the potential to put up huge games and has freak length and finishing. Like a super Gafford who Luka and lebron could lob all day to. He'd unlock their ceiling.

[sdot_thadon]

Nico called back and promised him Gafford for a box of paperclips this summer.

[warriorfan]

It was definitely worth it as a home run swing. Guy is showing the potential to put up huge games and has freak length and finishing. Like a super Gafford who Luka and lebron could lob all day to. He'd unlock their ceiling.

The post you quoted had some points but I still agree with this. Lebron James’ window is closing. The fit was there. It wasn’t like they were mortgaging the future with a ton of picks or taking on an albatross contract. The reward was worth the risk imo.

[Xiao Yao You]

Lebrons window closed long ago :facepalm

[Neal Romer]

Lebrons window closed long ago :facepalm


When does Toody's open?

[Xiao Yao You]

When does Toody's open?

When he has a championship team around him just like anyone else :facepalm

[StickyWice]

When he has a championship team around him just like anyone else :facepalm

How chu from China but so stoopid?

Probability very low and Rudy no player to build around. He only win when he take vet minimum I bet

[Xiao Yao You]

How chu from China but so stoopid?

Probability very low and Rudy no player to build around. He only win when he take vet minimum I bet

Nice spelling smarty:roll:

[Meticode]

They have to have seen something alarming from a long-term perspective but it would be hilarious if he ends up looking like the missing piece.

Reminds me of Embiid when he came into the league or Michael Porter Jr. with his back. Great potential, but also potential of having a ticking time bomb of something specifically failing on them.

It's crazy to me Embiid has missed almost 50% of games for his whole career. He was drafted almost 11 years ago.

[Wardell Curry]

It's crazy to me Embiid has missed almost 50% of games for his whole career. He was drafted almost 11 years ago.

I think Joel Embiid only likes basketball marginally more than Ben Simmons likes basketball.

[ImKobe]

His body is not going to hold up long-term which is why they went back on the trade.

[Neal Romer]

I wonder if part of the calculus was salary related. Williams rookie deal I believe expires after next season.

Lakers are gonna have Luka on a max for forever, if Lebron doesnt retire he'll still be on a max the next 2-3 years, Reaves will be extension eligible before long and could be a near-max player, theyre gonna wanna keep at least some of DFS/Rui/Vando around for depth.

They might have looked at it more closely and said he's either gonna get hurt, or if he doesnt get hurt and hes as good as we think he can be, then we probably end up losing him anyway in free agency after next year.

Whereas if they feel Knecht and the future pick are expendable they can try to get into this year's draft with them and see if they can snag a quality center who will be on a rookie deal the next four years.

[BarberSchool]

Nico called back and promised him Gafford for a box of paperclips this summer.jokes aside, with Luka & Gafford getting along so well, and Luka talking about Gafford getting into the Slovenia Olympic team by filing for dual citizenship over the summer, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gafford is a Laker after he opts out.

[Meticode]

I think the Lakers made the correct choice of not going through with the trade because it provides them with more depth not doing it. Hayes has done ever he's required too.

[Im Still Ballin]

Gee, LA could use him right now. Played really well tonight in the win against Miami. Went up against Bam and Kel'El.

- 29 minutes played
- 24 points, 10 rebounds (3 off), 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 0 turnovers.
- 9/13 FG, 6/7 FT

[Im Still Ballin]

I don't know, Laker Bros. He looks pretty damn good. Moving very quickly. Me thinks they should've kept him.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3VZ0owFQg&ab_channel=ZHHighlights

[ImKobe]

I don't know, Laker Bros. He looks pretty damn good. Moving very quickly. Me thinks they should've kept him.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3VZ0owFQg&ab_channel=ZHHighlights

Probably a Robert Williams situation where his body will never hold up for the duration of a whole season. Pick swap + an unprotected first is way too much for 5 who can't defend nor space the floor. He's also missed 8 of the 16 games post-trade deadline.

[BarberSchool]

I think it was his feet they had issues with.
Must have Yao Ming feet.
Yao genetically, had very fragile, weak, prone to fracture feet, that even with modern supplements and traditional bone broths/astragalus root, didn’t heal well after fracture.
Something with his genetics.

I wondered why Williams moved so dainty, with little ability to exert weight or exert force in his body/leg movements. But really delicate fragile feet would explain it.

Def plays light on his feet, and has league leading standing reach, but if he can only play 40 games a season….

[Full Court]

I don't know, Laker Bros. He looks pretty damn good. Moving very quickly. Me thinks they should've kept him.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3VZ0owFQg&ab_channel=ZHHighlights

Nullifying the trade was clearly a huge blunder. After all the shady crap the Lakers have pulled, it's hilarious seeing it backfire on them now.

[warriorfan]

I think it was his feet they had issues with.
Must have Yao Ming feet.
Yao genetically, had very fragile, weak, prone to fracture feet, that even with modern supplements and traditional bone broths/astragalus root, didn’t heal well after fracture.
Something with his genetics.

I wondered why Williams moved so dainty, with little ability to exert weight or exert force in his body/leg movements. But really delicate fragile feet would explain it.

Def plays light on his feet, and has league leading standing reach, but if he can only play 40 games a season….

I do strongly feel like they should have kept him to roll the dice to put them over the top. But at the same time you don’t want to rely on a guy like that to stay healthy during a deep playoff run. But the question I would ask if it’s for this year only…doesn’t having Mark Williams increase their chances of a championship by a considerable amount? Even accounting for health risks.

[Axe]

They have to have seen something alarming from a long-term perspective but it would be hilarious if he ends up looking like the missing piece.
If the hornets pushed through with the trade, then it really shows how terrible they are as a franchise.

The mouthbreathing retard above you is an extremely flaming homosexual he couldn't get my d1ck outta his drooling mouth btw. Please give him the timeout he so deserves. Tia.