The Los Angeles Lakers made headlines ahead of the 2025 NBA trade deadline with a proposed trade that would have sent Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and a 2031 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for center Mark Williams. However, shortly after the agreement, the Lakers decided to cancel the deal after the Hornets failed to meet one of the set conditions.
During the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the situation. The commissioner revealed that the Hornets had not challenged the rescinded trade.
“The answer to your first question is no, Charlotte has not filed a protest of any kind. I think that the larger issue reflected in your question in the day and age of sports science is, is there a different standard of sorts we should be applying in terms of players?” Silver said.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the Charlotte Hornets have not challenged the rescinded trade that had sent Mark Williams to the Lakers and Dalton Knecht to the Hornets. pic.twitter.com/H17GnMhNXp
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“You know, passing physicals and trades, and it’s something we should look at as a league. I would say this issue does not come up that often; I can’t even remember and sort of certainty. I don’t think in my tenure a trade has ever there’s ever been a challenge,” he added.
Matt Barnes Slams Hornets Over Rescinded Mark Williams Trade
After their failed trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, former NBA player Matt Barnes did not hold back in his criticism of the Charlotte Hornets. On the latest episode of the All the Smoke podcast, Barnes blasted the Hornets for attempting to trade Mark Williams without properly addressing his injury concerns.
“What a piece of sh*t move by the Hornets. You knew what the deal was, and you tried to pull a fast one. This isn’t a knock on the players at all, but I was already thinking that the Hornets were such a bad organization, and this kind of shines a spotlight on that,” Matt said.
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Williams has struggled with injuries throughout the season and has been a major disappointment for the Hornets. He has only played 23 games so far and has missed the team’s last four matchups due to injury. Despite his limited availability, he has averaged 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
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