Lakers’ Massive Mark Williams -Error will repeat old Anthony Davis problems

Los Angeles Lakers just made another trade in the eyes of the future. According to Shams Charania from ESPN, Lakers has acquired Mark Williams in a trade with Charlotte Hornets that has sent Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, their 2031 election of the first round and a 2030 first round pick swap. They now have their Post-Anthony Davis Center of the Future.

Williams has been great for Hornets this season, an average of 16.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per day. Fight in 22 appearances. Charlotte takes a chance at Knecht on the wing, and the capitalized at Laker’s need for a center to pair with Luka Doncic.

And Williams is a big get. But LA made a crucial mistake.

Mark William’s injury history will bring Anthony Davis problems again – but worse

In their hurry to give Doncic a lob threat traded lakers for a center that has played in 84 games since its Rookie season campaign 2022-23. This means he only appeared in 84 of the 212 possible games he could have played in. That’s 39.6%.

To reference (and a currentAt it) Davis played in 312 of possible 437 season matches he could have played in since he joined the team ahead of the 2019-202 season. It’s 71.4%.

Lakers fans spent plenty of time criticizing Davis’ ability to stay on the field, and now they have a center that has been able to stay healthy far less than he did. That’s not good.

In just 23 years old, William’s has plenty of time to turn his career around and start a journey into consistent health. However, he is treated with uniform ankle problems, and everything from thumb to back disorders has quit his playing career on top of that.

But Williams’ Damage History Is not where Lakers’ trading mistakes start and end. It gets worse for LA.

Lakers gave up their first rounds in 2031 in the agreement (unprotected). It was the last little true draft of capital they had left for trade, which means they just made a huge effort on Williams and his ability to be healthy enough to help them on the field. They even gave up a picking exchange.

Again, Williams is a phenomenal talent. He is the exact type of player that Lakers would want to pair with Doncic, and he can play an eerie similar role as the one Dereck Lively II, played at Dallas Mavericks next to Doncic.

But he just has never been healthy. It is a huge risk that can come back to haunting Lakers if Williams’ injury problems continue.