James Worthy Saw the Writing on the Wall After Lakers Scrapped Mark Williams Trade.

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great James Worthy is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
James Worthy Saw the Writing on the Wall After Lakers Scrapped Mark Williams Trade
LOS ANGELES, CA – For NBA legends, the game often looks different from the broadcast booth or the analyst’s chair. They possess an innate understanding of team dynamics, championship ingredients, and the subtle cues that foretell success or failure. For Los Angeles Lakers icon James Worthy, the writing was on the wall for his beloved team’s 2024-25 playoff hopes the moment the highly anticipated trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams was rescinded.

Worthy, a revered figure within the Lakers organization and a prominent analyst for Spectrum SportsNet, didn’t mince words following the Lakers’ disappointing first-round playoff exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves. As reported by Yahoo Sports and Lakers Daily in late May 2025, Worthy expressed a sentiment that resonated deeply with many discerning fans: the Lakers’ inability to secure a crucial defensive anchor at center, particularly after the Mark Williams deal fell through, was a fatal flaw that ultimately doomed their championship aspirations for the season.

“When we did not get Mark Williams in that trade, I knew we could be successful throughout the regular season, but as you know and you’ve seen when you get with a team for seven games — look at what happened to Cleveland,” Worthy stated, as quoted by Spectrum SportsNet. “A lot of teams that are favored, it doesn’t always happen. I still don’t think the synergy was complete with Luka [Dončić].”

The Blockbuster and the Backtrack: Luka Dončić and Mark Williams

The 2024-25 season for the Lakers was undeniably transformative. The seismic acquisition of Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick fundamentally reshaped the franchise. It instantly re-opened a championship window and provided LeBron James with another elite, in-his-prime co-star. Dončić, with his prodigious scoring and playmaking, brought a new offensive dimension to the Lakers.

However, the departure of Anthony Davis, while necessary to land Dončić, created a glaring void: the absence of a starting-caliber center. Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ general manager, was quick to address this. Reports from multiple outlets confirmed that a deal was struck with the Charlotte Hornets to acquire young, athletic center Mark Williams, sending draft capital along with Cam Reddish and Dalton Knecht to Charlotte.

Williams, known for his rim protection, rebounding, and lob-threat capabilities, appeared to be the perfect fit alongside the playmaking brilliance of Dončić and James. He offered the vertical spacing and interior defense that Davis provided, albeit with a different offensive profile. This was the piece that many believed would solidify the Lakers’ frontcourt and make them formidable contenders.

But then, disaster struck. Issues revealed in Williams’ physical led the Lakers to get cold feet and, in an unprecedented move, rescind the trade. The deal was off. The Lakers were left with Jaxson Hayes as their only true seven-footer, a player who, while athletic, hadn’t consistently proven himself as a starting-caliber center.

Worthy’s Prescience: The Playoff Reality

For James Worthy, this rescinded trade wasn’t just a minor setback; it was a flashing red light. He understood that while a duo of LeBron James and Luka Dončić could navigate the regular season with offensive fireworks, the playoffs demand a different kind of physicality and defensive anchor, especially against the league’s elite big men.

“It was sad and disappointing,” Worthy reflected. “In the back of my mind, when we did not get Mark Williams in that trade, I knew we could be successful throughout the regular season, but as you know and you’ve seen when you get with a team for seven games — look at what happened to Cleveland. A lot of teams that are favored, it doesn’t always happen. I still don’t think the synergy was complete with Luka. There was a lot of things that were absent. And so it was just tough to see that they couldn’t advance after making it to the third seed. But that’s easy to do in the regular season, playoffs is where it is.”

Worthy’s analysis proved eerily accurate. The Lakers, despite securing the third seed in the highly competitive Western Conference with a 50-32 record, ultimately bowed out in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. The Timberwolves, boasting significant size with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, mercilessly exploited the Lakers’ lack of a true center. Jaxson Hayes averaged a meager 7.8 minutes per game across the four games he played in the series, highlighting the Lakers’ inability to match Minnesota’s interior presence.

The absence of a legitimate rim protector and rebounder was stark. Minnesota dominated the boards and consistently got to the paint, forcing the Lakers to play a smaller, more switchable defense that often got overwhelmed. This defensive deficiency, as Worthy foresaw, was simply too much to overcome in a best-of-seven series against a physically imposing opponent.

The Controversy of the Rescinded Trade

The decision to nix the Mark Williams trade was not without controversy. While the Lakers cited health concerns, Williams himself went on record to suggest that his physical wasn’t solely responsible for the deal falling through. This added a layer of intrigue to the situation. Williams, despite some injury history, had played in 44 games for the Hornets in the 2024-25 season, a career-high for him, and even suited up for several games in April, seemingly looking healthy.

For the Lakers, the rescinded trade left them scrambling. It not only deprived them of an immediate solution at center but also highlighted a potential over-cautiousness or misjudgment by the front office. In hindsight, playing out the season with Jaxson Hayes as the primary center option (or sometimes no traditional center at all, relying on small-ball lineups) seemed like an admission that their championship window for 2024-25 was effectively conceded.

Looking Ahead: The Urgent Need for a Center

James Worthy’s comments reinforce the Lakers’ undeniable top priority for the 2025 offseason: finding a starting-caliber center. General Manager Rob Pelinka himself publicly acknowledged this need, stating, “It’s very clear, and it was clear then and we spoke to it, that this team and this roster needs more size and needs a center position. That’s a very clear and obvious byproduct of trading potentially the best big in the league to Dallas to get a point guard.”

The Lakers’ pursuit of a defensive anchor for Luka Dončić and LeBron James is now paramount. As various reports suggest, they are actively looking at options in both free agency and the trade market. Names like Jakob Poeltl, Myles Turner, and even a renewed push for Jaren Jackson Jr. or Jarrett Allen have been floated as potential targets.

The challenge, as always for the Lakers, will be navigating their tight financial situation and limited draft capital. Trading for a top-tier center would likely require them to part with promising young players like Austin Reaves or Rui Hachimura, along with precious future draft picks.

The Bigger Picture: Synergy and the Future

Worthy’s insight about the “synergy” not being complete with Luka Dončić also provides valuable context. Integrating a superstar like Dončić, who is so ball-dominant and orchestrates the offense, takes time. Chemistry isn’t built overnight, especially when a major trade happens mid-season. The Lakers were trying to win now while also building for the future, a delicate balancing act that ultimately proved too difficult against the physicality of the Timberwolves.

While the 2024-25 season ended in disappointment, the foundation with Dončić and James is undeniably strong. Worthy’s critique isn’t about their talent, but about the crucial missing pieces. The Mark Williams trade, and its subsequent unraveling, laid bare the Lakers’ greatest vulnerability.

James Worthy, with his legendary perspective, simply saw what many others were reluctant to admit: without a true defensive center, even the combined brilliance of LeBron James and Luka Dončić would find the ceiling of their playoff potential lower than championship aspirations demand. His insights serve as a poignant reminder that in the unforgiving crucible of the NBA playoffs, even star power needs a complete and balanced roster to truly shine. The Lakers’ offseason will be defined by how they address this critical need that Worthy so clearly identified.