There’s not a lot of qualms about the Los Angeles Lakers’ moves at the NBA trade deadline. In fact, they were arguably the biggest winners coming out of it.

They answered concerns about their future by bringing in Luka Doncic. Moreover, they fortified his acquisition by trading for a 23-year-old athletic center, Mark Williams.

Although the acquisition of Williams was motivated by the departure of Anthony Davis and Luka’s request for a lob threat, this has to be the biggest risk the Lakers made at the deadline.

While a lot of critics and fans took delight in the acquisition of the 7-foot center, it might also be the biggest mistake the Lakers made given that they gave up too much for him.

Mark Williams’ injury-riddled history

The biggest concern about the acquisition of Williams is his injury history. Williams has been in the NBA for three seasons.

Thus far, he has only suited up for 85 games, which isn’t a good sign by any means. Early on, Williams endured several ankle injuries, a lower back contusion, and more. A lot of basketball fans will claim that big men are often injured.

However, given that his availability for the Lakers will be suspect, it is a legitimate cause for concern.

For instance, let’s not forget how the Lakers struggled mightily whenever the team lost Davis to injury.

Having another injury-riddled center to replace another doesn’t fix Los Angeles’ need for a big man.

In fact, a hole in the center position will probably be felt once again, especially when the team battles against Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.

Williams has already missed a huge chunk of games for the Charlotte Hornets this year. Prior to the trade, he failed to suit up in the 25 games.

With his injury history, it’s safe to say that the pressure is on the Lakers’ coaching and training staff to monitor his health.

This will probably require an intense load management regimen for a brittle big man like Williams if they want to keep him for the games that matter the most.

In the process, keeping Williams in limited spurts should also mean more responsibilities for backup big men like Jaxon Hayes, Maxi Kleber, Christian Koloko, and Trey Jemison III to provide the team’s frontcourt needs.

While Hayes has been reliable as of late, he’s not exactly stable enough to handle the best centers in the league. On the other hand, Koloko and Jemison still need to convince everyone that they deserve more minutes on the floor.

Kleber was also an acquisition from the Luka-AD swap.

While his size and floor spacing are tremendous upsides, his nagging injuries capped off by a broken foot add more burden to the Lakers’ frontcourt.

Aside from Kleber, the team is already enduring the absence of Christian Wood. The Lakers better hope they got a healthier version of Williams to make the trade worth it.

The defensive ghost of Anthony Davis

Even before the start of the 2024-25 season, the Lakers were already in the market for a big. It stems from the request of AD, so he can slide down to the four.

It certainly made sense, given that Davis was the lone reliable center who can bang against the best big men in the league. But with his departure, the Lakers had a clear hole in the middle.

Due to the limited options left on the trade market, the addition of Williams is theoretically what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, that probably covers more on the offensive side rather than the defense end.

Williams’ 7-foot frame and 9-foot-9 standing reach, which is the longest in the NBA, should be a massive presence for the Lakers down low. He should also provide the Lakers’ needs offensively whether as a lob threat or in pick-and-roll situations.

He is averaging a career-high 15.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the season. However, it’s a completely different story on defense.

This year saw the Lakers’ new center struggle to cover big men who are stronger and more athletic.

For instance, when he faced off against former Laker in Davis, the latter went off for 42 points and 23 rebounds. In a clash against the Chicago Bulls, Williams also failed to contain center Nikola Vucevic, who exploded for 40 points.

For the 2024-25 season, Williams is averaging a career-high 1.2 blocks per game. Although we know he can block shots from time to time, Williams has to improve in handling the physicality that comes with battling against premier centers.

On the bright side, he’s still young at 23 years old, leaving plenty of room for development for as long as he stays away from injuries.

Lakers lose flexibility

Another knock in the Williams exchange is how much assets the Lakers gave up.

In comparison with the Luka trade, the Lakers only sacrificed one 2029 first-round draft pick, along with Davis and Max Christie. On the other hand, the Purple and Gold pretty much gave up a lot of their future assets to land Williams by shipping out blue-chip rookie Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish to go along with a 2030 first-round swap and a 2031 first-round draft pick.

It’s safe to say that having assets of continuity like Luka and Williams convinced the Lakers to pull the trigger. But in the process, the Lakers also lost a lot of flexibility. With limited assets to work with, the team might encounter some problems in the future if they want to make some roster upgrades.