The Charlotte Hornets had a deal in place to trade Mark Williams for Dalton Knecht at the 2025 trade deadline. The Hornets were also going to get some solid future draft capital in the deal.
The trade did not pass because of a failed physical, though there's some controversy over just why Williams didn't pass and the Los Angeles Lakers ultimately backed out. For a long time, it was viewed as the Hornets being jilted by the NBA and a big-market team.
The Hornets still ended up trading Williams, instead sending him to the Phoenix Suns on draft night in 2025. The return was solid, and it gave them Liam McNeeley with the 29th pick. It felt like a solid win after everything that went down.
Now, though, it's clear the Hornets got the better end of that failed transaction, and it's not even close. The Lakers just waived Dalton Knecht, and that's surprising. This is a team without a lot of moveable assets, so waiving a young player without trading him for something speaks volumes.
Meanwhile, McNeeley is a similar player to Knecht, and so far, it looks like he might be both better and younger. The Hornets got the player they wanted, who is younger and on an upward trajectory. I recently covered how he can crack the rotation this year, and that's far better than Knecht's current outlook.
Maybe McNeeley, who was a fringe lottery pick and fell on draft night, wasn't the perfect pick there. Perhaps taking Ryan Kalkbrenner, Sion James (whom the Hornets did take shortly after in round two), or Maxime Raynaud might have been slightly better, but the back of that first round and the second round in 2025 are devoid of hits.
McNeeley's underlying metrics are good, and Knecht is a free agent. That alone should tell you that the Hornets are fortunate the Lakers backed out or that Williams wasn't healthy, whichever is actually the case.
The Hornets also have the opportunity to do something very funny now. It would require some roster maneuvering, but if they're intent on seeing what Knecht would look like in a Charlotte uniform, now's their chance. It wouldn't cost a thing to do it and make the Lakers look even sillier for this whole thing.
That's unlikely, but it's also unlikely that Charlotte will ever regret that trade not passing.
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