At this point, no matter how the Charlotte Hornets try to slice and dice this, it doesn't appear that the deadline deal that would have made Mark Williams a Laker will go through.

So while in the short term, it leaves the Lakers thin in the middle, the failed trade may still have served another very important purpose. This from the always excellent Marc Stein, and his Substack:

"Yet there has been no tangible dismay from the Dončić camp about his new team walking away from the Williams deal. Sources told The Stein Line that Dončić, in his first discussion about roster construction with Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, told Pelinka that he understood it might take until the summer to make that addition ... and came away impressed by how swiftly the Lakers initially moved to try to address that void."

It remains to be seen whether the Lakers ultimately fill their center void more successfully in the offseason, whether by acquiring a player better than Williams, an equivalent at a lower price, or maybe just getting someone with a less risky health profile. Maybe Williams actually stays relatively healthy going forward. Nobody knows at this point. But for the Lakers to have already done some work in the goodwill department with their new superstar—a player who is expected to sign an extension in Los Angeles (if for no other reason than finances), but is by no means obligated—is important.

The Lakers have, for better or worse, made some big swings for their stars over the last few seasons. Williams was a high risk, high reward move done in part to impress Luka. Russell Westbrook was an comically bad idea done in part to service the franchise's history of star effery, but also to satisfy LeBron.

The actions may not be wise, but the Lakers can definitely say they try.

So far, so good when it comes to building a good relationship with Dončić.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get some benefit from the Williams non-trade, even if they don't get Williams.

SEGMENT 2: LeBron gets "energy" from Luka.

SEGMENT 3: Tier 2.5, baby!!!

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