It’s battle time! The Charlotte Hornets have challenged the Lakers’ failed physical assessment of 7-footer in center Mark Williams. Just three days being a Laker, Williams, who was to replace AD’s vacancy with the heavy price of a promising rookie Dalton Knecht, was deemed so unfit that the Lakers went as far as saying “We just couldn’t live with it.” The only contention? Williams’ back issues — which saw him miss 60% of Hornets games in the three seasons he’s played there — were ruled clear by the Lakers. That was enough to stir up a hornet’s nest!

Knecht was back on the bench on Tuesday, reportedly sullen. Meanwhile, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is all set to step into the issue. Per Shams Charania from ESPN, there will be a “mock trial” to have both teams present their cases. His colleague Dave McMenamin too has shed some light on it, suggesting that there isn’t much precedent for this. If the past is anything to go by, this 1987 use case of an NBA trade involving guard Jim Paxson of the Portland Trailblazers to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forward Keith Lee stands as a testament to how this trial is going to go for the Hornets:

• June 22: Portland and Cleveland had a successful draft-day trade. Paxson’s initial reaction to the trade, in fact, was no less than a sigh of relief, “I’m looking at this as a very positive thing for me. I’m happy that a team wants me to come and play for them.”
• June 30: Lee arrived in Portland to get started with the routine procedure, the first of which was a physical examination. Regardless, Lee was positive when he said, “I’ve got a new life now. I’m happy I’m in Portland. I was ready to get out of Cleveland. Things weren’t going well for me.”
• July 3: Trailblazers’ physician, Dr. Robert Cook, flagged Lee’s knees as “a high risk” after the physical. Cook’s exact words? “He may prove me wrong and play 20 years in the league. But I think it’s very thin ice.” The doc’s advice to the team was, “the probability is for very significant knee problems.”
• July 6: Portland’s then-VP Bucky Buckwalter abided by the doctor’s recommendation and timely dialed in to inform the league that they’d like to rescind the trade.
• July 22: NBA Commissioner David Stern held an 11-hour hearing in New York.
• August 18: Stern voided the trade, agreeing to Portland’s contention that “a trade is made subject to a player passing his physical.”

Much like the real court of law, the veteran analyst cited Paxson-Lee sage to predict the outcome. “Back in the late 80s the Portland Trailblazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers had a similar situation. Ultimately David Stern was the one with the gavel, and he determined that the ‘Blazers were unsatisfied with the player they received. And who are we to go against what the doctor’s recommendation is.’

“So, the precedent will be on the Lakers side to have this rescinded trade stand. But that is the process the Hornets are currently undergoing and we will have Adam Silver in that chair,” said the 42-year-old.

Dalton Knecht’s agent refuses to entertain media questions

It was Feb 5, and Dalton Knecht had arrived at the Lakers’ practice facility as routine. Just three free throws in, he was called into the office of the Lakers VP of basketball operations and GM Rob Pelinka. “It was hard. I got drafted here, so L.A. means a lot.” Blows, right? But Knecht here made his peace with it, moved to Charlotte, got introduced to the team, and then flew out to Detroit to what would have been his ‘debut game.’ He gets a call. It was Pelinka, and he said, “You’re coming back.”

Now that he’s back in LA, with all the commotion ongoing, the 23-year-old was finally settling in, “I get it’s a business, so at the end of the day, I told them let’s just go play basketball,” Knecht said. Knecht was welcomed back to the facility with open arms, with some of his teammates even jokingly referring to his first game back as his “debut” game again. Meanwhile, Dave McMenamin tried reaching out to his Knecht’s agent. 

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Top Comment by Robert1162

No he needs to stay focused and work harder and earn a starting position

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Debate

The Lakers will still need to figure out their center position. Obviously, with the trade rescinded and the prospects of the trial going the Lakers’ way comparatively higher than the Hornets, the Lakers will find it hard to find someone like Williams to really impact their game. So, what does that leave the Lakers with? A disappointed rookie at the least, for sure.