Mar 25, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) warms up before the game against the Orlando Magic at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

Mark Williams mock trade: Hornets link up with Magic for young player swap

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated May 7, 2025 8:52 AM ET

If the Charlotte Hornets are going to try trading Mark Williams again, there will probably be plenty of suitors. While his value might've dropped a bit from the trade saga this year, he proved he was healthy and played at a pretty high level, so some teams could absolutely use him.

The Orlando Magic make a ton of sense. Their center depth chart is fairly deep, but Williams is better than both Mo Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr., and he's taller than both of them as well. Plus, after posting the fourth-worst offensive rating in the entire NBA, they need more scoring.

Williams, a poor defender, would be a good addition that lowers their defense but significantly raises their offense. And who knows, maybe Williams can be a better defender in a better system with good perimeter defenders like in Orlando.

In this deal, the Hornets would send Williams and a 2031 second-round pick (Charlotte's own) for Anthony Black and a bevy of second-round picks. Black is a decent, young player, but he's not on Williams' level. The Magic would send their 2026 and 2027 second-round picks as well as Washington's 2028 and New Orleans' 2030 second-rounders.

This gives the Magic some much-needed offense, and it gives the Hornets a young shooting guard, which is what they need. The Hornets do get worse in this trade, but that's why the Magic, who have a ton of second-round picks, can afford to send a boatload of them to Charlotte.

And while it may not be all that realistic for the Hornets to go back to the well, the Los Angeles Lakers remain the contending team most in need of a true center. That was one of their undoings in the playoffs, so it makes sense that they would benefit from Williams even if they claim his health is too bad to take on. For the sake of argument, let's say that they've had a change of heart.

In that case, the Lakers still need a center more than most, but the return would certainly not be Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and a future first-round pick. Instead, they'd yield Knecht, a 2030 first-round pick, and Shake Milton.

The Hornets would have to send a bevy of second-round picks to LA to entice them: Golden State's 2026, Phoenix's 2029, Denver's 2031, and New York's 2031. Those should all be fairly late in the second round, but it's a haul of picks to convince the Lakers to take Williams' health on and give a familiar but slightly watered-down package to Charlotte. It's unlikely that Jeff Peterson will even call Rob Pelinka after what the Lakers did, but this is purely hypothetical.