As the Los Angeles Lakers peruse the market this offseason for another center, there'll be some irony in the fact that Phoneix Suns center Mark Williams is a restricted free agent.
Williams, 24, is coming off the most productive season of his thus far 4-year NBA career, mostly due to his appearance in 60 games after averaging a sad 35.33 games played over his first three NBA seasons with the Charlotte Hornets (due to injuries).
Williams averaged 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the Suns in 2025-26, which equates to 17.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per 36 minutes -- a relevant point for teams that might be looking to sign Williams in free agency to be their starting center.
The Lakers, sadly, aren't likely to factor into Williams' free agency due to all of the baggage they've established with Williams after completely mucking up the process of trading for him (to put it nicely) in February 2025.
Lakers ticked off Mark Williams by trading for him and then changing their mind
Two days after it was announced that Williams had indeed been traded to the Lakers in exchange for Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish (as well as draft capital), the Lakers had the deal rescinded on account of a failed physical exam from Williams. What really happened -- according to multiple insiders -- is that the Lakers changed their mind on Williams at the eleventh hour (well, past it, actually). Williams wasn't happy about the ordeal (who would be?), and he hasn't tried to act differently about it in interviews since.
While the Lakers were probably wise to avoid trading for Williams at the time, it still stinks that they soured a productive player to their entire franchise (as well as Dalton Knecht, by the way, who had to go through the process of being "traded" and then sheepishly return to the Lakers bench once the deal was nixed).
But wait ... is a Mark Williams-Lakers trade (Part 2) possible?
Interestingly, not everyone feels that a Williams-Lakers union in the future is absolutely impossible. NBA insider Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, while acknowledging that the chances of Williams being open to a Lakers trade (again!) are quite slim, also left open the possibility that Williams might be "excited to go play with Luka at the end of the day ... [and] let bygones be bygones".
Ultimately, Williams still hasn't proven he can stay healthy for an extended period, which should be the prevailing narrative in all of this. A stress reaction in Williams' foot kept him out of the postseason this year, and while he didn't miss much (Phoenix was swept in the first round), it still would've been valuable for Williams to get a bit of playoff experience.
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