There is no doubt that the Phoenix Suns had an underwhelming trade deadline, especially when compared to the massive moves rival franchises ended up making. The Los Angeles Lakers were the big winners as they somehow managed to add Luka Doncic, although they weren't the only organization making moves.
Jimmy Butler - who the Suns pushed for weeks to try and land - ended up heading to the Golden State Warriors, while De'Aaron Fox has already made a positive impact in his new home with the San Antonio Spurs. All of this, while the biggest news out of Phoenix as the deadline approached was if they would move on from Kevin Durant.
The Lakers got one over late in the day on the Suns too.
That's because they phoned up the Charlotte Hornets - who the Suns had a pair of trades with in the last few weeks - and convinced them to part with center Mark Williams. This was surprising, given the Suns themselves had taken backup big Nick Richards off their hands for Josh Okogie, before dumping Jusuf Nurkic on them in the final hours before the deadline as well.
It is not just that the Lakers got an even better from the same franchise that the Suns had done a pair of deals with, although that fact alone does hurt. Williams is only 23-years-old and has all of the tools and the massive frame to be the athletic big that Doncic and LeBron James will need to mop up the defensive lapses they are sure to produce each night during the regular season.
Mark Williams, we can't wait to see you rep the Purple & Gold. pic.twitter.com/jXKpWXQ0bb
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 7, 2025
Williams though is injury-prone - and that is putting it lightly - and so had the Suns somehow gotten him instead, there's no telling how frequently he would have actually been on the court for them. Williams is the better big when compared to Richards, and he's also younger and has a lot more upside than his former teammate.
It is what the Lakers gave up to get him that really sticks in the throat however, as these are the addiitonal pieces that should have - at the very least - been included in the Doncic fleecing. Rookie Dalton Knecht heading to Charlotte in the deal after an encouraging start to life in the league, although he is already the same age as Williams.
The Hornets also got Cam Reddish - a player who doesn't look like he'll ever put it all together in the ways fans had hoped - plus a pick swap in 2030 and an unprotected first round pick in 2031. This is the same pick the Suns broke up and split into three in order to ship Nurkic to the same location, although the Lakers' version of this was surely less valuable given Doncic will likely still be there.
Even if all of that stuff had been packaged together with Anthony Davis and Max Christie for Doncic it still wouldn't have been enough, and yet the Lakers managed to get a starting center with that combination on top of Doncic. A fact may all the worse because it is the Lakers, who so often have gotten the rub of the green in these situations.
The Suns now stare into the stretch run of the regular season having jettisoned Nurkic, but with a center rotation that is still one player short of where they need it to be. Not that they don't have problems throughout their roster - Bradley Beal and his no-trade clause are still in town - but this was a disappointing ended to an underwhelming deadline for the organization.