Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Mark Williams Scouting Report: How Will the New Lakers Center Fit in?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Lakers trade, Dalton Connect and draft assets for a 23-year-old center in Mark Williams. They are hoping he is there big of the future. Is that possible? We will find out in a Mark Williams scouting report coming up next. You are Locked-on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. And thanks to everyone for making Locked-on. Lakers, your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, always free, never behind a paywall.

Starting point is 00:00:40 And Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where a community of 30,000 plus subscribers, very active, very fun, very smart, very increasingly Slovenian and Spanish. They're all hanging out, leaving comments, questions. We try to implement all of your thoughts into the show. So as always, thank you very much for the engagement. Wednesday night, the Lakers make another move on the heels of the Luca Dantzich blockbuster. The Lakers traded Dalton Connect, Cam Reddish, an unprotected first round pick in 2013 and a 2030 pick swap with the Charlotte Hornets for Young Center, Mark Williams. As Brian and I explained in our immediate reaction show earlier Thursday, we didn't even think Mark Williams would be available. so he is not somebody that we had even been thinking about as a possibility for the Lakers,

Starting point is 00:01:36 obviously needing a center. He is very big. He's athletic. He is bouncy. He has been often injured. A lot of potential with Mark Williams. I think a lot of question marks, some risk, though, some possibility for high rewards. I have questions for Doug Branson, the co-host of Locked on Hornets.

Starting point is 00:01:54 Also the traffic cop of the midday locked on NBA Daily show, having to rein in the likes of Matt Moore and Hayes. Doug, how are you, man? I'm good. It's an exciting day. We're going to go live on Locked on NBA in like, an hour and a half. No, actually half an hour. So I'm excited.

Starting point is 00:02:12 Let me get you the hell out of here. All right. So I'll begin with this. I heard you say on today's Locked on Hornets when you and Walker Mel were reacting to the deal. You described Mark Williams as polarizing. What makes him polarizing? Well, I think there, we have to decide

Starting point is 00:02:31 what Mark Williams were going to talk about. Are we going to talk about the Mark Williams that the Hornets drafted and played before getting injured who looked like a super mobile big that could guard out on the perimeter that was blocking shots all over the place that could really run the floor like a gazelle and even had us thinking with a high free throw shooting percentage that he could extend his range to at least the mid range and maybe even someday become a three-point shooter? Are we going to talk about that, Mark Williams? Exactly. are we going to talk about the Mark Williams that we've seen post thumb, back, and now foot injury, and particularly the Mark Williams that we've seen over the past couple of weeks,

Starting point is 00:03:11 who has looked slow, who has looked plotting, who has been mistiming a lot of his block shots, who has been struggling to get up and down the floor, struggling to rebound, struggling to go up against bigs like Jonas Valenchunis and guard them at all, who has been sagging way off of Brooke Lopez and allowed him to score for three-pointers within the first couple of minutes of a first quarter. So which Mark Williams are we going to talk about? Which one did we just trade? I think that's going to sort of be the hinge point on how we evaluate this trade a few

Starting point is 00:03:44 years from now. Well, I think you and I ultimately, at least over the next 15 or so minutes, we're going to try to talk about both. The Lakers have sourced that and then put out in reports that they are confident that Williams' back issues are no longer lingering concern. the thumb, the foot. He began this season, I correct with a foot injury. But since then he's been on the court.

Starting point is 00:04:07 He's averaging about 16 points, 10 rebounds since that return. You got into it a little bit. But where do you think he's at physically right now? So what I think is interesting is the collision between the Hornets slowly putting weight on Mark Williams. and Mark, I mean, Mark Williams has some agency on that. He decided he needed to put some more weight on his body as well to bang inside with some of the bigger bigs in the league. The coinciding of that with the recovery from the back injury, with the recovery from the foot injury. And I think you're seeing a Mark Williams that has gotten bigger, but maybe not fitter. And a Mark Williams that I think

Starting point is 00:04:53 has never, I mean, even when he first entered the league, has never shown a particular edge or a physicality that I think many Hornets fans were hoping he would show and hoping that he would develop if he put a little bit more weight on, right? Hey, I trust my body now. I'm big enough to go up against some of these bigger guys. And so now I'm going to turn into that. That hasn't happened this season. He is not a physical big on the interior really at all. He gets pushed around at will. And I think what was most disappointing over the past couple of weeks is seeing his effort start to drop a little bit. Was that the injury to Lamello ball? He wasn't getting as involved in as much offensively because so many of the playmakers for the Hornets right now are hurt. Was that part of it? Was it,

Starting point is 00:05:39 hey, I don't trust my body as much anymore. I'm different physically. I think we might hear more about that as he gives interviews in L.A. talking about his time in Charlotte. But one thing I know for sure is that over the past couple of weeks, we saw a different, extremely less effective Mark Williams that we saw pre-injury. It's interesting you bring this up because Anthony Davis has gone through I don't know about radically different versions of his body, but certainly more bulked up or slimed down depending on what the asks might be in terms of physicality in the middle, what you're looking for from him. And there have also been times where he hasn't necessarily looked quite as comfortable

Starting point is 00:06:25 with the new version of the body or at the least it's taken some time to getting used to. You know, in some respects, these guys are who they are physically. And it doesn't mean that you can't pick up new traits or improve new things. Like, you know, Powell Gasol became a more physical player over his time with the Lakers. But it took a second, I think for him to really, trust that part of, you know, that new addition to his game and approach. So it'll be interesting to see where that goes with Mark Williams. Yeah, the good news for Lakers fans is that he's going to a team with two of the best playmakers on the planet. And two players that will command a lot of

Starting point is 00:07:07 attention from opposing defenses, leaving him even more. I mean, he was able to do some pretty incredible things with very little space inside the paint. Like one of the things I always commended Mark Williams on from the moment that he stepped on the floor with the Charlotte Hornets was that he rarely makes mistakes once he gets the ball in his hands and he gets near the restricted area. I think part of the problems we've seen this year is that he's being pushed outside of the restricted area because there's less space because the Hornets don't have that gravity. They don't have that they don't have those playmakers right now on the floor. So that's going to change.

Starting point is 00:07:39 So offensively, I think you're going to see a more consistent Mark Williams than we've seen over the past couple of weeks. I think the big concern, though, still is defense, is physicality, is his ability to decide what kind of defender he's going to be on the fly. And, you know, I think that's what he struggled with over the past couple of weeks. And I definitely want to touch on the defense. But I want to stay on the offense for a second. What are the strengths that are there for him? You hear about finishing lobs. You talked about that's his comfort zone inside the lane. What are the things that he's good at. Yeah, for sure. He's a good screen setter. It's a great screen setter. And he, he's very effective. There's

Starting point is 00:08:20 an economy of movement in his role game that's going to be, again, he's going to get set up really well by the playmakers, by Luca, by LeBron. And once he gets the ball, he's got good hands. Once he gets the ball in his hands, again, I think he makes very competent moves. He's not a huge turnover guy underneath the basket, or at least he hasn't been traditionally. So I think those, again, decent free throw shooter to good free throw shooter. So when he does get fouled, you can count on him there. He's not awful. So does it, does that portends sometime in the next couple of years that he could extend his range a little bit, perhaps?

Starting point is 00:08:58 But I think the role game is the obvious thing for Mark Williams. He's very effective when he gets a little space going towards the rim. In the half court, I think he's going to catch lobs. But right now, I think transition-wise, I mean, what surprised me most of the people, past couple of weeks with him that I didn't see prior to these injuries and prior to the way it being put on is when he switches from offense to defense, how long it takes him to make that switch and get up the floor. So I question, are there going to be like transition lobs? I'm not sure. But half court, yeah, absolutely. He's going to be, he can still get up off the floor. He's going to put himself into

Starting point is 00:09:36 position for those finishes. Yeah, I imagine that the Lakers are picturing, hoping for envisioning, a type of relationship on court that Luca had with Derek lively. Like they're going to be looking to try to recreate that with Mark Williams, just the big finishing target, rim running, like lively, good hands. I've also noticed too, both from what I'm reading and just looking at the numbers, it seems like Mark Williams is a pretty good passer. Like he's got a pretty good feel for two and a half assists per game, given from that position,

Starting point is 00:10:11 given that he's only played about a season's, regular season's worth of games, unfortunately, because of injuries, that seems like something that could be a potential strength for him. I think potential is the key word there, because, yes, he can catch a pass at the nail, and he can identify, hey, I've got a lane here to the corner, and he can hit that pass.

Starting point is 00:10:33 Has he gotten that much opportunity to do that in Charlotte? Because, again, a number of factors, injuries, a lot of young players, new coach. He's gone through a couple of offenses now. Has he always has he, is there an abundance of tape on that? I would say no, but absolutely the potential is there. I want to take a quick moment to let you know that Lockdown Lakers is brought to you by prize picks basketball season is to say the least heating up. No better way to get real money action while you are watching your favorite NBA stars than with prize picks. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love some friendly competition,

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Starting point is 00:13:15 Those are all pretty strong. That work around the glass, how much has it been helpful for the Hornets because they haven't been winning a lot of games, but how much utility do you see there? I think it's inconsistent. I think it's matchup based. I think when he's up against less physical centers who are not commanding the post or who want to stretch out, I think there are going to be more opportunities for him to eat boards. when the opposite is the case, you know, you're going to get some three rebound games.

Starting point is 00:13:44 You're going to go, like, how did all my forwards out rebound Mark Williams? How did my guards out rebound Mark Williams in a game? That's happened for the Hornets. So, you know, I think that's where we get into the sort of physicality. This is where we get into the, is he the kind of guy that immediately goes, I'm going to hit first. I'm going to get my advantage. Not necessarily. And he's never been that guy. You even go back to the Duke tape. And he has a nickname. And I don't. don't know if this carried over from college, but it's something that I've heard Eric Collins, the analyst for the Hornets, call him a lot. And it's the Condor because he's got these,

Starting point is 00:14:19 it's huge wingspan. He's got a crazy standing reach. He's got these incredibly long arms. And he's used those for a long time to his advantage. And I've always wondered, has that become a crutch for him? Like, hey, I can always kind of, you know, reach up and grab stuff that other players can't. And so he doesn't position himself. well enough sometimes, particularly against bigs that are ready for that and say, no, I'm going to hit you first. I'm going to knock you out and he can get pushed around there. And so, and then you sort of, if that happens early in a game and he's not involved like he likes to be offensively, then I think that's where the effort comes in. That's, that's where I think sometimes he shuts down a little bit and

Starting point is 00:15:00 you go, okay, he's completely disappeared as a rebounder, as a force down low. And that's where the struggles have come in. Now, again, put them around LeBron, put them around Luca, get them more involved offensively, and maybe he gets under a different system and reforms the body. I'm open to all of that changing. I just did not envision that changing in Charlotte, which is why I think the Hornets were savvy to go ahead and cash in now before they had to make the extension. You know what? I was going to ask about the defense right now, but I also wanted to ask about the potential for new surroundings, bringing out. something better in Mark Williams. I just want to ask you about that because I saw this with

Starting point is 00:15:41 Malik Monk and the Lakers post Hornets a few years ago. Like Malik has completely reinvented his career. And it was pretty obvious. He was unhappy in Charlotte. There are a variety of reasons. Some of which Malik has admitted were his own doing. But he needed a different setting like Rui Hachamura has become a much different better player leaving the Wizards. Conversely, Kyle Kuzma has become a less enthusiastic, I think worst player going from the Lakers to the Wizards. Like it's difficult to be around that much losing in the case of the Hornets, you know, organizational turmoil, things like that. How much do you think Williams could potentially at least benefit?

Starting point is 00:16:23 Or did you ever sense the weight of this was dragging him down? And even if you want to say it's on him to be more professional, just the idea of he needs a change of setting. Well, I'm always a big believer in scenery changes, and the Hornets have been the beneficiary of that occasionally. They brought Jeremy Lamb over in a situation where Lamb was just on the final reaches of like, I'm about to fall out of the league. But here's the difference. He got to a Hornets organization that had Kimball Walker, that had Marvin Williams, that sat him down and said, dude, hit the ice tub and get your diet right, and you'll be a player for this team.

Starting point is 00:17:00 And if not, you're going to be out of the league, right? the problem with Malik Monk and some of the other players that have filtered through the organization post that era of Hornets basketball is that there hasn't been that veteran leadership because they got young and they stayed young and they didn't go out and get those veterans that could tutor those young guys and the organization under Michael Jordan's leadership and under the general management that they had there were they were not as invested in the in the personal success of players and in the success of the team okay so There's a danger here in taking that narrative and applying it to anything that happens post that because there's a new ownership group that I think is invested in winning. They completely remade not just the training staff, but they got a whole new medical staff that was focusing on certain guys strengths. They've got mental health people that they didn't have before and they're spending money on the team. And then Jeff Peterson brings in Charles Lee and all Charles Lee as a head coach has preached is effort. give me everything you got on every single possession, and they've brought players in that represent that, whether it's Musa Diabate, who has been backing up Mark Williams or Josh Akogi or Trey Mann,

Starting point is 00:18:12 all these players embody that idea. And so if Mark Williams didn't respond to that, I think there's a question there of like, why not? Was it the injuries? Was it the weight? Was it the not trusting the body? Was it the not being in? involved offensively? What was it? And because it's not the same Mark Williams over the past three weeks. So that's what I say. But again, change of scenery, maybe that all changes. You're playing with LeBron James. You're playing with Luca Donchitz. You're playing on national television. A lot of eyeballs on you now. Maybe he responds to that pressure in a way that he didn't in Charlotte. I'm open-minded to all of that. But I don't think that it was going to change in Charlotte.

Starting point is 00:18:53 defensively the general consensus is that mark williams is to put it generously a work in progress what from what you've seen is it a lack of effort a lack of understanding schemes a little bit from column a little bit from column b like what what was holding him back defensively no i don't he's a very smart player and he was praised he's been praised by two coaches now and steve clifford and Charles Lee for his basketball IQ. He understands where he's supposed to be. He's rarely caught out of position. He's just too often caught, I think, a little bit physically outmatched.

Starting point is 00:19:38 He's too often caught not out of position because he doesn't know where to be, out of position because he's being pushed out of position. And I think lately he's been laid on help. And again, I just wonder, like, what's going on there? Is it the reaction time down? Is it an effort question? I think these are all great questions when you go back and look at the tape because it is a different Mark Williams over the path.

Starting point is 00:20:01 And it doesn't matter whether he's scoring like 20 and 11 or whether he's putting together an eight and five game. Like defensively, I think there are a lot of the same problems, which is that if he's going up against a physical big, he's going to get pushed around. if he's going up against a big that stretches, now he's much less inclined to get out onto that big quick enough

Starting point is 00:20:27 or stay out on that big. So they had a game against Milwaukee, so you're going up against Brooke Lopez. You know he's a shooter. You're occasionally going up against Bobby Portis. You know he can shoot. And too often I was seeing Mark Williams be, you know, with those guys stretched out to the three,

Starting point is 00:20:42 he was standing at the elbow. Okay? And what does that say to me? That says to me like, I don't, if I go out a little bit further than this, they're going to drive by me. Right. And I'm not going to be able to stop it. And so that's, you know, that was not, that, that was not, Mark Williams early on was blocking

Starting point is 00:20:59 Trey Young three point shots. Right. Like we were marveling at his ability to switch, which they did a lot of early on with Mark. Mark, when he was under Steve Clifford's coaching, they were constantly switching. He was going up to the level of the screen. He was doing all that stuff. And if you look at his tape this season, what do you see?

Starting point is 00:21:15 You see all drop coverage. I don't think Charles Lee was doing that because he wanted to do that. I think he was doing that because there was a little bit of necessity of doing that. So those are things that are all going to have to work themselves out in L.A. and they may have to adjust their strategy around that. It's interesting that you say that. In real time, I'm thinking about how JJ has often used Jackson Hayes as a guy switching out in space, which I think he is better at than protecting the lane.

Starting point is 00:21:47 As much as there are times when you've needed somebody who can protect the lane, it can be better just to play to somebody's strengths. I think Jackson's pretty quick on his feet and better at that than some of the physical necessities of guarding the lane. So it'll be interesting to see how JJ implements this. Last question for you, do you think this is worth the risk from the Lakers perspective? it. Like, you know, I've said before, it's kind of a, you know, they didn't give up the farm for Mark Williams, but they didn't give up nothing either. Dalton Connect, I think, has very high potential in the league, the first round pick, the swap. There's high risk and the hope for high reward.

Starting point is 00:22:29 Do you think it's worth it? That's a really tough question. I mean, when you're talking about a back injury and a foot injury for a big, and I know you said that they're confident in the medicals. He doesn't have a injury history prior to that. I think that's the one thing you can kind of lean on. He's not an historically injured player in college or in high school. And I think, too, like think about that. Think about what kind of shock that does to the system. Grant Williams, also plays with Charlotte Hornets. He tore his ACL, first injury he's ever had. What does that do to a guy? When you've been able to make it through high school and college and dominate and not deal with any of the injuries that you're constantly seeing players have to deal with at those levels. And you finally get to

Starting point is 00:23:14 the NBA and then boom, back gives out. Boom, foot gives out. Like that's got to, that's got to do something. I don't know what, but it's got to do something. So one wonders about that too. But in terms of the risk, you know, he's a young player and there are a lot of things that are eye popping about him physically that, yeah, if he gets, if he gets, you know, under the right tutelage, if he starts playing with veterans and say, hey, maybe you should be doing this with your body. Maybe you should pick a lane, you know, I think that absolutely, you know, there's plenty of promise left in Mark Williams' career, but there are serious question marks as well. He is Doug Branson. He's the co-host of Locked on Hornets. Again, the traffic cop of the midday, Locked on NBA Daily show, which you should

Starting point is 00:23:59 be checking out part of just the wall-to-wall coverage we have at the Locked on Network of the NBA. Appreciate the time, man. you very much. Thank you. And obviously we will be back later on tonight after Lakers Warriors. We'll keep you updated if the Lakers, by the time you see this, the trade deadline may be over, but if anything pops up, we will let you know. Until then, thank you very much for watching.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Mark Williams Scouting Report: How Will the New Lakers Center Fit in?

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