The Los Angeles Lakers sent shockwaves through the NBA by trading for superstar Luka Doncic just days before the trade deadline, only to follow it up with another surprise when they canceled a deal for 7-foot center Mark Williams shortly after.

For a brief moment, the Lakers seemed to strike a rare balance: bolstering their current roster for LeBron James while securing the franchise’s future. But that vision quickly unraveled, leaving the team in a new reality.

The Doncic trade, which cost the Lakers Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick, was finalized nearly a week before the Williams deal fell apart. The Lakers had agreed to send rookie Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish to the Charlotte Hornets for Williams, but the trade was voided after Williams failed the team’s physical exam.

Sources revealed to ESPN’s Shams Charania that the failure wasn’t due to his past back injury but rather other concerning health issues.

Now, with Knecht and Reddish set to return to the team, the Lakers face an awkward reunion and a roster that, as GM Rob Pelinka put it, still has “work to do.” The catch? The trade deadline has passed, and the team’s needs especially for LeBron’s immediate title hopes and Doncic’s long-term vision aren’t aligning as hoped.

Pelinka’s first major move with Doncic, who personally pushed for Williams, fell flat, leaving the Lakers with Jaxson Hayes as their starting center. Hayes, a young backup, is joined by Christian Wood (out with knee surgery) and two-way players Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III as the team’s only big men.

Williams, at 23, was seen as a perfect fit to grow alongside the 25-year-old Doncic while providing a physical presence for playoff matchups against teams like the Rockets, Grizzlies, Nuggets, and Thunder. But after a week of bold moves, the Lakers’ aggressive strategy became a partial misfire.

The team failed to fully satisfy Doncic, who will be a free agent in 2026, and missed a chance to maximize LeBron’s 22nd season by not landing the big man Pelinka admitted they needed. While keeping Knecht and a 2031 first-round pick felt like avoiding a risky deal, the Lakers now must pivot quickly to maintain momentum and manage fallout.

Before the Williams trade was agreed upon, there was internal debate within the Lakers about his value, given his injury history. Williams has missed nearly two-thirds of Charlotte’s games since 2022 due to various injuries.

Despite this, the Lakers’ revamped medical staff, led by Dr. Leroy Sims, felt confident after vetting his health. Coach JJ Redick, who connected with Williams through their Duke ties, and senior adviser Kurt Rambis also backed the move, believing in his potential. But new concerns emerged during the physical, forcing the team to reassess.

Pelinka made the trade partly to build goodwill with Doncic and address roster needs, but the cost Knecht and a first-round pick was steep compared to other deadline deals. The Lakers briefly considered other big men like Jericho Sims, but he was traded elsewhere.

The Hornets, meanwhile, claimed they only moved Williams after aggressive pursuit by the Lakers, framing the situation differently.

Now, the Lakers must repair their relationship with Knecht and address perceptions of front-office missteps. The market for centers has dried up, with players like Alex Len signing elsewhere.

The team could waive someone like Wood or Reddish to sign a buyout player, but for now, Hayes has stepped up, averaging solid numbers during a recent winning streak. Still, questions remain about his readiness for playoff pressure, especially without Davis.

Doncic and Hayes have a budding connection, with Hayes recalling past trade talks and expressing excitement about playing with Doncic. But how Doncic and James view Hayes will test their partnership, especially given James’ long-standing push for roster upgrades.

James, in his 22nd season, sees every playoff as his last shot at a fifth ring, while Doncic, eager to rebound from last year’s Finals loss, has more time but the Lakers need to keep him happy to secure his future.

The trade for Doncic was a bold move, and James, despite losing Davis, understood the business logic. Both stars have praised each other, but their differing timelines create tension the Lakers couldn’t fully resolve this deadline. In the high-stakes game of maintaining the Lakers’ legacy, every move matters.

Trading Davis, who wanted to play power forward alongside another big, was painful but sent him to a contender with a familiar coach and GM. For the Lakers, Doncic is the new face of the franchise, but keeping him long-term means navigating the same risks they faced when Dwight Howard left in 2013.

As Pacers coach Rick Carlisle put it, the Lakers are a “larger-than-life, legacy franchise,” and this wild string of events Doncic’s arrival, Williams’ failed trade, and the clash of timelines only adds to the drama.

The CHGO Bulls crew dives into Chicago’s tough 132-111 loss to the Golden State Warriors, where the Bulls squandered a 24-point lead. Everything seemed to be going their way until Steph Curry flipped the switch, dropping 24 of his 34 points in a scorching third-quarter performance.

The game also marked Jimmy Butler’s first appearance in a Warriors jersey, adding another layer of intrigue to the night. Despite the collapse, Bulls fans got their first glimpse of newcomers Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones in action.

On a more positive note, Coby White continued his impressive scoring stretch, providing a consistent spark for Chicago. Meanwhile, rookie Matas Buzelis remained aggressive in his second straight start, showing flashes of his potential. While the loss stung, there were still a few bright spots for Bulls fans to hold onto as the team looks to bounce back.

Brad Stevens is not the kind of guy to hit the panic button. In fact, he probably doesn’t even have one installed in his office. As the Celtics navigate an up-and-down start to 2025, the team’s President of Basketball Operations made it clear that he remains confident in his squad despite their inconsistencies.

Stevens, who rarely steps up to the podium, took some time on Thursday to address the team’s current state. While Celtics fans might be sweating over their team’s erratic performances, Stevens seems to have a much cooler outlook.

“Yeah, they were buoyed by some blowouts,” he joked when discussing the analytics behind Boston’s recent stretch. “I’m kidding.”

Well, maybe not entirely. Boston’s numbers have been a bit skewed by a few lopsided victories, and Stevens admitted that while they’ve had some close losses they probably should’ve won, they’ve also benefited from a handful of 30- to 40-point wins. The takeaway? This team is still very capable—on both ends of the court.

“It’s a long year,” he said. “We have played late and we hope to play late. We know that nothing’s given, but the reality is we also know there are going to be ups and downs and we can’t ride those.”

While the trade deadline came and went with little movement from Boston, the Celtics did make a subtle but important addition, bringing in veteran wing Torrey Craig through the buyout market. Still, their biggest challenge isn’t external, it’s internal. Boston has had moments of brilliance followed by inexplicable no-shows, like their recent blowout loss to the Mavericks, where they trailed by double digits from the start and never recovered.

A Season of Highs, Lows, and ‘Flip the Switch’ Debates

Just days before the Dallas debacle, the Celtics looked like they were finding their groove. They held off the Cavs in a gritty win and pulled off a 26-point comeback against the Sixers. Even Joe Mazzulla, who usually finds the positives in tough moments, had to challenge his starters at halftime in Philly, asking if they wanted to be benched. The response? One of Boston’s best halves of basketball this season.

Yet, inconsistency remains a concern. One night they’re suffocating an opponent defensively, and the next, they’re letting a shorthanded squad run them off the floor. Injuries have played a role Jrue Holiday’s lingering shoulder issue has kept him out, Kristaps Porzingis has been in and out of the lineup, and Sam Hauser has been fighting through a back issue. But there’s also an element of… let’s call it malaise.

“We’re second in the league in turnover percentage, and we’re top in two-point percentage, so the process is what we’ve done over the course of 45 games,” Mazzulla explained, reinforcing the idea that the journey matters more than any individual win or loss.

But let’s be real: Celtics fans have seen this movie before. The team’s reliance on “flipping the switch” has been a constant storyline in recent years. Can they turn it on when it matters most? That remains to be seen.

Stevens, for one, isn’t losing sleep over it. The front office didn’t make a big splash at the deadline, partly because their hands were tied financially, but mostly because they still believe in this group.

“In our situation, with our team this year, today was boring as hell,” Stevens said of the trade deadline. “There wasn’t gonna be anything going. The phones didn’t ring. We had already had any discussions that we were probably gonna have, and we just weren’t gonna do anything major because at the end of the day, even through our ups and downs over the last six weeks, what gives us our best chance of having a chance to win? That’s this group playing a little bit more like itself more of the time.”

And, of course, Stevens ever the pragmatist acknowledged that while the ups and downs can be frustrating, he’s still encouraged.

“I’m encouraged by where we’re headed with that and never really wavered with our belief in that,” he said. “But (we) ride the ups and downs like the rest of the fans and everybody else sometimes.”

With tough games against the Knicks, Heat, and Spurs looming before the All-Star break, Boston’s journey is far from over. If Stevens is right, though, this team still has what it takes to make a deep playoff run. And if he’s wrong? Well, that panic button might just make its way into his office after all.