"Dodged 2 Huge Bullets With him and DFS": Lakers Fans Hail Rob Pelinka's Genius as Mark Williams Enters Injury Management after 2 Games

Last season, Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams was slated to join the LA Lakers in the wake of the Luka Doncic deal. However, the Lakers ended up failing Williams in his physical test, which meant that the seven-foot big man would not be joining the purple and gold squad.

This early in the 2025-26 season, Williams (who has since moved to the Phoenix Suns) has been placed under injury management. On social media, Lakers fans breathed a collective sigh of relief and praised the team's GM Rob Pelinka for nixing the Williams deal. Even Dorian Finney-Smith, who played for the Lakers last season, caught a stray in this online discourse.

"We dodged 2 huge bullets with him and dfs," one fan tweeted.

Rossman12

@LakerCityLive

We dodged 2 huge bullets with him and dfs

Ledomniayton

@bigant9871

So glad Rob ain’t Neva take this

NathanMark

@TheNathanMark20

The bro is having to rest and it's game 2 😆 thank God we didn't trade for him.

Other fans, meanwhile, managed to see the bright side of this situation.

"I dont think any of y’all are reading this right he’s not out because hes injured," one fan pointed out. "they just don’t want him playing back to back because of his past injuries so they trying to get him comfortable again for the games"

MagicMike

@riveramichael13

I dont think any of y’all are reading this right he’s not out because hes injured they just don’t want him playing back to back because of his past injuries so they trying to get him comfortable again for the games

Daniel M.

@d_metz13

At least it’s right knee management. We expected this and not an actual re-injury. Good on Suns not trying to risk him with a re-injury.

Remigio Cordero

@RemigioCordero1

Let him work himself back to full strength. Time to get Maluach some real game time experience

Since entering the league in 2022, Williams has been hampered by foot, knee, and back injuries. The most that he's played in a single season was 44 games in the 2024-25 campaign.

When Williams has been available over the past two seasons, he has produced solid numbers. Last year, Williams averaged 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game.

Now, Suns fans will have to display the same type of patience shown by the Hornets fanbase as they waited on the seven-foot center to fulfill his potential.

"Continue to build up his strength": Suns HC explains why Mark Williams was listed as unavailable for matchup vs Nuggets

On Saturday, Suns head coach Jordan Ott explained why Williams was not slated to play against the Nuggets.

"Continue to build up his strength. We started with 3 games in 4 nights. Just part of the plan," Ott told reporters.

Ott added that the Suns will "continue to assess" Williams and that the big man can see action once again against the Utah Jazz on Monday "if everything comes back."