Mark Williams averaged a double-double during the 2024-25 season.

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Phoenix’s busy offseason continued with a trade to acquire center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets.

The Suns send Vasilije Micić, the 29th overall pick of this year’s Draft (used to select Liam McNeeley of Connecticut) and a 2029 draft pick (the least favorable of Cleveland, Utah and Minnesota) to the Hornets in a trade that was finalized Monday.

Suns receive:

Hornets receive:

  • Vasilije Micić
  • Liam McNeeley (No. 29 overall)
  • 2029 first-round pick (least favorable of CLE, UTA and MIN)

Still just 23 years old, Williams has been productive when healthy. The 7-foot big man averaged 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks last season, but has only played 106 total games over his three-year NBA career.

Phoenix struggled with size last season, even after a midseason trade for another Hornets center, Nick Richards. The Suns appear intent on addressing that weakness after dealing for Williams and, through a reported trade centered around Kevin Durant, selecting Duke center Khaman Maluach with the 10th overall pick of the NBA Draft.

The Suns are coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

The Hornets attempted to trade Williams last year to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the deal was later rescinded because the center failed his physical.

The Lakers had agreed to send rookie Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish along with Draft considerations to get the 23-year-old Williams, a third-year pro from Duke and a former first-round draft pick. Los Angeles was looking for a big man at the time to replace Anthony Davis, who was traded to Dallas along with Max Christie for superstar Luka Dončić.

Charlotte was also supposed to receive the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2031 and a first-round pick swap in 2030.

Instead, the Lakers nixed the trade after learning more about Williams, who has a lengthy injury history, including back problems that had limited him to 84 of a possible 212 NBA games over his three seasons at that point.

The Hornets sent out a statement welcoming Williams back to the team, but it created an awkward relationship.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Williams had already taken a physical or had his medicals reviewed by Phoenix.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.