Big Draft Night Trade Sees Mark Williams On The Move From Charlotte—Again

The Charlotte Hornets already traded center Mark Williams once this season, sending him to the LA Lakers at the trade deadline. But a failed medical sent him back to Charlotte. Now, Williams is on the move for real, this time to the Phoenix Suns, in a big draft night deal.

🚨 The Hornets are trading Mark Williams to the Suns for the No. 29 pick tonight and a 2029 1st-RD pick, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/XiT2PvLJKd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 26, 2025

31-year-old Serbian point guard Vasilije Micić is also heading back to Charlotte as part of the deal. The Hornets had sent him to Phoenix at the deadline in the Jusuf Nurkic trade. Micic has averaged 9.0 points and 4.7 assists in 66 games over parts of the last two seasons.

On this Draft Night, Phoenix has actually doubled down on their Duke big-man rotation, adding, in addition to Williams, the No. 10 pick in the draft, Khaman Maluach of the Blue Devils.

As for Williams, the Hornets get two first-round picks for him, not something that many people had on their bingo card. Foot problems have plagued him, and he hasn't been able to stay on the court consistently in his three NBA years. He played just 44 games this past season and 19 games the year before. He hasplayed in just 106 of a possible 246 games — 43% of his team's games since coming into the league.

But when he is on the court, it's impressive. Williams averaged 15.3 points and 10.2 boards along with 1.2 blocked shots this year in just 26.6 minutes per night. The Suns are willing to roll the dice that he can stay healthy.