The Lakers’ offseason has left them with more roster questions than clean answers, and Dalton Knecht is now sitting right in the middle of the mess.
Los Angeles has spent the summer adding and subtracting pieces, beginning with the blockbuster trade for center Walker Kessler. But the more the Lakers have moved, the clearer one issue has become: they do not have room for everyone.
With 16 roster spots available, someone is going to have to go before the roster is finalized. As Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney put it, “There are, however, obvious holes.
With 16 roster spots, the Lakers would need to get rid of at least one player, though they can carry as many as 20 through training camp in October," Heavy.com's Sean Deveney wrote.
The Lakers are still hunting for another addition, possibly through a sign-and-trade, and they have already been linked to trade conversations involving both Jarred Vanderbilt and Knecht. NBA reporter Evan Sidery noted that “The Lakers are actively shopping Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt in trade talks. After gaining two second-round picks in the Deandre Ayton trade, Los Angeles could consolidate those assets in a deal immediately for a starting-caliber wing," NBA reporter Evan Sidery wrote.
If the Lakers get through training camp without making another move, a decision will still have to be made. Lake Show Life’s Svyatoslav Rovenchuk believes Knecht is the most likely odd man out.
“When looking up and down the Lakers roster, Dalton Knecht is an easy conclusion as to who the 16th player is in the pecking order. That makes him a prime candidate to leave the team via trade or an outright release.
Releasing Knecht would only put dead money on the Lakers' cap books for the 2026-27 season. That is a fate they should be able to stomach,” Rovenchuk wrote.
Knecht’s Lakers run has not unfolded the way he likely imagined after arriving as the SEC Player of the Year. He flashed early in his rookie season, but after his trade was rescinded, that same level never really came back.
A trade would be the cleanest outcome for Knecht, but if Los Angeles can’t find one, a release remains on the table. Either way, there are teams around the league that could give him another shot and let him show he can still belong at this level.
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For Los Angeles, these kinds of ratings are mostly a fun checkpoint, but they also feed the ongoing debate around how newcomers fit the teams identity and where their best traits show up. Doncic making the cut in shooting and ball-handling categories was no surprise, and Carrs inclusion among the games better leapers only adds to the intrigue around his athletic upside, even if the numbers are just a video games take on the roster rather than an NBA verdict. [Read more 🡒]