Dalton Knecht’s place with the Lakers is suddenly looking shaky, and JJ Redick didn’t exactly ease the tension.
Los Angeles is still sorting through its roster crunch for the upcoming season after a busy offseason left the team with more bodies than spots. That has put real pressure on a few players, and analyst Trevor Lane thinks Knecht is the one most in danger.
“My assumption is that if they had to make a decision right now, they would not pick up the $6.4 million team-option on Dalton Knecht. He's got between now and Halloween to change their mind," Lane said.
That’s a tough spot for a former first-round pick who is heading into his third season already fighting uphill. Knecht knows the situation, too. His role has already taken a major hit since his rookie year, when he started games, to his second season, when his minutes dried up.
Still, he’s talking like a player who understands the opportunity in front of him.
“It’s a whole new opportunity for all of us,” Knecht said. “Like [coach] JJ [Redick] said, there’s a lot of minutes open.”
Redick’s comments didn’t sound like a coach making promises. They sounded like a coach describing a player who has to earn his way back into the picture.
“First of all, he's been a pro. He's been in the gym.
Like he has since Day 1, he has worked his butt off all offseason. And he's had a good three days of practice.
So I don't think his approach changes. I know he's hungry to play and hungry to earn a spot in the rotation,” Redick said.
That kind of praise can be telling. When a coach is talking about someone as a pro while also stressing the need to earn rotation minutes, it usually means nothing is guaranteed.
Knecht may still have time to shift the conversation, but right now the signs point in one direction. If the Lakers move on, it would open the door for him to find a team that values him more. At the moment, though, Los Angeles doesn’t seem to view him the same way it did not long ago.
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