The Miami Heat spent the offseason loading up on proven names, but that kind of star-chasing comes with a cost: the youth on the roster got thinned out in a hurry. Now, with the team suddenly looking older, Dalton Knecht has emerged as the kind of low-risk swing that could help restore a little balance.
Miami’s makeover was dramatic. The Heat added Giannis Antetokounmpo, then kept stacking veteran talent by bringing in Klay Thompson, Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nick Richards.
To get there, they moved Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis in the deal for Antetokounmpo - all four players 26 or younger. That left real questions about the team’s long-term youth pipeline.
Two young players remain part of that picture. Nikola Jovic, 23, is already locked in after signing a four-year, $62.5 million extension before last season, though his finish to the year did not inspire much confidence.
He barely factored into the closing stretch of the regular season, appearing in just eight games after January. Pelle Larsson is also in the fold after the Heat extended him this offseason.
The second-round pick from 2024 broke out last year while injuries piled up in the backcourt, and he signed a four-year, $60 million rookie-scale extension that begins next season. This year, he’ll make about $2.3 million on his current rookie deal.
That’s where Knecht enters the conversation. The 25-year-old was waived by the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday before the roster cut deadline, opening the door for a team like Miami to take a serious look. Knecht’s value is easy to see on paper: he had a historic senior season at Tennessee, then went in the first round of the 2024 draft because of it.
His rookie year in Los Angeles started promisingly enough. He earned minutes, flashed as a shooter and looked like he might carve out a real rotation role.
But the season took a turn in February 2025 when the Lakers agreed to send him to the Charlotte Hornets in the Mark Williams deal. That trade was rescinded after Williams failed his physical, and Knecht wound up back in Los Angeles.
He shot 37 percent from three during his rookie season, but the whole episode appeared to dent his confidence. From there, his splits fell off badly, and the fit in Los Angeles seemed to unravel.
For Miami, that makes Knecht a plausible flyer. He’s young, he’s shown something, and a fresh start might be exactly what he needs. If the Heat want another developmental piece alongside the veterans, Erik Spoelstra could have a field day working with and developing a shooter and playmaker like Knecht.
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