Dalton Knecht’s new chapter with the Knicks is off to a strange but potentially useful start: he arrives in New York with a point to prove, and now he has even more reason to treat every minute like it matters.
The 25-year-old was cut ahead of his third season after two years with the Lakers that left plenty to be desired, and the pressure is obvious. He’s no longer the former first-round pick with a clean runway. He’s the player who now has to show he can be an everyday NBA guy after a rough stretch in Los Angeles.
But Knecht has already been saying the right things, and the latest detail to surface only sharpens the edge of his opportunity. According to ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel, the Lakers had talks with the Bucks about a Knecht deal before waiving him, but Milwaukee wanted “multiple second-round picks or a pick swap” in order to take him and send Jericho Sims the other way.
That matters because the trade chatter had already made it clear the Lakers were shopping Knecht before roster cutdown day. The Bucks’ ask adds another layer: they apparently viewed him as negative value, not as a player they’d move for straight up. That kind of outside doubt can either bury a player or light a match under him.
Knecht has not exactly built a bulletproof case so far, but there is still real promise in his offensive game. Even so, the idea that Milwaukee wouldn’t take him without extra draft compensation has to sting. It’s one more sign that the league hasn’t exactly rushed to stamp him as a must-have piece.
The skepticism didn’t stop there, either. Knecht also went unclaimed on waivers, meaning no team stepped in to grab him before he reached free agency. Between being waived by the Lakers, clearing waivers, and now this report about Milwaukee’s stance, he’s been handed plenty of evidence that teams around the league are unconvinced.
For New York, though, this is still a useful swing. Mike Brown says the Knicks want Dalton Knecht to play as much as possible, and the initial plan is to have him in Westchester playing games with the Knicks’ G League team.
That setup gives him a chance to develop while keeping the door open for NBA appearances when needed. It also puts him in a position to make people reconsider what they think he is.
The Lakers situation never looked especially clean for a player trying to find his footing. The organization revolved around LeBron James first and foremost, and that left plenty of players on unstable ground. Then came the shocking overnight trade of Anthony Davis and the arrival of Luka Doncic, which only added another layer of chaos for a rookie trying to settle in.
Now Knecht gets a different kind of chance: a fresh start, a defined path, and a coach who has already shown he can help players reinvent themselves. Between Landry Shamet’s revival, Karl-Anthony Towns’ growth, and James Wiseman receiving another chance, Mike Brown has given this move a real chance to work.
For Knecht, the message is pretty clear. He has a platform in New York, a plan to get him on the floor, and a whole lot of outside doubt he can use as fuel.
In Other News...
Knicks May Have Pulled Off Another Quiet Draft-Night Win
The Knicks used the 30th pick on Sergio de Larrea, then quickly turned that selection into a different kind of asset by sending his rights to the Mavericks for two future second-round picks. It was the sort of maneuver that fits neatly with how New York has tried to work around its salary cap limitations, squeezing value wherever it can find it instead of simply standing pat on draft night.
De Larrea was already playing professionally in Spain, and soon after the draft he helped Valencia win the Liga ACB title, adding another layer to a player the Knicks never intended to keep. New York also knew Dallas had been linked to him and had the front office ties to make the deal work, which is why this looked less like a pass on a prospect and more like a calculated bet on information and timing. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Got Pulled Into A Wild Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Idea
The Knicks have been pulled into an early-season trade idea that already feels bigger than the standings around it. Miami opened with a 0-4 start after reshaping its roster in a blockbuster deal with Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, and the rough beginning has only fueled chatter about how the new pieces fit with Bam Adebayo still anchoring the frontcourt.
What makes the speculation more interesting from New Yorks side is the path some are floating to get there: a swap centered on Adebayo and Tim Hardaway Jr. for Karl-Anthony Towns. Nothing has been confirmed by Miami, and the Heat could easily give the group more time to settle in, but the mere fact the Knicks are part of this kind of conversation says a lot about how quickly the league starts chasing the next big idea when a new roster stumbles out of the gate. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Already Have A Real Andre Drummond Debate On Their Hands
Andre Drummonds first few weeks as the Knicks backup center have already turned into a small but real rotation conversation. He opened the 2026-27 season with a double-double, then saw his minutes dip in the next games as Mike Brown adjusted the lineup, a familiar kind of early-season sorting-out process for a team still figuring out how it wants to use its depth. Even so, Brown has made clear Drummond remains in the backup mix, which matters for a bench frontcourt that needs a dependable presence when the starters sit.
Drummond gave the Knicks a reminder of why that role is worth monitoring in the win over Detroit, when he scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 14 minutes. It was a cleaner, more productive showing than some of his earlier outings, and it gave New York a useful glimpse of what he can offer when the minutes are there. The larger question now is whether that performance is the start of a steadier climb back into a bigger share of the center rotation. [Read more 🡒]