The Lakers have moved on from Dalton Knecht.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Monday afternoon, Los Angeles has decided to release Knecht after two seasons with the organization. The former Tennessee standout now gets a chance to land somewhere else after a stint that never really got back on track once the Lakers tried to send him to Charlotte midway through his rookie year.
Knecht’s first season in Los Angeles had a little more substance than what followed. He averaged 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 78 games, while logging 19.2 minutes per contest.
But after the Lakers attempted to trade him to the Hornets, things changed fast. The deal was completed, then ultimately fell apart on Charlotte’s end, and Knecht was sent back to Los Angeles.
From there, his role kept shrinking.
His second year was a clear step back. Knecht averaged just 4.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists across 54 games, and his playing time dropped to 10.2 minutes a night.
He also took 366 fewer shots than he did as a rookie. After the trade attempt, it was obvious the Lakers and coach J.J.
Redick weren’t planning to build anything around him.
That makes the release less of a surprise than a reset. Knecht was the No. 17 overall pick out of Tennessee, and now he’ll get the kind of fresh start Los Angeles never gave him. He’s 25, which can cut both ways in terms of value, but this move at least gives him a shot to choose what comes next rather than waiting around in an empty spot on the Lakers’ roster.
Draymond Green had already pointed the finger at Knecht’s representation earlier this month, saying the situation had dragged on too long. On Oct.
7, Green said: “Dalton Knecht is not expected to make the Lakers’ roster,” Green said on Oct. 7.
“Dalton Knecht seems like he had a little bit of promise to him. But after that trade that got voided by the Hornets, Dalton Knecht just been in purgatory ever since and ultimately I think it ruined him.
And I don’t know who his agent is, but I blame his agent. Because the moment that that trade didn’t know through, that agent should’ve been working the lines.
The fact that he’s still on the Lakers right now is absolutely awful, awful representation.”
Before the NBA, Knecht’s college rise came at Tennessee, where he blossomed after transferring in for his final season. In 36 games for Rick Barnes, he averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists, starting every game and helping lead the Vols to the first of three straight Elite Eight appearances in 2024.
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