The Los Angeles Lakers were excited to have Dalton Knecht fall to them in the first round of last year’s draft. While he’s played decently well in limited action for the team, it might be difficult to keep him going forward.
At the trade deadline, the Lakers had agreed to send him to the Charlotte Hornets in a deal to get center Mark Williams.
The deal fell through after Williams failed his physical, and Knecht had to go back to Los Angeles.
It’s clear the Lakers aren’t too tied to him, and he knows it. The best move could be to trade him. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report believes the Orlando Magic could be the ideal fit for the young guard.
“Knecht is on the older side as a 24-year-old rookie, but he has clear NBA skills when given the chance to play,” Pincus wrote. “He shot 37.6 percent from three-point range this season, and that may be just scratching the surface of his potential from deep. Unfortunately for the Hornets, Williams didn’t pass his physical with the Lakers, so Knecht stayed in L.A.
“The Magic are also in win-now mode, and they have a rapidly growing payroll. Now that Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs have signed extensions, they’ll turn to Paolo Banchero this offseason with what is expected to be a max extension. Orlando’s most significant weakness is shooting, which is Knecht’s greatest strength. … Perhaps acquiring Goga Bitadze or a center via multi-team trade for Knecht would suffice for the Lakers this summer.”
Can Knecht Have a Future With Lakers?
Knecht wasn’t in a good place after the trade got rescinded, and he had to come back to Los Angeles. It’s a very awkward situation for a rookie to deal with.
He’s had a hard time making much of an impact since the trade fell through. That said, the season continued on, so he didn’t have much time to process the situation. It’s possible that once he gets to the offseason, he can mend his relationship with the Lakers.
At the end of the day, general manager Rob Pelinka is the one who made the decision, so he shouldn’t have a problem with any of the coaches.
Lakers Offense is Cold
Knecht isn’t part of the Lakers’ playoff rotation, but they may need to consider giving him some minutes. Even in the Game 2 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the offense played poorly.
Los Angeles hasn’t broken 95 points in either playoff game. LeBron James thinks there’s a lot of room for improvement on the offensive side of the court.
“We could still be better offensively,” James told reporters after the game. “I thought at times we were very sharp. But at times, we weren’t. I think we could do a better job on the offensive end, but we’re going to continue to get better, continue to watch the film, see ways we can kinda break down the defense and continue to get good looks. I thought we had some great looks tonight. I know a lot of my shots in the fourth quarter were great looks that just didn’t go. If we can continue to get great looks like that, I think we believe in our percentages. But we gotta continue to work the habits.”
