The Los Angeles Lakers made it clear last season that they would happily trade Dalton Knecht. In fact, they did, sending him to the Charlotte Hornets before Mark Williams failed a physical.
Knecht’s summer league performances only cemented what fans feared: he has no clear path to long-term success in Los Angeles. Of course, with the Lakers placing little value on him as a player, rivals place little value on him as a trade chip.
He is one of the better second-year scorers in the NBA, but he is 24 years old and lacks a lot on the defensive end. With limited trade assets, the Lakers need Knecht to establish some value. So far, he’s come up short.
GettyLos Angeles, California November 13, 2024-Lakers Dalton Knecht talks with head coach JJ Redick at Crypto.com Arena Wednesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Dalton Knecht’s Trade Value Revealed
When the Lakers agreed to send Knecht to the Hornets, they attached an unprotected first-round pick to sweeten the pot. The Lakers only have one first-rounder to trade (2031), so building up Knecht’s trade value is a must for a splashy in-season addition.
So far, he’s done little to build his value around the league, much to the Lakers’ chagrin.
“Even as Knecht was scoring, scouts around the NBA couldn’t ignore the holes in his game, particularly on the defensive end, where he was often out of position,” reported The Athletic’s Dan Woike on October 8th. “Concerns about his ability to handle those concepts — one of the reasons he was available to the Lakers at No. 17 in the draft — were reaffirmed in the eyes of NBA evaluators.”
Knecht has a lot of promise as a shooter, but he is incomplete as a 3-and-D threat. Not only is his shot less consistent than it was in college, but he can’t keep up on the defensive end.
“Some felt the team might be able to get its hands on multiple second-round picks, while the most critical felt Knecht would return just a lone second,” Woike added.
With the rise of NIL money in college, second-round talent often stays in the NCAA, so getting back second-round picks for Knecht wouldn’t allow the Lakers much more flexibility.
Los Angeles Lakers Need to Entertain a Bigger Trade
With Knecht’s value tanking, the only real way to boost his stock would be to play him more and show would-be buyers that he is not a total liability.
However, that comes with a lot of risk. In an effort to show that he’s a talented player, the Lakers will need to prepare for the reality that he could simply not be one.
Should Knecht’s value never bounce back to his pre-draft levels, Los Angeles might have to have serious discussions about Austin Reaves. If he is not a long-term piece, parting with him now instead of before he hits free agency needs to be a prioty.
Reaves is the only player who could bring a true star back to Los Angeles. If Reaves isn’t Luka Doncic’s long-term second option, he will need to be flipped for someone who can be.
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