The Los Angeles Lakers were expected to use Dalton Knecht as their negotiating chip this season to bolster their roster, but they defended his worth and mistreated him.
Before the trade deadline last season, the Los Angeles Lakers took Draft Capital and Rookie Dalton Knet to the Charlotte Hornets, with Mark Williams as center. However, after Williams physically failed, trade quickly reversed.
The attempted deal sent a clear message to the league. Knecht was a consumable and the Lakers were willing to subdue him in lieu of additional draft picks.
After that nasty moment, the Lakers were expected to say goodbye to Knecht soon, but he did little to increase his trade value.
Knecht was drafted as one of the best shooters in the 2024 class, and quickly proved that he had what he needed to pour an NBA bucket.
However, Luka Doncic and Lebron James as LA centerpieces, the Lakers had no motivation to develop the 23-year-old rookie.
In his first season, Knecht solidified himself as a solid young player, and he was expected to dominate this offseason in the Las Vegas Summer League. Instead, he took a clear step, tanking every value he had.
“The Vegas chatter about Dalton Knecht was not good,” said Lakers insider Jovan Buha. “The Summer League hasn’t helped Knecht’s stock. At this point, he doesn’t think he’s been valued as a first round pick from an asset valuation perspective.”
In Williams’ trade, Knecht was hanging as an appetizing young player who could drive the rebuild of the Hornets, but after appearing six times this summer, the Lakers will have to trade him for an additional pick in the potential for a midseason trade.
“If the Lakers put Dalton Knecht in the trade, what is he worth, and the feedback I got, is not worth another rating.”
The Lakers can trade picks in 2026, 2028 and 2030, with the 2031 and 2032 selections being the only two that can be traded entirely.
Summer League is intended to demonstrate that unproven players can handle NBA roles. Last season, Knecht was able to show it as a multi-level scorer. In short, there was no reason for the Lakers to play him this summer.
Certainly, in his rookie season he played a smaller role than would have been expected at first, but much of it was due to the troublesome environment created by failing trade.
| span | ppg | RPG | APG | FG% | 3pt% |
| 2024-25 Regular Season | 9.1 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 46.1% | 37.6% |
| 2025 Summer League | 11.7 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 32.1% | 23.7% |
If the Lakers had simply sat kneaded this summer, his worth would not have changed at all. Certainly, it may have gone up, but considering that Los Angeles had no purpose to build around him, it wasn’t worth the risk.
The Lakers head for the next season.