The Los Angeles Lakers had a forgettable NBA offseason, with the team failing to upgrade the roster through free agency while also being unable to make trades to bring in significant upgrades.
However, the team did land perhaps the steal of the 2024 NBA Draft, as University of Tennessee product Dalton Knecht fell in their laps with the No. 17 overall pick, which was a shocking development as many anticipated him to get taken much earlier in the first round.
Although there have been a lot of questions about this Lakers team, especially with first-time head coach JJ Redick leading the way on the sideline, bringing in Knecht appears to be already paying off for Los Angeles.
On Wednesday night, the Lakers were able to win a third straight game while maintaining their flawless record at home at Crypto.com Arena (6-0), with Knecht having the best game of his rookie campaign, scoring a career-high 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting against the Memphis Grizzlies.
ESPN’s Tim Legler believes this performance might be what starts to unlock Knecht for the Lakers moving forward via NBA on ESPN.
“Breakout game,” Legler said. “Now he had 18 earlier in the year that was in a blowout loss to the Cavs. That’s not the same as this. They needed these points. I think this could be something that’s an impetus for Dalton Knecht to get going.”
Have the Lakers found a new scoring threat in rookie Dalton Knecht? ? @LegsESPN enters the lab to break down what Knecht adds to the Lakers' offense this season ? pic.twitter.com/w5eBUMUaXZ
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 14, 2024
With the Lakers having some serious issues with depth and players like Max Christie and Gabe Vincent not panning out so far, Knecht becoming a vital role player will be crucial to the team’s success this season.
It’ll be interesting to see if Redick puts more trust in the rookie and if that gamble pays off for Los Angeles.
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