Lakers Shockwave: Former First-Round Pick Dalton Knecht Waived

The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Monday that they have waived their 2024 first-round pick, Dalton Knecht. This decision was made to meet the NBA's roster limit of 15 players by the 5 p.m. ET deadline, as the team had 16 players under contract.

Knecht, a 6-foot-6 wing, was selected with the No. 17 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after a standout junior season at the University of Tennessee. He demonstrated early promise in his professional career, particularly during a nine-game stretch from mid- to late November of his rookie season, where he averaged an impressive 18.9 points on 55.4% shooting (52.2% from three-point range), 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. However, he struggled to consistently replicate this level of success thereafter.

His rookie season concluded with averages of 9.1 points on 46.1% shooting (37.6% from three) and 2.8 rebounds in 19.2 minutes across 78 games. In his second year, Knecht's playing time significantly decreased to 10.2 minutes in 54 games, resulting in averages of 4.2 points on 45.5% shooting (34.2% from three) and 1.4 rebounds. His struggles continued into the recent preseason, where he averaged just 2.8 points on 25% shooting (14.3% from three) and 1.3 rebounds in 11.9 minutes over four appearances.

In February 2025, the Lakers attempted to trade Knecht along with Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick, and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for center Mark Williams. This trade, however, was rescinded after Williams failed his physical examination. League sources told ESPN that the Lakers had been actively pursuing 2-for-1 trade opportunities to move Knecht and another player to acquire an additional big man, but they were unable to finalize a deal before Monday's deadline.

When asked about the reasons behind Knecht's stalled momentum with the franchise, Lakers coach JJ Redick remarked prior to L.A.'s preseason finale, "I think the biggest thing is the team changed. The needs changed, the fit changed. I think he got better as a player over the last two years. I think each guy has, particularly last year, each guy got plenty of opportunities with the amount of injuries we had. So, I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings and he's in a tough spot right now."