The Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up for the regular season, and several players will need to step up with LeBron James expected to miss the first couple of weeks. LA is looking to bounce back after a disappointing end to last season. One player in particular, second-year guard Dalton Knecht, is trying to prove his worth after a rough Summer League showing.
“The guy did too much after the season. And I think in summer league, he was burnt out. He was coming in here at 5 AM, getting shots up, then doing two workouts with our summer league staff and in the weight room,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said.
Knecht has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason following an up-and-down rookie year.
“Dalton Knecht was almost banished to Charlotte midway through the 2024-25 NBA season for the Los Angeles Lakers. The second-year scorer may be able to avoid a fate so heinous this season, but it is tough to imagine him avoiding a trade altogether once Rob Pelinka gets going in 2025-26,” Lake Show Life’s Syvatoslav Rovenchuk wrote.
While his Summer League performance was underwhelming and he appears to be one of the more expendable players on the roster, Redick recently revealed something surprising: Knecht has statistically been the most consistent scorer in preseason practices.
“JJ Redick says Dalton Knecht has had the best offensive training camp out of any Lakers player - they track the data and he’s scored 42 points more than any other teammate in live play and at about a 60% shooting clip. But Redick says Knecht’s ceiling will be up to his defense,” Lakers insider Dave McMenamin posted.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
If Knecht wants meaningful minutes under Redick this season, he’ll need to execute defensively. The second-year player is entering a crucial year where he must show growth on both ends of the floor.
To post such a scoring gap on a team as deep and well-rounded as the Lakers is impressive. Now, Knecht just needs to find a way to carry that success into actual game situations.