The Los Angeles Lakers have been the center of trade chatter, as they often are, with the rumors as outlandish as ideas to trade away Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves.
Don't count on anything like that happening. That doesn't mean there's nothing for the Lakers to do before next month's trade deadline, though.
ESPN's Kevin Pelton sees an obvious guy to be moved: Dalton Knecht.
Knecht was supposed to be a standout shooter out of Tennessee, but nothing about his game has translated as well as hoped for in the NBA.
"Defensive challenges limited Knecht's role as a rookie, when he was shooting 37.6% on 3s," Pelton writes. "Now that Knecht has slumped to 31.1% beyond the arc in Year 2, he has dropped to 12th on the roster in minutes per game."
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What would be the acquisition plan in return for Knecht? It'd likely settle on a draft pick.
"The Lakers' challenge as the deadline approaches is finding ways to supplement their meager cache of draft picks," Pelton writes. "L.A. Currently has one first-round pick that is tradable outright (either in 2031 or 2032) and just one second-rounder (in 2032). That makes a trade contingent -- in large part -- on another team vaulting on Knecht, the No. 17 pick of the 2024 draft who has yet to prove the kind of steal the Lakers thought they were getting."
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At this point, Knecht won't demand a ton in return, but he's not far removed from being a first-round pick, either.
A non-contender could take a chance on him showing improved development with a change of scenery.
The Lakers are likely just hoping he isn't a totally sunk cost at this point.
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