Lakers Trade Proposal Would Move Dalton Knecht & More for 21-Point Scorer

Getty Dalton Knecht driving to the basket against Cleveland

The Los Angeles Lakers enter the season with essentially the same team they had last year, a roster that was knocked out in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Outside of the additions of Dalton Knecht and Bronny James in the NBA draft, the Lakers didn’t make any notable additions.

However, with an opportunity to do so before the season starts in October, the Lakers still have time to make a trade or sign free agents. Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report proposed a deal for Jerami Grant of the Portland Trail Blazers. The deal would move Knecht and more.

Lakers would receive: Grant

Trail Blazers would receive: Knecht, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, 2029 first-round pick

“This move adds another high-end starter to the Lakers’ first unit, as Grant would represent a huge upgrade over Hachimura, the current projected starter at the 3,” Hughes wrote in a September 4 story on “5 trades to shake up” NBA starting lineups. “Grant is a better defender, has averaged over 20.0 points per game in three of the past four years and would provide desperately needed spacing.

“Hachimura shot a career-best 42.2 percent from deep last year, but he’s never been a high-volume gunner,” Hughes wrote. “Grant was above the 40.0 percent mark on threes in 2022-23 and 2023-24. More importantly, he’s averaged at least 7.4 three-point attempts per 100 possessions since 2020-21. Hachimura is at 4.7 for his career.”

Trail Blazers’ Asking Price for Jerami Grant

The Blazers would want the Lakers’ first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 in a trade for Grant, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report.

However, Anthony Irwin of Lakers Daily reported that the Lakers “haven’t wanted” to meet the asking price for Grant.

“Portland, according to those close to the situation, is demanding two first-round picks for Grant,” Irwin wrote on July 3. “League sources cite his contract and potential reluctance to take on a lesser role on a winning team as concerns for why the Lakers and other teams haven’t wanted to meet that price.”

While Hughes’ trade proposal wouldn’t move two first-round picks, the Lakers would send Knecht, whom they drafted in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft.

Why Trading Dalton Knecht Does & Doesn’t Make Sense

As the Lakers head into the 2024-25 season, LeBron James‘ performance during the Olympics made it clear that he could still do enough to help a team win a championship. Anthony Davis, who remained healthy for nearly the entire year last season, also had an impressive Olympic run.

With two superstars on the roster, the Lakers could just be missing a player like Grant as their third option behind James and Anthony Davis.

Appearing on FS1’s “Undisputed” in July, during the NBA’s Summer League, Paul Pierce suggested Knecht might be the player who could help the Lakers get that third player.

“I think Dalton Knecht has improved his stock right here in the Summer League,” Pierce said. “So now, you can throw him in a package with [Austin] Reaves or [D’angelo Russell] to where you can finally get that third star.

“I don’t know who that star is, but I’m happy to see that Knecht is playing this way because if he hadn’t, that’s not even a possibility,” Pierce said. “So if the Lakers want to contend, they have some valuable pieces that they can put together now in a trade package, which makes more sense to me.”

Trading Knecht could hurt the Lakers’ future given their lack of young talent and future draft picks. But the Lakers are arguably the top destination for star free agents, so when James eventually moves on or retires, they should be in the mix for any of the top players on the market.

While the Tennessee product should be an intriguing player for the Lakers as early as this season, he still hasn’t proved anything in the NBA.

Grant, however, averaged 21.0 points and shot 40.2% from 3-point range on 5.1 attempts per game last season.