The Los Angeles Lakers have one final roster cut to make before the start of the 2026-27 NBA season, and all signs point to it being Dalton Knecht.
Knecht has had a difficult start to his career on the Lakers, as after already attempting to trade him for center Mark Williams during his rookie season, the team once again tried to trade the three-point shooting wing once again this offseason.
According to a recent report from NBA insider Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, Knecht is likely to be waived by the Lakers after attempting to trade him for Buddy Hield earlier this summer.
Lakers Tried Trading Dalton Knecht For Buddy Hield
As the insider most recently discussed, the Lakers had serious discussions about a trade swapping Knecht and another player for Hield.
“A possible consolidation trade is something the Lakers have looked at quite a bit this offseason, both reaching out to teams and having teams reach out to them about the possibility of a deal, league sources told ClutchPoints. One player that stood out in multiple deals due to the trades he was involved in was sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who was recently moved from the Atlanta Hawks to the Charlotte Hornets and then to the Chicago Bulls,” he wrote.
“Sources say the Lakers could’ve made a “2-for-1 move” to trade for Hield, but the organization ultimately elected against doing so. Although the exact reasoning for this was not provided, one can assume the main reason for this is due to Los Angeles likely needing to include a second-round pick to move two contracts.”
Hield was already moved twice this summer, so it makes sense why the Lakers couldn’t get a deal done. The 33-year-old has a career three-point shooting percentage of 39.5% and is currently in the third season of a four-year, $37.7 million deal.
Trading Knecht and another player making a small amount of NBA money could have been enough, and Hield would have been a strong addition for the Lakers, a team that’s been targeting wing shooting all summer.
Regardless, with Knecht still on the Lakers as of now, it appears his time on the roster is coming to an end.
LA Expects To Cut Ties With Failed Young Shooter
As Siegel mentioned, after not trading Knecht earlier this offseason, he is the most likely candidate to be the Lakers’ final roster cut heading into the season.
“Overall, the Lakers’ roster crunch is certainly centered on Knecht. He is a player the team has been trying to move for quite some time (and actually did if you remember the failed Mark Williams trade with Charlotte), as things just haven’t worked out for the 25-year-old,” he wrote.
“Knecht was on the trade block heading into February’s deadline, and sources at the time told ClutchPoints that there were rumblings of him being a potential buyout candidate. Ultimately, Knecht remains on the Lakers roster, and the team was unable to move him in trade talks this offseason.”
Jaden Hardy could also be an option instead of Knecht, but as Jovan Buha recently said, the former has a better chance of sticking around.
“I think clearly his confidence has been affected to some degree by being traded and rescinded, then also being dangled basically from that point in trade talks,” he added. “I just don’t see the pathway for Dalton to have a real spot in the rotation. And if that’s the case, I think for both sides, honestly, it’s time to just cut bait and move on.”
Siegel offered similar thoughts previously, discussing Knecht’s future in Los Angeles.
“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on Dalton Knecht to fight for this roster spot with Jaden Hardy in training camp,” he said. “One of them is most likely going to be cut, and it wouldn’t shock me if it ended up being Dalton Knecht, but it really does depend on what happens here in training camp for the Lakers.”
Though there’s been mass speculation about the Lakers’ final roster cut after training camp, all signs point to it being Knecht. He didn’t get a big enough chance to prove himself in Los Angeles, but could find his way onto another NBA roster in hopes of continuing his career.
Lakers Expect To Cut Ties With Dalton Knecht After Failed Buddy Hield Trade