Third-year NBA guard Dalton Knecht is expected to be the final roster cut for the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the 2026-27 season if the team can’t find a trade partner for the former first-round pick.
Knecht has been playing in the Lakers’ preseason games, but despite his last-ditch attempts to keep his spot on the roster alive, all signs point to him being off the team soon, whether it’s through a trade or being the last cut.
Now, in the lead-up to the start of the regular season, Knecht has a firm timeline on the Lakers’ impending decision, as the franchise only has a few more days left to decide what they’ll do with the shooting wing with an extremely uncertain future both in Los Angeles and in the NBA as a whole.
Dalton Knecht Gets Important Trade And Roster Cut News As Dates On Lakers Decision Emerge
If the Lakers decide not to keep Knecht on the roster for the upcoming season, the team has until October 19 to let him know.
According to Basketnews.com, that’s the final date in which Los Angeles has to solidify its 15-man roster for the new season.
“The first comes on October 19, when NBA teams must set their opening-night rosters by 5 p.m. ET. Los Angeles currently has 16 players on standard guaranteed contracts but can carry a maximum of 15, meaning at least one player must be traded or waived. Knecht appears to be the player under the most pressure.”
All signs point to Knecht being waived by then. As both NBA insiders Brett Siegel and Jovan Buha have explicitly stated, the 17th overall pick is the top candidate to be off the roster over Jaden Hardy, the other expected name with a chance to have that unfortunate honor.
“One of them is most likely going to be cut, and it wouldn’t shock me if it ended up being Dalton Knecht,” Brett Siegel recently wrote. “Overall, the Lakers’ roster crunch is certainly centered on Knecht…as things just haven’t worked out for the 25-year-old.”
“Right now, I think (Jaden) Hardy is winning the (final roster spot) competition,” Buha said in just one of his many recent comments about Knecht likely seeing his Lakers’ tenure come to an end. “If it really comes down to it, I think Knecht is the clear odd man out, and we’ll see if LA is able to pull off a trade. But if not, I think he’s going to be waived.”
Another Date Emerges For LA To Make A Decision
If the Lakers somehow decide keeping Knecht is the right move, the franchise has another impending date coming up that will require a decision.
Knecht is currently in the third and final guaranteed season of his rookie contract, set to earn $4.2 million after Los Angeles previously picked up a team option for 2026-27.
Now, if they keep him, the Lakers have until November 2 to pick up another team option on his deal for the 2027-28 season, which the front office would only do if he’s set to play in the Purple and Gold this year.
“If Knecht remains with the Lakers after the October 19 roster deadline, Los Angeles will then face another decision regarding his future,” Basketnews.com added. “Knecht has a team option worth approximately $6.45 million for the 2027-28 season.
“The standard deadline for fourth-year rookie-scale options is October 31, but because that date falls on a Saturday this year, the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) moves the deadline to the next business day, November 2.”
The Lakers don’t need to commit to Knecht even further at that early November date, but if the franchise has plans of keeping him around past this season, which still feels unlikely, they have until then to bring him back at that $6.45 million price tag. If not, he could leave in free agency next summer, or sign a new contract extension to stay in Los Angeles.
That still feels like wishful thinking for Knecht, as odds are he’s traded or waived by October 19 at 5 pm EST, two days before the Lakers’ season opener against the Golden State Warriors.
Dalton Knecht Gets Crucial Lakers Trade, Roster Cut News As Decision Nears