It may be much longer until someone on the Los Angeles Lakers roster gets called into the front office for a quick conversation.
With the Lakers above the NBA-mandated roster limit, they have a couple of options on their hands, but one is clearly more attainable than the others.
L.A. can either make a trade that sends out more players than it brings in … or the team can simply waive a player. There are very clearly two or three cut candidates on the roster, and one of them is unmistakably rising third-year wing Dalton Knecht. Will the Lakers continue hoping for Knecht to breakthrough, or are they ready to move on from him?
Knecht’s Lakers Future is Not Looking Good
Lakers fans know the story by now. He demonstrated flashes of great promise as a rookie, memorably scoring 37 points and cashing a bunch of 3-pointers just one month into his NBA career. But the lows have far outweighed the highs, and that may be why the Lakers could be ready to bid farewell to Knecht, the player they selected with their top draft pick just two summers ago.
According to Lakers analyst Trevor Lane, Knecht has already been passed over internally.
“I hope you’re right,” Lane said skeptically, responding to a viewer’s comment that Knecht gets one more chance. “He was pretty lost out there last year. Obviously, we saw talent in the early going with Dalton Knecht. I can tell you this, the Lakers roster has moved on without him. When you look at the pieces they’ve added, they’ve moved on without him.”
Lane believes Cameron Carr, the Lakers’ first round pick in this year’s draft, has already overtook Knecht on the depth chart.
“Cameron Carr is better at everything that Dalton Knecht does well,” Lane said flatly.” When it comes to his ability to score, he is also a three-level scorer, he’s longer, lankier, reads the game a bit better, better defensively certainly, and he’s got work to do defensively, but he’s better defensively right now than Dalton Knecht. All the stuff that you were hoping Dalton Knecht would do — provide range, have the ability to shoot the 3, score from the midrange, get to the basket — Cameron Carr is better with all those things. So they’ve replaced him already. They already replaced Dalton Knecht. They’ve moved on.”
Knecht is Among a Shortlist of Cut Candidates, But There Already May Be a Clear Answer
Jaden Hardy and Bronny James are two players who have often been brought up as players the Lakers could move on from this summer.
Hardy, 24, was acquired from the Washington Wizards in a deal that sent off Deandre Ayton. Hardy is said to have some trade value given his youth and modest contract, so the Lakers may look to execute a deal before considering waiving him.
James, meanwhile, is already someone Lane and others connected to the Lakers have identified as a player the team values. That makes sense when considering he is only 21 and the improvements he demonstrated in his second season.
Knecht not only regressed from Year 1 to Year 2 but is already 25. That is often enough for a team to know whether a player is a legitimate long-term piece.
Lakers 6’6″ Wing Poised to Get Cut as Team Has ‘Moved On’ After New Addition