Over the past few days, there has been heavy speculation that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to trade Dalton Knecht, which comes as a major twist after the third-year player was previously expected to be waived.
The Lakers want to trade Knecht to add a backup center, but it remains somewhat unrealistic that the team can actually get a deal done in the limited time they have left, as a move would need to be completed by October 19 at 2 p.m. PST.
There have been previous reports that the Lakers have been trying to trade Knecht for the past few years, but even with the rumors ramping up just days before the start of the season, a much more likely outcome is that he’s waived rather than Los Angeles getting something back in return.
Lakers Dealt Bad News On Dalton Knecht Trade
Along with Lakers reporter Jovan Buha saying weeks ago that the team has been trying to move Knecht, NBA insider Jake Fischer recently reported the franchise was eyeing a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks that would land them backup big man Jericho Sims for the former first-round pick.
However, even though the Lakers are keen on a trade, Knecht doesn’t have a ton of value around the league, so they’d likely have to add another draft asset in a deal to get the Bucks to bite.
Additionally, despite the fact that Los Angeles has failed to move Knecht in the past, the limited time they have left to get a deal done right before the season doesn’t bode well for one final roster move.
As Svyatoslav Rovenchuk wrote for LakeShowLife.com, the clock is ticking on the Lakers getting a Knecht trade done before the October 19 deadline when rosters are set for the upcoming NBA season.
“The roster needs have presented themselves. The opportunity to make player evaluations has been there. Now, it has become a matter of whether the circumstances permit the Lakers to get the type of deal they want done,” he wrote. “Looking around the league, plenty of other teams are either full or over the limit themselves. That makes it harder for the Lakers to find a trade partner who will alleviate them in their own roster crunch. It is not impossible, but that task is just a touch more unlikely.”
Though Lakers trade rumors signal a deal could get done, if teams around the NBA, like the Bucks, were truly interested in adding Knecht, a move would have happened already.
Now, with three days before the team’s final deadline, despite what the new reports say, there’s no guarantee anything happens. Fischer himself said so when revealing the trade talk between the Lakers and Bucks for a deal that would swap Knecht for Sims.
“Yet it must be said that I’ve also heard some pessimism from sources briefed on those talks that such a trade will actually go through.”
Former First-Round Pick Likely To Be Waived
With the evidence mounting that the Lakers would, and still do, have a tough time trading Knecht, everything points to him being waived instead.
Previously, the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft was in a battle with Bronny James and Jaden Hardy to be the final roster cut, but as time goes on, Knecht is firmly on the outside of the Lakers’ roster and rotation for the new season.
That’s been the case for a while, as even though Los Angeles has been long interested in making a ‘2 for 1’ consolidation trade to move a combination of Knecht, Hardy, or Jarred Vanderbilt, the former Tennessee Volunteers star remains the most likely candidate to be off the team in the coming days.
“I think the Lakers are gonna explore a trade,” Jovan Buha said on a previous episode of his show. “They’re gonna try to do some sort of either dump a player somewhere or a consolidation trade. But if they can’t and it comes down to waiving someone, my prediction would be Dalton Knecht is the one that gets waived.”
As intriguing as the recent Lakers trade rumors might seem, moving Knecht for a roster upgrade is a lot easier said than done. His value makes it difficult to find a trade partner, and even if the Bucks are interested, they likely would have agreed to terms earlier in the offseason.
Now, the Lakers have until October 19 to get a deal done, or Knecht will almost certainly be lost for nothing.
Lakers Dealt Unfortunate News On Dalton Knecht Trade Rumors