Dalton Knecht’s development continues to raise concerns around the league. Speaking on Buha’s Block, Lakers insider Jovan Buha shared that an opposing team scout expressed skepticism about Knecht’s growth, particularly with his decision-making and overall feel for the game.
“I was talking to a scout last night at the Lakers–Mavericks preseason game, a scout for another team, and he was just talking about Dalton’s struggles,” Buha said. “From a decision-processing standpoint, there’s not been a lot of progress there, and that continues to be the area of his game where he’s just not seeing the right thing to do on either side of the ball.”
Knecht’s stock was already on the fence after a modest rookie campaign. Still, there was hope he might take a leap and become a key role-player in Los Angeles. That hope has now turned to doubt following a particularly brutal preseason. Dalton’s value has now hit new lows, and most experts are pessimistic about his NBA potential.
“Of course, he’s more evolved on the offensive side, but this person was expressing a lot of skepticism,” Buha added. “That’s just one person’s opinion, but I’ve said this before: anytime I have an outside conversation about Dalton with someone outside of the Lakers, it tends to be relatively negative or pessimistic.”
Knecht was drafted 17th overall in 2024. At 6’6” and 215 pounds, the Lakers envisioned him as a key spark plug for them offensively. He proved to be a good shooter in college, and it looked like his game would translate well to the NBA.
Sadly, he has yet to find his place on the Lakers, and he nearly lost his spot entirely. Averages of 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game were not enough to save him from the trade block, and he would have been sent to the Hornets had Rob Pelinka not rescinded the trade at the last minute.
While some theorize that the failed trade affected Knecht mentally, we might never know what led to his decline. All we know is that after the deadline, and into this year’s preseason, he has been struggling to make an impact.
What’s worse is that Knecht is showing very few signs of growth or development. At 24 years old, this should be the time when he’s making the most progress as he learns and adapts to the NBA flow. Instead, he’s still just trying to prove he belongs.
What this means for the Lakers is that one of their best trade assets has now become a negative. Once, they might have used Knecht to bring in more pieces around Luka Doncic. Now, they might have to stick it out and hope Dalton can recover his trade value over the next few months.
At the very least, Knecht’s shooting could provide a boost for the Lakers that helps make them more dangerous in the West. If he can find his rhythm again, it might just earn him a long-term contract in Los Angeles and silence some of the noise surrounding his future.
