The Denver Nuggets were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals in seven games for the second straight year, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder this time around. The Nuggets are expected to make moves this offseason, and Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz has listed Los Angeles Lakers‘ Dalton Knecht as one of their dream targets.
“Knecht is the perfect catch-and-shoot option to put on the court next to Jokic, with the Nuggets possibly jumping in as a third team if the Lakers attempt to trade for a new starting center.”
The Nuggets certainly could do with having a shooter like Knecht. The 24-year-old averaged 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game as a rookie while shooting 37.6% from beyond the arc.
Now, that percentage does seem underwhelming, but it was really dragged down by one awful stretch. Knecht shot 15.6% from beyond the arc in December 2024, as he hit the rookie wall. He rebounded well from that and was drilling shots at an excellent clip at the end of the regular season, shooting 42.0% in March and 45.5% in April.
Despite Knecht finding his shooting stroke, head coach JJ Redick didn’t have him in the rotation in the playoffs. It was clear when the Lakers included him in the Mark Williams trade, which later got rescinded, that they didn’t mind parting with him, and his role in the playoffs only made that all the more apparent.
Knecht’s shooting didn’t outweigh his struggles on defense for the Lakers, and you’d expect him to be elsewhere at the start of next season. His being included in a trade that lands them a center is the most likely outcome, and the Nuggets might try to get involved in that deal.
A big reason the Nuggets lost to the Thunder was their inability to score from beyond the arc. They shot 31.4% from three in the series, with Aaron Gordon (44.1%) being their only reliable shooter.
That allowed the Thunder to key in on Nikola Jokic, as most of his teammates failed to make them pay for being left open. Knecht would help in that regard.
The big question, though, would be whether the Lakers want to help a contender in the West. They don’t necessarily have to include a third team in a deal to land a center and could just decide against doing the Nuggets a favor.
So, who would they target then? Well, Swartz has Phoenix Suns‘ Royce O’Neal and Sacramento Kings‘ Keon Ellis as two other options.
O’Neal averaged 9.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Suns in 2024-25 while shooting 40.6% from beyond the arc. Ellis, meanwhile, averaged 8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game for the Kings while shooting 43.3% from three.
O’Neal and Ellis are pretty good defenders, too, unlike Knecht. Defense was also a bit of a problem for the Nuggets this season, and so, these two would help address two of their concerns.
It will be interesting to see what moves they end up making this summer, as the Nuggets are reportedly hesitant to break up their championship core. Jokic was obviously never going to be on the table, but Gordon, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Christian Braun aren’t either.
