The Los Angeles Lakers will have some big decisions to make this offseason regarding the potential future of LeBron James and looming Austin Reaves in free agency. However, the NBA rumors floating around right now are reportedly focused on another deal the team wants to make.
According to Jovan Buha, the Lakers are going to “shop” guard Dalton Knecht throughout the summer. While it’s unclear how much interest there will be in the former first-round pick, Los Angeles will scour the league for potential options.
- Dalton Knecht Stats (2025-26): 4.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.6 pts per game, 30.4% 3pts
Knecht, who will turn 25 later this month, played just 515 total minutes in 50 games during the regular season. He made his lone start on November 3 against the Portland Trail Blazers, recording 8 points with 4 rebounds in 23 minutes of action. He has played more than 20 minutes only five times this season and the last time that happened was on November 15.
He has not been a part of the Lakers rotation for over a month. He played 16 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs on February 10 in a 136–108 loss. Even including that action, Knecht has played an average of just 4.5 minutes per game in 16 games since January 15.
- Dalton Knecht Contract (Spottrack): $4.201 million cap hit (2026–27), $6.452 million club option for 2027–28 season, RFA in 2028
That’s a steep drop for the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Knecht showed flashes of promise as a rookie, averaging 1.6 three-pointers per game while shooting 37.6 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 9.1 ppg. However, it’s worth noting that the majority of that production came in his first 19 games, when he shot 43.9 percent from the perimeter and averaged 2.5 three-pointers and 12.2 PPG.
Knecht has achieved limited value as a perimeter scorer since then, and the 6-foot-6 forward is widely viewed as one of the worst defenders in the NBA. Given how expensive he has proven to be for the Lakers, it’s hard to see his trade value being very high this summer.
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