Although the summer hasn’t been ideal for most Los Angeles Lakers fans, with the team being unusually inactive in free agency and seemingly stuck in the middle of the Western Conference, there has been one positive highlight of the offseason—excluding the divisive Bronny James coverage—the drafting of Dalton Knecht from Tennessee.
Widely regarded as one of the biggest steals of the 2024 NBA draft, Knecht fell to pick 17 despite being widely projected as a lottery pick. He joins a team with one of the greatest shooters in NBA history as his coach and a roster that desperately needs floor spacers around their top stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. If you watched Summer League, there’s plenty to be excited about regarding Knecht. His scoring ability lived up to the hype.
Standing 6-foot-6 and 213 pounds, and hailing from snowy Fargo, North Dakota, Knecht led all rookies with 21.3 points per game and impressed as a deep-ball shooter, hitting 39.1 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, even though his overall field goal percentage was 41.8 percent. While fans hope to see his field goal percentage above 50, Knecht looked confident as a driver, and his shooting range appeared as advertised, indicating he can shoot from NBA range without significant adjustment.
In highlight reels, Knecht appears to be a seamless fit for the Lakers’ style of play. However, there is more to the NBA than simply shooting open and contested 3-pointers, and this is where the former Volunteer was less effective against the easier competition he faced in college.
Coming out of college, Knecht was widely criticized for his poor defense, which caused him to drop five to ten spots from where fans expected him to be drafted. While excelling in one area of the game used to be enough to secure a high draft position, the modern NBA of 2024 prioritizes two-way players who can perform in the playoffs. The one-dimensional shooters of the past are increasingly being replaced by more well-rounded prospects.
Could Knecht play a role similar to Malik Beasley from a few years ago? Certainly, but considering Beasley had to sign a veteran minimum deal with the Bucks after playing for the Lakers and is now on a one-year, $6 million deal with the Detroit Pistons following a solid season in Milwaukee, it’s clear that the demand for elite shooters who lack other skills has diminished.Can Knecht develop into a passable defender, passer, and rebounder? Only time will tell. However, his head coach, JJ Redick, is eager to help him round out his game. Even an all-time great marksman like Redick understands the necessity of two-way players to succeed in today’s NBA.
Regarding Knecht’s current status as a one-way player with legitimate questions about his viability as a heavy minutes regular season player, let alone part of a playoff rotation, Redick stopped by his old pals at ESPN during their broadcast of the first night of Summer League to discuss his rookie shooter and how his game might translate to the NBA.
While Redick clearly appreciates what he sees from the Tennessee product on the offensive side of the ball, even the Lakers head coach, a prolific shooter himself, acknowledges that Knecht needs to improve on the defensive end to become a high-usage player.