Dalton Knecht Rumors

So, the Lakers still have time to do a deal, but people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter say teams have little interest in guards Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht, the two most prominent players the Lakers seem to be pushing.

Los Angeles Times

Chris Fedor: We all know the complications for the Cavs when it comes to trades. They can't aggregate salaries. They only have really one first-round draft pick that they can trade. They have to be like right on the number in terms of salary matching purposes. But my sources tell me that the Cavs and the Lakers have discussed a general framework surrounding De'Andre Hunter, Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht and then bringing in a third team. Now look, there are there are third teams that could be helpful. Brooklyn has the lowest salary number of any team in the NBA. They might be a destination that is willing to take some salary. Um, the Utah Jazz, they are 29th in salary in the NBA. They might be a destination that's willing to take some salary back. By the way, the team that the Cavs have traded with most frequently in the Koby Altman era is Utah, and one of his best friends is Justin Zanik, an executive for the Utah Jazz.

YouTube

Khobi Price: JJ Redick said Dalton Knecht will get playing time tonight and for the foreseeable future. When asked what Dalton needs to do to stick in the rotation, JJ responded: "play hard."

bsky.app

Dan Woike: The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned guard Dalton Knecht and forward Adou Thiero to the South Bay Lakers. I believe its Knecht’s first assignment this year

Twitter

Keith Smith: The Los Angeles Lakers have picked up the 2026-27 rookie scale team option for Dalton Knecht, a league source told @spotrac. Knecht will be on the Lakers books at $4.2M for next season.

x.com

Tackling Knecht’s inferior trade value, Lakers insider Jovan Buha shared negative reviews from league circles about the sophomore wing’s recent performances. “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 and how especially 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,” Buha said in his Buha’s Block podcast. “Of course, he's more evolved on the offensive side, but this person was expressing a lot of skepticism. And 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.”

Sporting News

Jovan Buha: The Lakers are in a tough spot right now with the Dalton Knecht situation. There has been little to be encouraged by based on his preseason. 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 and how especially 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. Of course, he's more evolved on the offensive side, but this person was expressing a lot of skepticism. And 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. 

YouTube

Jovan Buha: The scouting report is out, teams will relentlessly target him and pick-and-roll actions because of that. They've also scouted his drives and forcing him left. because of that. I just think like he's really got to have an elite skill out there to warrant playing him more and he just doesn't have that right now. So, to be honest, I am skeptical that he's going to rehab his value.

YouTube

Having already been traded once, Knecht’s availability wasn’t considered a real secret in Las Vegas during summer league. The Lakers desperately need a player whom teams desire close to as much as they desired the team’s lone tradable first-round pick. But scouts and executives, almost unanimously, felt that the Lakers wouldn’t be able to recoup comparable value to the No. 17 pick they used when they selected Knecht. Some felt the team might be able to get its hands on multiple second-round picks, while the most critical felt Knecht would return just a lone second.

New York Times

But scouts and executives, almost unanimously, felt that the Lakers wouldn’t be able to recoup comparable value to the No. 17 pick they used when they selected Knecht. Some felt the team might be able to get its hands on multiple second-round picks, while the most critical felt Knecht would return just a lone second.

New York Times

The Lakers didn’t move Knecht this summer, with anything the team possibly able to get for Knecht not worth giving up on the potential that’s still there. But after a rough preseason debut where he shot 1 of 12, scouts left Palm Desert as pessimistic as ever, one even calling Knecht a “negative asset,” meaning the Lakers would need to attach pieces to incentivize a team in a trade.

New York Times

Dave McMenamin: Dalton Knecht on Bronny James’ putback dunk against GSW: “It was fire” pic.x.com/Y624vGvXsi

Twitter

Law Murray: JJ Redick says that Dalton Knecht "did too much after the season" and was burnt out at summer league. Adds that Knecht is in great shape and has played well this month.

Twitter

Are you hearing anything about the expected rotation role of Adou Thiero? Was he drafted to be developed or to play right away, as the roster needs athleticism? With Dalton Knecht, did his summer-league performance affect the team’s expectations and role for this year? —@prettytile Dan Woike: There were definitely some eyebrows raised around the NBA when Thiero missed summer league with a knee issue, but I can finally offer a little optimism (we’re 1,000 or so words in so I probably should). I’ve been told Thiero has been working out in the Lakers’ facility and is expected to be participating once training camp opens at the end of September. As far as his role? It’s gonna be crowded. But it’s sort of a universal truth in the NBA. If young players want to get on the court, you do it by making an impact on the defensive end. And Thiero has the tools to make an impact on the defensive end. I won’t go too in-depth on Knecht, other than to say that I think NBA evaluators haven’t put much stock into his summer-league performance.

New York Times