The Ringer Mocks Dalton Knecht as No. 4 Pick in the NBA Draft

Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht has received a top-5 mock from The Ringer months out from the 2024 NBA Draft.

March 23, 2024, Charlotte, NC, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht (3) is defended by / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht has received a top-5 mock from The Ringer months out from the 2024 NBA Draft.

Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht has exploded onto the scene in recent months. The reigning SEC Player of the Year averaged 26 points per game during March Madness, leading the Vols to their second Elite 8 appearance in program history. He earned consensous first-team All-American honors and had one of the greatest scoring seasons in university history.

The 6-foot-6, 204-pound wing seemed like a lock to become a first-round pick in this year's NBA Draft before the tournament. Some mock drafts even had Knecht creeping into the lottery range, but the ceiling has been taken off after his March performances. The Ringer's lead NBA Draft analyst Kevin O'Connor released an updated 2024 NBA mock draft and had Knecht coming off the board at No. 4 overall to the Detroit Pistons.

"Is this pick too high for Knecht, who will be a 23-year-old rookie," O'Connor pondered. "Perhaps it is. But here’s my thought process behind this choice: The Pistons, one of the NBA’s worst teams, have few certainties on their roster. Cade Cunningham is blossoming, and they have to provide him with some stability. Knecht is a proven commodity: a good off-ball scorer who provides a lot of effort. And maybe, just maybe, the on-ball stuff will pop just like it did at Tennessee, providing Cade with the go-to scoring partner that none of his teammates have become."

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