The Lakers Need To Prioritize Development Of Dalton Knecht

Bronny James might get most of the headlines, but on the court the Lakers should lean into the better rookie.

Oct 4, 2024; Palm Desert, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht (4) reacts after scoring against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half at Acrisure Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers, and the NBA at large, will likely market Bronny James a fair ton this upcoming season.

It makes sense. He's LeBron's kid, he came in insanely hyped, and following his path to find out if he's any good will, to many fans, be extremely interesting.

This, in many ways, might be the best possible outcome for Dalton Knecht, the team's first-round rookie, and the player most likely — between him and James — to realize his potential.

Knecht has been covered at large on this site before, so to quickly recap: This man can score. And he is indeed a man, as he's 23 years old, and will turn 24 right near the end of the regular season.

By all accounts, yes, Knecht is an old rookie. But that's hardly the whole story. His age might be advanced, but so is his scoring capabilities. Knecht was a straight-up bucket at Tennessee, averaging 21.7 points in just 30.6 minutes, and doing so from all over.

On average, Knecht knocked down 2.6 triples, 4.8 two's, and 4.4 free throws per game last year. He scored via a multitude of ways, be that self-creation, off the ball, in transition, off mid-range pull-ups, and even had some success with his back against the basket.

The Lakers, who struggled mightily last season in locating their own identity, finally has an offensive-minded head coach in JJ Redick. That hire should also benefit Knecht greatly, as Redick was a master of understanding pace and space during his own playing career.

This isn't to say Knecht is going to hit the ground running - although that door shouldn't be closed - but it will offer the rookie a ton of interesting wrinkles of which he stands to benefit. 

At 23, with a coach tailored to make him work, and media attention devoted elsewhere, Knecht might be the most fortunate and privileged first-round rookie of this class, as he can buy some time identifying the best possible role for himself. 

So, what's the overarching expectation?

I'd argue that for the Lakers, at least internally, they should expect him to be an immediate rotation piece due to his overall NBA readiness. It's not like the team can't use him, particularly as they're short on spacing yet again.

Leaning into the Knecht experience should be a priority. Even if they have plenty of veteran role players around, you have to wonder if they offer the same upside.

---

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.