It’s no secret that the Lakers are facing a roster crunch ahead of the regular-season start in 2 ½ weeks.
That doesn’t bode well for Dalton Knecht, who could find himself on the outside looking in.
Knecht, the third-year wing the Lakers selected with the No. 17 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, made a big splash as a rookie.
He was in the rotation from the start of the 2024-25 season, stepping into the starting lineup in mid-November amid injuries — which produced the best stretch of his brief NBA career: Knecht averaged 18.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in the final nine games of November 2024 (nine starts).
Even when he hit a shooting slump in January and December, Knecht was still getting consistent playing time as a part of the rotation.
It looked like Knecht was going to come out of the slump after scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the Lakers’ win over the Clippers on Feb. 4, 2025.
But his career hasn’t been the same since.
The Lakers included Knecht in the trade for Mark Williams that was rescinded, and Knecht’s playing time for the Lakers wasn’t the same after he returned to the team.
That was still true during Knecht’s second season with the Lakers in 2025-26: He played 553 total minutes during the regular season across 54 games after recording 1,494 minutes in 78 regular-season games as a rookie.
But with a significant roster reconstruction around star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, there’s plenty of playing time to go around.
“It’s a whole new opportunity for all of us,” Knecht said on media day this week. “Like [coach] JJ [Redick] said, there’s a lot of minutes open.”
But it’s unlikely Knecht will soak up those minutes.
Until Thursday, Knecht wasn’t mentioned — directly or indirectly — by Redick or president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka during any of their media availabilities.
Other wing players such as free agent additions Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, second-year forward Adou Thiero or rookie wing Cameron Carr had gotten significantly more attention as discussion points.
Not a good sign for Knecht, whom multiple rival executives expect to be the odd man out as the Lakers look to trim their roster from 16 players on standard NBA deals to the league maximum of 15.
“First of all, he’s been a pro,” Redick said of Knecht on Thursday. “He’s been in the gym. Like he has since Day 1, he has worked his butt off all offseason. And he’s had a good three days of practice. So I don’t think his approach changes. I know he’s hungry to play and hungry to earn a spot in the rotation.”
The Lakers still have time to sort out the roster crunch.
As Pelinka pointed out, they don’t have to make a decision until the regular season starts. Remaining practices will determine who’ll stay with the team. And it will give the team time to survey the NBA landscape for consolidation trades.
Even with the minimal things the Lakers have said about Knecht, it’s been what they haven’t said that’s stood out the most.
