The Los Angeles Lakers waived their 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht on Monday, the team announced.
The Lakers had 16 players under contract and needed to cut down to 15 — the most an NBA roster can carry — by Monday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline.
Knecht was selected with the No. 17 pick in 2024 after a standout junior season at the University of Tennessee. The 6-foot-6 wing enjoyed a hot start to his pro career — including one nine-game stretch from mid- to late November his rookie season when he averaged 18.9 points on 55.4% shooting (52.2% from 3), 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists — but struggled to replicate that success since.
In February 2025, the Lakers traded Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, but the trade was rescinded after Williams failed the physical exam.
Knecht finished his rookie season averaging 9.1 points on 46.1% shooting (37.6% from 3) and 2.8 rebounds in 19.2 minutes across 78 games. In his second year, his playing time was cut to 10.2 minutes in 54 games and he averaged 4.2 points on 45.5% shooting (34.2% from 3) and 1.4 rebounds.
In four preseason appearances this month, Knecht averaged 2.8 points on 25% shooting (14.3% from 3) and 1.3 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game.
The Lakers pursued 2-for-1 trade opportunities to move Knecht and another player to acquire an additional big man, league sources told ESPN, but could not find a deal by Monday’s deadline.
Prior to L.A.’s preseason finale against the Denver Nuggets last week, Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked what he thought stalled Knecht’s momentum with the franchise.
“I think the biggest thing is the team changed,” Redick said. “The team changed. The needs changed, the fit changed. I think he got better as a player over the last two years. I think each guy has, particularly last year, each guy got plenty of opportunities with the amount of injuries we had. So, I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings and he’s in a tough spot right now.”
