The notion for any LeBron James-led team is that draft picks should be used to make win-now moves to improve the roster. But, the Los Angeles Lakers have opted to use their last two first-round picks, selecting Jalen Hood-Schifino in 2023 and Dalton Knecht in 2024, both with the 17th overall pick.
While Hood-Schifino has been disappointing, Knecht has shown flashes of becoming a high-caliber role player. Many did not expect the former Tennessee Volunteer to be there at No. 17 as he was mocked to be in the top 10, but he ended up falling to L.A.
Due to those notions though, the Lakers scouting department understandably had their eyes elsewhere. One name the Lakers reportedly coveted was Bub Carrington before he was selected at No. 14 by the Portland Trail Blazers then traded to the Washington Wizards, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
Around the time Pitt’s Bub Carrington — a player the Lakers had coveted, sources told ESPN — went No. 14 to the Portland Trail Blazers, Knecht started to look like a real possibility.
Despite it being early in their respective careers, Knecht seems to be the better fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Seeing how much attention the stars attract, they need a shooter of Knecht’s caliber to knock down 3-pointers at a high volume.
Although it has not been perfect, there have been scoring outbursts, notably against the Utah Jazz where he dropped 37 points. Carrington is having a solid rookie season in Washington so it’ll be intriguing to see where Knecht and him end up in a few years, although considering the former was drafted 14th, the Lakers would’ve needed to trade up to get him.
With Knecht dropping to them at 17, the Lakers are happy with their choice despite the ups and downs he has gone through his rookie season.
LeBron James believes Dalton Knecht fits anything Lakers want to do
There simply has not been a movement shooter of Dalton Knecht’s level in the entire LeBron James and Anthony Davis era with the Lakers. Shooters have been a swing and a miss for L.A. as of late, as they have tried to find players to fill that void.
However, the 23-year-old seems to have filled that role up to this point despite a recent shooting slump. Granted, this is a relatively small sample size, but LeBron James thinks the rookie fits anything the Lakers want to do this season.
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