The last week for Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht has been an absolute whirlwind, to say the least. The guard was traded prior to the deadline to the Charlotte Hornets as part of a package in exchange for center Mark Williams. However, after a failed physical by Williams, the trade was rescinded and Knecht and Cam Reddish had to return to the team.
It makes for a very awkward situation, especially for a rookie who has never been traded before, let alone have to return back to the team that just dealt him away. Knecht was back on the court for the first time since returning to the Lakers and afterwards revealed that ultimately, he is excited to return to the team and just play basketball, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“It was a crazy time. Not too many people have done that and come back. But at the end of the day, I just wanted to hoop. I told that to JJ and Rob when I got back, that was the main thing was I just wanted to hoop. I wanted to play but I got in late and at the end of the day they said Wednesday was my return so I was excited to come back here and play with my guys.”
Knecht continued on in more detail about everything that he went through in going back and forth between the Lakers and Hornets:
“It felt like a movie. After that game, came back the next day and went to go get some shots up in the gym. Twenty free throws in, I usually always shoot 25 right before I shoot, and Rob called me up there and told me the news. It was hard, got drafted here and L.A. means a lot, so hearing that and then I went over to Charlotte in the morning with one of my guys and got introduced and met all those people. Flew out to Detroit to what was called my debut game, to now I’m flying back to L.A. and Rob called me and said you’re coming back. I was excited to just go out there and hoop no matter where I was going. I just wanted to go hoop. I told that to JJ and Rob. I get it’s a business, so at the end of the day, I told them let’s just go play basketball.”
Some wondered why Knecht didn’t suit up for the Lakers on Monday, but after a conversation with head coach JJ Redick, they agreed that it was best to wait until Wednesday night:
“We sat down and talked right when I got back. We had a couple conversations and we ultimately agreed that Monday I wouldn’t play because I got in super late from my flight. So we knew Wednesday I was gonna play so I was excited to do what I love to do and that’s go out there and compete and play with my teammates.”
It is a difficult situation for Knecht without a doubt, but he has the right mindset to be able to move past this. And now that he is officially back with the Lakers, he can focus on basketball and continue to contribute to this team down the stretch of this season.
JJ Redick discusses what went wrong for Lakers in loss vs. Jazz
Dalton Knecht was solid in his first game back with the Lakers, scoring 10 points off the bench, but it came in a disappointing overall effort as the Lakers were blown out by the Utah Jazz.
Head coach JJ Redick spoke after the game about what went wrong in the contest and wasn’t willing to use the upcoming All-Star break as an excuse. Redick felt the Lakers lost sight of what had been working for them, especially defensively and weren’t physical enough, allowing the Jazz to gain confidence and run away with the game.
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