The biggest skill that new Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht is bringing to this team is his shooting ability. On a team with dominant paint presences in Anthony Davis and LeBron James, players who can provide spacing are imperative and Knecht has that in spades.
Knecht shot 38.3% from 3-point range for his college career and was at his best last season knocking down 39.7%. And he isn’t just a standstill shooter as he is more than capable of moving without the ball, coming off screens and firing, something his head coach with the Lakers JJ Redick is very familiar with.
In fact, while at Tennessee, Knecht studied film of Redick so he could pick up different ways to help himself get open. And now to play for him is something he is looking forward to.
“Yeah, that’s really exciting,” Knecht said of playing for Redick. “At Tennessee, I watched a lot of JJ Redick with Coach Barnes. Just the way he moves and paces himself, and was able to create space. So hearing that, it’s going to be really exciting and really special.”
Redick was one of the best scorers college basketball had ever seen. At Duke, he was able to use the threat of his shooting to open up other avenues to attack so Knecht patterning his game after the Lakers coach makes a ton of sense.
And who better to understand how to best maximize that kind of skillset than Redick himself. Redick likely sees a lot of himself in Knecht and will be sure to put him in the best positions to succeed as possible. That’s something that is made even easier when being on a team with LeBron and Davis.
Overall, the fit with Knecht on the Lakers is perfect from a roster standpoint, and having that coach in Redick that will understand exactly how to get the most out of him is reason to be excited for both the Lakers and Knecht himself.
Dalton Knecht was a unanimous top-10 player on Lakers draft board
The fact that Dalton Knecht was even available when the Lakers got on the clock with the 17th overall pick was a surprise to nearly everyone. Most draft experts had Knecht being a lottery pick, if not a top-10 selection, and the Lakers themselves felt the same way.
Rob Pelinka revealed to the media that the Tennessee wing was a unanimous top-10 player on the Lakers draft boards. So to land him at 17 was a major boon for the Lakers and the excitement surrounding the pick is justified.
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