Former Tennessee Vols basketball standout Dalton Knecht has had a tough start to his NBA career. The former Vol has been unable to lock down a consistent role with the Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s been a tough start to former Tennessee Vols star Dalton Knecht’s NBA career.
Knecht had some bright moments as a rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, scoring 37 points in his first month in the NBA in 2024.
The former Vol, however, was nearly traded to the Charlotte Hornets a little over a year ago. Knecht reported to Charlotte before the trade was rescinded. His role with the Lakers has been uneven at best since his return to Los Angeles.
Knecht has received inconsistent playing time while bouncing between the G League and the NBA.
The Colorado native has played more than six minutes in a game just once since January 13 (Knecht averaged only five minutes per game in March).
Dalton Knecht gets recalled to the Lakers due to major injuries
There are rumors that Los Angeles is going to attempt to move on from Knecht this offseason.
The Lakers reportedly wanted to trade Knecht last summer, but they’ve tanked his value to the point where teams didn’t want to give up anything to acquire him, despite his obvious scoring abilities.
Knecht, however, could get one final shot this season to show the rest of the NBA that he’s a valuable player.
The former Vol is reportedly being recalled to the Lakers from the G League following major injuries to starters Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Doncic and Reaves are expected to miss the rest of the regular season. Their status for the NBA playoffs is TBD.
With Doncic and Reaves sidelined, Knecht should get some significant playing time over the final few games of the regular season, and perhaps in the early rounds of the NBA playoffs.
This may be Knecht’s last chance show something before the Lakers make a decision on him this offseason. At the very least, if Knecht can show that he’s still a scorer, maybe it’ll be enough for another team to show interest in trading for the former SEC player of the year.
Tennessee Volunteers News
The Tennessee Vols, like most programs this time of year, have had some ups and downs during spring practice. The Vols’ offense, specifically, has lagged behind the defense a bit as the Vols’ quarterback competition continues.