Dalton Knecht, who was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round of the 2024 NBA Draft, has played well during the 2024 NBA Summer League. Paul Pierce believes the Lakers should utilize his current value in a trade to acquire a third star, via Undisputed.
“Dalton Knecht has improved his stock,” Pierce said. “Now you can throw him in a package with like, (Austin) Reaves and D-Lo (D'Angelo Russell), where now you can probably net a third star. I don't know who that star is. I'm happy to see that Knecht is playing this way because if he hadn't been playing this way then that's not even a possibility.
“So if the Lakers want to contend, they have, you know, some valuable pieces they can put together now in a trade package. Which makes more sense to me.”
Knecht is a Tennessee product who entered the draft with uncertainty. He had played well in college but it was not clear when he would be drafted. The thought of Knecht falling to the No. 17 overall pick was fairly surprising, but that is exactly what occurred. As a result, the Lakers drafted the Tennessee product who is now displaying signs of potential in the NBA Summer League.
Should Lakers trade Dalton Knecht?
The Lakers should not just trade Knecht for the sake of heading in a different direction. He is a quality young player with an intriguing ceiling.
Pierce made the point that LA's window to win with LeBron James may be small at this point. James likely does not have many years left in the NBA so going all in right now makes sense.
If the Lakers could package a deal that includes Knecht for a third star, then LA should consider making the move. Thinking about the future is smart but the Lakers understand that LeBron wants to be on a contender before he retires. Trading a player such as Dalton Knecht along with Russell and/or Reaves could lead to Los Angeles receiving a third star.
Of course, there would be far more details to work out in a potential deal. The financial aspect would have to make sense and the Lakers would likely need to deal picks away as well, depending on how much value the star they would acquire holds.
Lakers' 2024-25 outlook
The Lakers were a play-in team during the 2023-24 season. They featured a similar type of regular season in 2022-23 before making a deep postseason run, as they ended up reaching the Western Conference Finals before getting swept by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.
LA is capable of making a run in the playoffs. Setting themselves up for a better postseason spot will be of the utmost importance, however. They cannot continue to play mediocre basketball during the regular season in hopes of getting hot at the right time in the postseason.
Perhaps trading Dalton Knecht and acquiring a third star would go a long way towards solving the team's regular season frustrations.
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