Dalton Knecht was selected with pick No. 17 by the Lakers in 2024 but his future with the franchise appears murky, reports Dan Woike of The Athletic.
Noted for his outside shooting, Knecht has no place in the rotation coming out of training camp. He could be traded now or kept on the roster to facilitate a later deal. But, given that the Lakers have 16 players on guaranteed contracts with the regular season deadline fast approaching, it’s also possible he could be waived, with the front office burning through the remaining $4.2 million on his contract.
“They drafted me for a reason, so I go out there and keep playing and stay confident. I don’t think anything has changed since then.” he said. “…It doesn’t matter who I’m with. I don’t think anything’s changed. It’s just part of the business and there’s no hard feelings. They understand. I came back here and they showed open arms, so it’s cool.”
Head coach JJ Redick noted that Knecht finds himself in a “difficult situation” due to roster changes.
“The team has changed. The needs have changed, the fit has changed,” » Redick said. “I think he’s improved as a player over the last couple of years. I think every guy, especially last year, every guy had a lot of opportunities with the amount of injuries we had. So I just think coming into this year we added a lot of wings and he’s in a tough situation right now.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Quentin Grimes has a role, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be in the starting lineup regularly, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Grimes was not among the five starters for Friday’s preseason finale after starting the previous four games. Grimes averaged 12.3 points and 2.5 assists in 24.3 minutes per game and shot 53.3 percent, including 41.2 percent from three-point range, during the preseason. “I think you look for balance in lineups and you look for players that complement each other and adapt to each other,” » Redick said. “He’s going to start a lot of games for us. That’s just the reality. I don’t know who our core starting group is yet.”
- Another court filing has been filed in the dispute between the acting governor Jeanie Buss and other members of the Buss family, reports ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Submitted to Los Angeles Superior Court, the new court document was filed on behalf of Joey Buss And Janie Buss in opposition to their sister and her previous petition to remove them as co-directors and overturn the siblings’ 5-1 vote to sell the family’s remaining stake in the team. The filing follows a 36-page opposition submitted to the court on October 7 by the five siblings, who were asserting their right to terminate the family trust and sell their remaining 17.82% of the team to Joshua Kushner And Bob Igerownership group after the two agreed to buy the Lakers from Marc Walter at a valuation of $12.5 billion.
- Ziaire Williams scored 14 points in the Lakers’ preseason finale, but only played 11 minutes. He suffers from a slight foot injury. “It’s important, man, just to get game reps with each other, but health is key,” he said, according to Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times. Williams is playing on a one-year veteran’s minimum contract that he signed in July.
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