The Los Angeles Lakers just landed Baylor’s Cameron Carr in the 2026 NBA Draft, but based on his recent comment about Dalton Knecht, he could already be on the wrong path. When asked about his freshman season at Tennessee, he said that he tried to “copy” everything Knecth did. Obviously, the NBA is a different world, but that’s enough to give LA fans nightmares.
Knecth hasn’t really panned out with the Lakers. He barely plays nowadays, even though, when he was drafted, he was seen as a guy who could immediately help the Lakers. So, if Carr decides to once again follow in Knecht’s footsteps, it could be bad.
That’s a nightmare the Lakers don’t want to live through again.
Lakers need Cameron Carr to avoid copying Dalton Knecht
Daniel Starkland of Lakers Nation, who put out the tidbit from Carr, also revealed that he and Knecht are still close: "Our connection is still strong, that's still my guy."
From that perspective, it’s a good thing. Carr already having someone in the organization who is close with him should help him integrate into the team a bit better from the jump.
However, Lakers fans better hope that’s where Carr stops relying on his connection with Knecht. Because if he tries to do what he did during his freshman year with the Volunteers, then things could go awry.
During his first season in the NBA, Knecht played pretty well. He appeared in 78 games, shot well from the field, and played 19.2 minutes per contest. It was a fairly successful season for Knecht to build upon.
Unfortunately, this past year, Knecht took a major step back. He just wasn’t a big part of JJ Redick’s rotational plans, appearing in just 54 games and playing just 10.1 minutes per contest.
As is the case with every rookie that comes into the league, Lakers fans want Carr to succeed. They want Carr to come in and make an impact alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
If he becomes the best version of himself, Carr could be a solid secondary creator for the Lakers off the bench – ironically, the exact type of player Knecht was supposed to be for the Lakers.
In his quest to potentially learn from and follow in the footsteps of Knecht, Carr could replace what his former teammate has failed to bring to the table in LA.
However, before that happens, Lakers fans had better hope he doesn’t keep following in Knecht’s footsteps as he did in college.
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