NBA preseason is a time of glorious optimism and opportunity. Every team has a clean slate and high hopes for the coming campaign. Two-way players and Exhibit 10 guys alike are getting burn during the tune-up games to strut their stuff. Basketball-starved fans are eager to devour any game they can find. Vibes are electric, despite the rusty gameplay.
This is all why Los Angeles Lakers guard/wing Dalton Knecht is sticking out like a sore thumb through two preseason games. Unlike guys like Cameron Carr or William Kyle, who are flying around the court joyously for the Lakers, Knecht mostly saunters around like he doesn't give a darn.
Knecht is in the NBA because of his shooting, but he hoisted just one shot in 12 minutes of action against the Sacramento Kings on Monday. Though his playing time was limited against Sacramento, there was far more than one opportunity for Knecht to let it fly. He seemed like he didn't care to.
On Tuesday night, as the Lakers played without six of their rotation guys, Knecht received 22 minutes of PT. He took eight shots this time around (there ya go!), but he still looked sad and defeated out there. I wasn't the only one to notice. Lakers analyst Jovan Buha was right there with me.
"I don't want to completely bury him," Buha said of Knecht, "but I did not like his disposition, energy, and vibe through like the first three quarters. He had some really bad possessions ... three turnovers ... just getting blocked at the rim and feeling like he was kind of going through the motions at times. ... The final stat line, 11 points ... but underneath the hood ... I feel like he was pretty bad through the first three, three-and-a-half quarters."
Lakers need to part ways with Dalton Knecht's weak energy ASAP
So ... what's the deal with Knecht? While we never know what players might be going through off the court and need to reserve judgment to an extent, we can also only work with the knowledge at our disposal. In this case, we're led to assume that Knecht is still feeling salty about his place in the Lakers' depth chart pecking order.
Knecht's never looked the same since he was involved in the infamous botched trade for Mark Williams that the Lakers tried in 2025. While that was an awkward moment for Knecht -- who had to return to the Lakers and carry on with business -- it's only Knecht's fault if he's still letting that episode impact his career and mental approach to playing basketball.
If Knecht's really been on a downward confidence spiral since getting (almost) traded, maybe he's simply not cut out for the NBA from a mental standpoint. After all, hundreds upon hundreds of far greater players than Knecht have been traded in this league and didn't miss a beat. It's part of the profession. If Knecht's still in his feelings about that ordeal, or about the fact that the Lakers have moved on to shinier, newer wings like Carr, he's probably not going to succeed at this level.
All of this leads me to the conclusion that the Lakers are smart to be shopping Knecht, as has been reported for months. In fact, the Lakers now look all the wiser for having tried to trade Knecht in 2025 -- maybe they knew then what we're beginning to see now about his attitude.
Dalton Knecht's victim disposition isn't helping himself or Lakers
No matter how you're being treated by a franchise -- and in Knecht's case, it's been less than ideal -- there's never a good reason to stop playing hard once you check into an NBA game, even in the preseason. If Knecht had handled his botched trade better and kept knocking on the door as a legit prospect who busts his butt, we might be sitting here today talking about how resilient he is, and how the Lakers need to do whatever they can to hold onto him, despite guys like Carr joining the club.
Knecht's gone in the wrong direction with his energy, and the Lakers will be much better off without him in the picture moving forward. Hopefully they can get a deal done soon, and hopefully Knecht snaps out of his current malaise with his next team.
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