Dalton Knecht's path to getting on an NBA floor hinges on his sweet shot-making ability from beyond the arc. The added necessity for him to stay there comes from needing to provide passable defensive play. The Los Angeles Lakers have yet to see the latter from their soon-to-be sophomore.
It's only preseason, but Knecht is already displaying the same kind of woeful troubles that got him dropped from the Lakers rotation in the stretch run of the 2024-25 campaign. Everyone sees it. Lakers reporter Jovan Buha certainly did not shy away from highlighting the subject.
Buha said, "[I] still think the defense is problematic with Dalton. ... You got to know your personnel. You got to know who you're guarding. ... Too many mistakes from him on that end to the point where he's just not looking like a rotation player, as currently constructed."
The host of Buha's Block spotlighted a simple give-and-go play with Stephen Curry where Knecht got completely blown by. Buha admitted Dalton should not generally be a player guarding someone as great as Curry, but the defensive IQ was still lacking tremendously for the 24-year-old.
Knecht's offensive flashes can’t hide glaring defensive issues for Lakers
The credit is due to Knecht on the other end. The Lakers sharpshooter racked up 12 points, albeit shooting 3-11 from the field and 2-7 from beyond the arc, against the Golden State Warriors in the preseason. Added to that were six rebounds, three assists, and one block, with a plus/minus of +6.
It was not all bad for Knecht. However, when that bad is atrocious, it tends to stand out a lot more than the good ways in which the former Tennessee product can impact the game.
Simply put, Knecht needs his defense to hover around average to reliably find playing time in 2025-26. There are no immediate indicators of the situation trending in that direction.
While this will only be Knecht's second season in the NBA, this is not a young prospect that is being discussed. His age has already been brought up. After spending an extended period in the NCAA, one would want to see Knecht come out of that process far more polished than he is.
The defense was always highlighted as a concern for him, even while still in the NCAA ranks. However, there were enough flashes of solid team defense from Knecht at Tennessee that one would have been forgiven for believing that much would shine through at the NBA level. It hasn't.
With the Lakers having more steady contributors for the wings after the addition of Jake LaRavia and the revival of Jarred Vanderbilt, it is difficult to see a clear pathway for Knecht to find a spot in the rotation this season. It may be a long campaign for the second-year pro.