The Los Angeles Lakers have to accept by now that they blew their 2024 first-round pick, taking Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht. Their regret only grows as a player they passed on begins to break out, just as Jaylon Tyson is doing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Holding the 17th pick in an NBA Draft is hardly a guarantee of finding a future star, or even a surefire starter. For every rotation player found just outside of the lottery, there is a bust taken. The Lakers whiffing on the pick is not some grave sin.
And whiff the Lakers have. Dalton Knecht always looked like a low-upside swing with the 17th pick despite all of the immediate chatter that the Lakers had gotten a steal. His high-volume breakout at Tennessee in his final college season was impressive, but it wasn't the sort of profile that translated easily to the NBA.
Translate it has not, as Knecht was inconsistent as a rookie and has regressed in his second season. He is down to just 12.8 minutes per game at the back-end of JJ Redick's rotation, and the supposed sharpshooter is hitting just 31.9 percent from 3-point range.
His per-36 numbers paint the story of a shaky shooter with minimal defensive impact and a nonexistent passing game. Knecht has become a catch-and-shoot player who isn't shooting well and is a defensive turnstile. If Redick had a better option, Knecht wouldn't be playing at all.
Acknowledging that Knecht is a bust is fine -- as we mentioned, that happens after the first few picks of the draft. Yet what twists the knife for the Lakers is that one of the players they passed on is having a breakout season into exactly the kind of player they needed Dalton Knecht to be.
Jaylon Tyson is breaking out
After the Lakers took Knecht with the 17th pick, the next three picks all went to wing players with some hope of shooting and secondary playmaking. Colorado's Tristan Da Silva went to the Orlando Magic, Baylor's Ja'Kobe Walter went to the Toronto Raptors, and California's Jaylon Tyson went to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Da Silva and Walter have been fine to start their careers, and each would have been a better choice than Knecht. Yet somehow the Lakers missed on scouting a player at Cal, as Jaylon Tyson is proving himself to be the one they let get away.
Tyson has elevated into the top of the Cavaliers' rotation, sometimes starting, other times coming off the bench, but for significant minutes. A week ago, he dropped 23 points on the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Friday he poured in a career-high 39 points against the Philadelphia 76ers, hitting seven 3-pointers.
Whereas Knecht is struggling to make shots, Tyson can't miss in his second season. He is hitting 47.5 percent from 3-point range on 4.3 attempts per game; that mark is second-best in the entire NBA among qualified players. For a Cavaliers team that has long searched for the ideal starting small forward, they appear to have found it in Jaylon Tyson.
How badly could the Lakers use a 3-and-D knockdown shooter? They are canvassing the league for such a player, and they could have a cost-controlled rising star in that role. Instead, they have Dalton Knecht running around screens and bricking 3-pointers.
Tyson may not become a true star, but he does appear to be earning the starting role on a playoff team. A starting-level wing is the most valuable non-star commodity in the league, and Cleveland finding him could save this era of their team.
The Lakers sure would love to have a Jaylon Tyson on their roster. Instead, the regret grows as the gap between their strikeout and the Cavaliers' triple becomes all the more obvious.