5 Lakers who benefit the most from the arrival of rookie Dalton Knecht

LeBron James

LeBron James is one of the greatest playmakers in NBA history. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar is also 39 years of age and coming off of the best three-point shooting season of his career. With the addition of Dalton Knecht, both of those facts are aided and acknowledged.

James, who will turn 40 in December, needs the offensive burden he carries to be distributed a bit more evenly, and adding a floor-spacer should go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.

James has always thrived when surrounded by three-point shooters who are willing and able to punish teams for doubling him. Knecht certainly fits the bill as a player who not only shot 39.7 percent on three-point field goal attempts in 2023-24, but was all but automatic in catch-and-shoot situations.

With a sharpshooting wing operating alongside him, James should be able to target his drives toward sides of the floor on which a defender can be easily exploited for cheating off their man.

Knecht also projects to be something of a shot creator, although those skills may develop at a slower rate than his jump shot. In either scenario, his size, length, leaping ability, and quickness should make him a lob target in transition and along the baseline.

Regardless of how he's utilized in the offensive system, it's clear that Knecht is a player who was added with James' strengths and needs in mind.