The Los Angeles Lakers had a forgettable NBA offseason, with the group failing to improve the roster by means of free company whereas additionally being unable to make trades to usher in vital upgrades.
Nonetheless, the group did land maybe the steal of the 2024 NBA Draft, as College of Tennessee product Dalton Knecht fell of their laps with the No. 17 general decide, which was a surprising improvement as many anticipated him to get taken a lot earlier within the first spherical.
Though there have been numerous questions on this Lakers group, particularly with first-time head coach JJ Redick main the best way on the sideline, bringing in Knecht seems to be already paying off for Los Angeles.
On Wednesday night time, the Lakers have been capable of win a 3rd straight recreation whereas sustaining their flawless report at house at Crypto.com Enviornment (6-0), with Knecht having the very best recreation of his rookie marketing campaign, scoring a career-high 18 factors on 7-for-8 capturing in opposition to the Memphis Grizzlies.
ESPN’s Tim Legler believes this efficiency could be what begins to unlock Knecht for the Lakers shifting ahead through NBA on ESPN.
“Breakout game,” Legler mentioned. “Now he had 18 earlier in the year that was in a blowout loss to the Cavs. That’s not the same as this. They needed these points. I think this could be something that’s an impetus for Dalton Knecht to get going.”
With the Lakers having some critical points with depth and gamers like Max Christie and Gabe Vincent not panning out to this point, Knecht changing into an important function participant will likely be essential to the group’s success this season.
It’ll be fascinating to see if Redick places extra belief within the rookie and if that gamble pays off for Los Angeles.
NEXT:
Insider Reveals When LeBron James Is Seemingly To Retire
