Dalton Knecht is heading into the Los Angeles Lakers’ training camp with more pressure than most second-year players, and he has no one to blame but himself. After a rocky summer league and an unclear path to minutes this season, his margin for error has shrunk dramatically.
Dalton Knecht is running out of chances in Los Angeles
The Lakers expected Knecht to build on a solid rookie year. Instead, his momentum has stalled. His summer league showing did not just raise eyebrows; it raised red flags. The shooting was not there, the defense looked lost, and the polish that made him a first-round pick seemed to disappear.
“He had such a disappointing summer league,” said Jovan Buha on his podcast. “As a 24-year-old going into his second season, we needed to see a better performance.”
Knecht averaged just 10.3 points on 27.9 percent shooting and hit only 23.8 percent from beyond the arc, the one skill the Lakers drafted him for. On top of that, he posted as many turnovers as assists and struggled to defend at even a basic level.
Buha did not hold back there either: “That was some of the worst defense we’ve seen from him.”
The bigger issue at hand is that the Lakers do not have time to wait. This is a win-now team, and the wing rotation is crowded.
Players like Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura, Bronny James, and even rookie Adou Thiero are all competing for the same minutes. As Buha put it, Knecht could “be leapfrogged by a couple of guys in the rotation” if he doesn’t come out sharp. It is obvious that the sense of urgency is starting to set in.
To be clear, Knecht’s rookie season was not a bust. 9.1 points per game on 37.6 percent shooting from three across 78 appearances is solid. In his second year, “solid” is not going to cut it, especially on this squad. The Lakers need reliable contributors who do not need time to find their game.
Training camp and preseason are now make-or-break opportunities. Knecht still has a lane to earn minutes, the shooting is real, and his feel for the game is there when he is not pressing. But he is no longer the presumed answer off the bench. He has to fight for it.
At the end of the day, he has the tools. He has the shot-making ability. But he also has a target on his back, and other guys are closing in.