Judging player development on winning teams can be a challenge. After all, on a good team, rookies and two-year guys will rarely see the floor due to the emphasis on winning.
So, game film might be sparse, and the minutes we do get can often happen when the results in a game are a foregone conclusion. Last year, Dalton Knecht’s minutes dipped in the second half and he struggled in those games.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick, however, has some context to give on Knecht’s recent struggles that paints a rosier picture of him heading into his sophomore season.
“Dalton’s in a really good spot right now,” Redick said on media day. “ I’ve had a number of conversations with him throughout the summer. They’ve all been very positive. I really believe this. The guy did too much after the season. I think in Summer League, he was burnt out.
“He was coming in here at 5 a.m., getting shots up, then doing two workouts with our Summer League staff in the weight room. We had our last conditioning run of the preseason today and he beat everybody by a long, long way. He’s in phenomenal shape. He’s in a great spot mentally. He’s played well throughout September.”
Redick providing this context certainly helps explain why Knecht’s shot was absent for Summer League. If he pushed too much and burnt himself out, that’s not a scenario where you can be fresh and play your best.
Hearing that he’s in a much better place entering the new year suggests he might return to being the elite shooter we saw early in his rookie year.
Still, he does have to start showing it. In two preseason games so far, he has remained underwhelming. He performed so poorly that one NBA scout even called him a “negative asset” after his game against the Suns.
This will be a big year for Knecht.
If Redick is right, then his top shape should lead to more good games from Knecht. While Redick’s words certainly hold a lot of weight, we’ll see if they match the Lakers’ actions.
The franchise has until Oct. 31 to pick up the third-year team option on Knecht’s deal. If they do that, then it means they are ready to commit to an additional year of his development.
If they decline it, then perhaps this is just coach speak coming from Redick.