The Los Angeles Lakers have explored the trade market this past weekend to move on from Dalton Knecht.
NBA insider Marc Stein dropped his latest report on the Lakers guard, as Knecht might be waived if no deal materializes with other teams.
"The Lakers spent the weekend trying to find a workable trade to ship out Dalton Knecht and maybe even bring back a big man — such as Milwaukee's Jericho Sims as Jake revealed in his Thursday piece — to shave their roster from 16 guaranteed contracts to 15," Stein wrote.
"If no trade can be found, they'll have to waive Knecht (or someone else) by the cut-down buzzer."
Lakers still exploring Dalton Knecht trade
The Los Angeles Lakers currently have 16 players on standard contracts and have until Monday to decide their final 15-man lineup before opening their season on Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors.
Dalton Knecht has been overwhelmingly regarded as the odd man out in LA, given his on-court struggles for the Lakers.
After a meteoric rise in his first few months with the Lakers as the franchise's No. 17 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, an unforeseen decline in the middle of his rookie season disturbed Knecht's momentum.
He also had to endure distractions after he was subjected to the Lakers' infamous failed trade acquisition of Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams.
After averaging 9.1 points in 19.2 minutes across 78 games (16 starts) in his rookie season, Knecht was completely out of JJ Redick's rotation this past 2025-26. He just averaged 4.2 points in 10.2 minutes, appearing in 54 games.
The Lakers reportedly held exploratory trade talks with the Milwaukee Bucks about a potential deal involving Knecht and Jericho Sims. However, it remains unclear whether the discussions have made any significant progress.