The Los Angeles Lakers are officially in a new era with Luka Doncic now at the helm, [and LeBron James seemingly on the verge of retirement](https://lakeshowlife.com/lebron-james-next-team-painfully-obvious-lakers-questions-mount). Now, as they look to evaluate the roster and build out next year's depth chart, Dalton Knecht's polarizing rookie year is going to play a part in determining where he stands.
It was simply [a strange season for the talented youngster](https://lakeshowlife.com/dalton-knecht-massive-training-camp-save-shocking-fate). Coming in as an older rookie, Knecht had more of a physical readiness for the league than many of his peers from his class. That led to him really finding his shot early, and getting a large portion of the Lakers' fanbase excited and riled up about his future.
But as everyone who watched this team last season knows, the highs matched the lows for Dalton. There were times where his shot was falling and he was scoring 37 points against the Utah Jazz, and there were other times where his defensive deficiencies kept him off the floor entirely.
It's uncertain where Knecht currently stands on the Lakers' depth chart
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Then of course, there's also the elephant in the room to consider. Knecht's production seemed to be down from an overall perspective following the early February trade that was supposed to send him to the Charlotte Hornets. When the deal was rescinded, it led to a strange situation where all of a sudden he was back with a team that he previously thought didn't want him anymore.
Having something like that play out in your rookie year is certainly going to create some confusion and possibly mess with your confidence a little bit. Knecht was fully suited up at Hornets practice and going through the motions with LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and the rest of the gang in Charlotte. Then shortly after, he was right back in a Lakers uniform.
That probably threw him for a loop, and it's understandable why his game performance was even more shaky after this. The thing is, JJ Redick already showed that he didn't want to play Knecht as much down the stretch of last season, and he clearly didn't feel comfortable leaning on him in the playoffs either (four total minutes logged in five playoff games against the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one).
So that leaves us in a bit of an uncertain situation when thinking about Knecht's future. Is he going to get more than 20 minutes per night in his sophomore season? It's hard to say as of right now, but it'll certainly be an interesting storyline to follow in the upcoming Lakers season.