Former Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht just gave Lakers fans something to talk about as trade rumors swirl
Trade rumors involving Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht, a former Tennessee Volunteers standout, have swirled all summer.
Trade rumors involving Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht have swirled all summer.
The expectation is that the former Tennessee Vols standout will be traded before the start of the 2026-27 NBA season.
Knecht, for reasons that are unclear, fell out of favor with Lakers head coach JJ Redick last season, and he saw his playing time slashed in half as a result.
Los Angeles essentially drafted Baylor guard Cameron Carr, who started his career at Tennessee, as a “replacement” for Knecht.
At this point, the Lakers are just waiting on the right deal (one rumor has the Lakers trading Knecht to the Atlanta Hawks).
With Knecht’s time in Los Angeles seemingly coming to an end, fans were surprised to see him sitting courtside at the Lakers’ Summer League game on Friday night.
Everyone knows the Lakers are trying to trade Knecht, so it feels a bit awkward to see him hanging out at a Los Angeles Summer League game. But these are still some of his buddies, and he’s a Laker until he’s not, so it’s not that crazy.
Still, fans were surprised to see him there, and other fans questioned why he’s not playing in Summer League games. But there’s an easy explanation for why he’s not playing — the Lakers don’t need him getting hurt and harming his trade stock.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see something go down with Knecht over the next couple of weeks as NBA teams work to complete their rosters for the upcoming season.