'It felt like a movie': Lakers' Dalton Knecht discusses how his wild week went down during the failed trade to the Hornets
A wild week for Dalton Knecht has finally come full circle for the Los Angeles Lakers rookie. And what a crazy week it was. One right out of Hollywood. Knecht's words, not mine. Last Wednesday night, the news broke that the former Tennessee Vol standout was being included as part of a trade package centered […]
A wild week for Dalton Knecht has finally come full circle for the Los Angeles Lakers rookie.
And what a crazy week it was. One right out of Hollywood. Knecht's words, not mine.
Last Wednesday night, the news broke that the former Tennessee Vol standout was being included as part of a trade package centered around Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams. A pairing with former Tennessee Vols All-American Grant Williams appeared to be in the cards in the Queen City.
Until it wasn't. The trade was rescinded by the Lakers after Williams allegedly failed a physical. Suddenly, Knecht was pulling a U-turn and coming back to Los Angeles.
And one week later, on Wednesday in Salt Lake City, Knecht did what he does for the Lakers: make three-point shots. Knecht added 10 points on 3-7 shooting from behind the arc in 17 minutes off the bench in Utah's 131-119 win over Los Angeles.
After the game, Knecht talked about how this last week has been, and it's one that's fitting for a city that rolls out blockbuster films.
"It felt like a movie," Knecht said. "After that game, came back the next day. Went to go get some shots up at the gym. 20 free throws in, I usually shoot 25 right before I shoot, and Rob (Pelinka) called me up there and told me the news. It's hard. I got drafted here, so LA means a lot. Hearing that and going to Charlotte, I'm a Hornet with one of my guys. And then being introduced and meeting all those people.
"And then fly out to Detroit to what was called my debut game. To then, now I'm flying back to LA. Rob called me and said you're coming back. I was just excited to go out there and hoop no matter where I was going. I just wanted to go hoop. I told that to JJ (Redick) and Rob. I get it's a business, so at the end of the day, I told them let's just go play basketball."
Talk about getting yanked around. Getting dragged all the way out to Charlotte and then going up to Detroit to start playing. Meeting new potential teammates. Then, on your way to your first game, getting called back and suddenly flying back to the team that didn't want you in the first place. That's the cold world of professional sports.
To his credit, Knecht has handled it well publicly. That's a tough situation for any player to be in, with even some former players saying it's something that Knecht should take very personally.
Now, it seems as though things will go on as normal for Knecht and the Lakers, with superstar Luka Doncic now on the roster. At least that appears to be where JJ Redick expects things to go.
"I thought his spirit was good, I thought he played well," Redick said after the game on Wednesday in response to a question about where things were with Knecht's spirits and mentality. "We're not going to talk about it anymore. We've talked about it. He's in a good spot."
Knecht will have some time to think things over more, as the Lakers head into the All-Star break for a week.
Their next game? Against the Charlotte Hornets on February 19.
Just like a Hollywood script.
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