The Los Angeles Lakers are one of ESPN's NBA Draft winners after picking Dalton Knecht
The Los Angeles Lakers were one of ESPN’s biggest winners in the NBA Draft after Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht slid to them at No. 17 overall in the first round.
ESPN described Knecht “shockingly” falling out of the NBA Draft lottery and into “the welcoming hands of the Lakers, who gleefully picked him up.”
Knecht entered the NBA Draft ranked No. 8 on ESPN’s list of the top 100 available prospects in the draft. He was widely projected to go in the top 10 on draft day, including No. 6 overall to the Charlotte Hornets in the final NBA mock draft.
ESPN: Dalton Knecht’s age caused slide in first round of NBA Draft
ESPN cited Knecht’s age, with him turning 23 on April 19, as the biggest reason for the fall to the Lakers at No. 17.
“Not concerns about his medicals or other reasons that primarily caused his slide,” ESPN wrote. “His workouts and interviews were excellent, some of those same executives confirmed, with his defense being another reason cited for his fall down the draft board.”
ESPN also reported “some surprising picks” in the middle of the lottery that left Knecht’s name on the board.
The 6-foot-6, 213-pound Knecht starred in his one and only season at Tennessee, after transferring to the Vols from Northern Colorado. He was a consensus First Team All-American and the SEC Player of the Year after averaging 21.7 points per game and 25.5 points in SEC play.
Knecht scored a career-high 40 points against Kentucky in his final game at Food City Center. He scored 30 or more points in eight games, 20 or more points in 19 games and 10 or more points in 32 of Tennessee’s 36 games.
He had 39 at home against both Florida and Auburn, 37 at North Carolina to tie a record for the most points scored by an opposing player at the Dean Smith Center, and 37 more in his final game, leading the Vols to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history before falling to Purdue, 72-66.
‘We would have never imagined a player as skilled … perfect for our needs would be there’
“We would have never imagined a player as skilled and sort of perfect for our needs would be there for us, as Dalton Knecht (was),” Rob Pelinka, LA’s director of basketball operations and general manager, said Wednesday night after the draft. “We had him as a top-10 player unanimously across our scout boards … just couldn’t be happier.”
ESPN reported new Lakers head coach JJ Redick as a “huge fan” of the Knecht pick after “preaching the importance of adding shooting to the roster”.
“(Knecht is) a prolific shooter who converted 40% of his 3s, but he also does quite a bit of damage in the open court,” ESPN wrote, “attacking closeouts, in pick-and-roll, in the post and coming off screens, making him a complete offensive player.”
