Lakers coach JJ Redick on Dalton Knecht: 'To me ... he is in the 1% of shooters'
JJ Redick knows a shooter when he sees one. All the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers did during his 17-year NBA career was knock down 2,139 3-pointers while shooting 41.5% from the 3-point line. That was all after a four-year career at Duke that saw him hit 457 threes at a 40.6% clip.
That’s why his comments on the Lowe Post Podcast with Zach Lowe carry a little more weight.
“Dalton Knecht, to me, I told him this the other day, he is in the 1% of shooters,” Redick said. “He’s in the 1%.”
Knecht was the 17th overall pick in the NBA Draft back in June, selected in the first round by the Lakers, roughly a week after the franchise had hired Redick as head coach.
“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),” Lakes director of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said after the draft.
Dalton Knecht averaged 21.7 points per game during All-American season at Tennessee
In LA Knecht joins a Lakers roster that includes LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, among others. Redick said during the ‘Lowe Post’ interview that it will be up to Knecht’s ability as a shooter can help him get on the floor during his rookie season.
“He has a skill that is just hard to find,” Redick said. “He’s going to have a chance to earn a spot in the rotation.”
Knecht starred in his one season at Tennessee last season, leading the Vols to the Elite Eight while averaging 21.7 points per game — he shot 45.8% from the floor and 39.7% from the 3-point line — and 25.5 points in SEC games. He was the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus first team All American after transferring from Northern Colorado.
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He 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.
Dalton Knecht signed rookie contract worth $18.4 million in July
On July 3 Knecht signed his rookie contract that, according to Spotrac, was worth $18.4 million over four years, with $7.8 million guaranteed at signing.
According to the Spotrac numbers, Knecht will make $3.8 million as a rookie in 2024-25, then $4.01 million in 2025-26. The third and fourth years of the deal includes club options, with Knecht set to make $4.2 million in 2026-27 and $6.4 million 2027-28.
Pelinka said in June that Redick was already prepping for Knecht’s debut immediately after drafting him.
“I was joking with Coach Redick upstairs,” Pelinka said at the time, “that we found a movement shooter to match his skills as a player. And he already had his whiteboard out, drawing up pin-downs and ATOs and actions where he could run a movement shooter off screens.
“So I think his mind is already working on drawing up plays for Dalton.”
