Since the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t signed or traded for any players from other teams this offseason, at least so far, they will have to rely on internal improvement to take at least one step toward returning to championship contention.
The one player who may be able to make the best impact in that regard is rookie Dalton Knecht. Knecht, who was the No. 17 pick in June’s draft, was expected by many to be a top-10 pick and has been called arguably the most NBA-ready player in this year’s draft class.
His shooting efficiency was up and down during summer league play this month, but he clearly showed the ability to space the floor with his lethal 3-point shooting. Knecht has also shown some ability to score off the dribble and contribute a bit in terms of passing and rebounding.
Yet despite bursts of impressive play, he didn’t make either All-NBA summer league team.
The #NBA2KSummerLeague First Team!
GG Jackson II
Jordan Miller
Scotty Pippen Jr.
Reed Sheppard
Kel’el Ware pic.twitter.com/nKyfOU5WFG— NBA (@NBA) July 22, 2024
The #NBA2KSummerLeague Second Team!
Bub Carrington
Donovan Clingan
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Jarace Walker
Jalen Wilson pic.twitter.com/21py2vNbsE— NBA (@NBA) July 22, 2024
In three games in the main Las Vegas summer league, the University of Tennessee product shot just 41.8% from the field. But he did make a solid 39.1% of his 3-point attempts while leading all rookies with 21.3 points per game.
Perhaps this arguable snub will give the 6-foot-5 wing some added motivation and a chip on his shoulder for the rest of the summer and all of the upcoming NBA season.
