Los Angeles Lakers second-year wing Dalton Knecht has struggled since being included in a trade to the Charlotte Hornets, which was rescinded. Knecht’s struggles continued in summer league, where he averaged 10.3 points and shot just 23.8 percent from beyond the arc.
It seems like Knecht needs a change of scenery to get his career back on track. On a recent No Ceilings podcast episode, Tyler Metcalf made an interesting comparison to how Nickeil Alexander-Walker being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves rejuvenated his career.
“My hope is that he [Knecht] ends up in a Nickeil Alexander esque situation. Very different players, but Nickeil was almost out of the league and was a throw-in in the Mike Conley deal when he went to Minnesota. And I hope Dalton finds himself in a sort of situation where a team like, ooh, this could be a fun what-if throw-in. And they take a shot and he’s able to just find that joy again,” Metcalf said.
As Metcalf notes, Knecht and Alexander-Walker are different, but the situations are similar. With the landing spot, Knecht could thrive similarly to how NAW did in Minnesota. Whether he’s a throw-in for a bigger deal or a team simply buying low on Knecht, a trade feels likely.
Being traded to the Timberwolves rejuvenated NAW's career
Before being traded to the Wolves, NAW had played three and a half seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz. He had posted averages of 18.5 minutes, 8.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists with 39.8/33.7/72.1 shooting splits. With the Wolves, NAW averaged 23.3 minutes, 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists with 43.3/38.4/77 shooting splits.
While these averages don’t jump off the page, Alexander-Walker was able to find a more consistent role and improve his jump shot with the Wolves. Alexander-Walker was able to get closer to his college averages as a shooter in Minnesota. It’s also worth noting that in Utah, he averaged just 13.3 minutes and 5.5 points.
NAW’s career got off to a solid start with the Pelicans, but after being traded to the Jazz, he struggled to find a consistent role. Before being traded to the Wolves, Alexander-Walker's ideal NBA role and future were both unclear.
Alexander-Walker was included as a throw-in piece in a deal that netted the Wolves Mike Conley and allowed them to ship off D’Angelo Russell to the Lakers. Ultimately, this allowed NAW to find his ideal NBA role and improved his 3-point shot immensely.
The similarities between Knecht and Alexander-Walker
Knecht isn’t a traditional 3-and-D like Alexander-Walker, and he might not be the secondary ball-handler that NAW is. Instead, Knecht is more of a pure movement shooter. Knecht didn’t have a bad rookie season, averaging 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists on 46.1/37.6/76.2 shooting splits. In the first 20 games of the season, Knecht was highly effective, shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.
After the trade to Charlotte was rescinded, Knecht lost his confidence and struggled to find a role in the rotation. Given how he looked in summer league, it’s fair to say a change of scenery is needed for both sides. While Knecht is just in his second year, he’s the same age (24) as NAW when he was traded. Ironically, they were both 17th overall picks.
Overall, it’s clear that Knecht needs a new home, and if he finds the right situation, he could thrive as an elite movement shooter. Knecht just needs to find a team that believes in him and could benefit from extra shooting. While Knecht’s market might seem low, plenty of teams should be willing to take a chance on him as a throw-in piece or simply buy low on his value.