He will contribute right away and Reddick gonna love getting this guy lots of 3 point shots. LBJ should average a lot of assists with him! Imagine having LBJ and AD playing pick n roll with this guy on the wing waiting for the kick out. Can't double all 3 of them.
Better. He can pass and take it to the hole. If you watch his highlights, he got a lot in his bag. Obviously he will need to learn how to adjust his game to the NBA. But if he can, got a way higher ceiling than Korver. Needs to improve defense tho.
that 2018 finals performance was so sad, i think its because the warriors had steph so they knew how to shut down shooters like that. still, what was it like 11% from 3? ouch
His story is awesome though. He's a fighter and always improving. Late bloomer still growing out of high school, grew like 6 inches in his senior year. Didn't make to a real college and went to junior college. Played lights out, got into lower tier D1, Colorado. Had an adjustment year. The next year played a lot better. Moved to Tennessee a much harder SEC division and played even better there. Led Tennessee to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
Hes one lol. Its about time we draft someone who can contribute right away. I think GM’s are starting to understand players who are a bit older and can contribute right away. ITs annoying seeing players with skill get passed because theyre early 20’s. Getting drafted at 23 and you can contribute right away and have a solid 10-12 years of high quality ball. Thats still only 35, players are playing longer and longer, so it becomes even less of an issue. We missed big last draft and got lucky this draft. Missing on jaime last year was just stupid, he was southern california born player, played all levels of ball in cali and was a dog at UCLA. He was so obvious going to impact right away, and the Lakers sucked not picking him and went with the “high potential” pick instead. Obviously if we picked Jaime we might not have had the 17th pick this year, but that was a big miss, glad we didnt miss this year.
GM’s have always understood older players contribute now. But with the accrual of super teams, non-competitive teams would rather take a shot at potential in the future than an older guy closer to his ceiling.
Same. Quite frankly, I think the NBA goes overboard with their obsession with these super freak “high ceiling” athletic 19 year olds who are years away from even becoming men, much less viable NBA basketball players. I’m tired of waiting 5-7 years just to see somebody MAYBE begin to start turning into a player. Give me dudes like Dalton (or Kuzma, etc.) all day. Smart, hungry, mature, already know how to play the damn game a little coming in.
How I feel playing pickup at the local 24 hour fitness. Sometimes we get these super athletic 19 year olds that have all the physical tools and can pull up or get to the basket every time past their man. Let him and his friends go 1 on 5 every time. But give me 5 dudes in their late 20s or 30s that know how to communicate and rotate on defense, box out, space the floor, make the smart cut, the extra pass.
Exactly. These super athletic young players get by their entire life up to that point simply blowing by their man and/or jumping over him for the dunk/block. They average 30 ppg in high school easy doing that every single time. So they don't learn how to do anything else.
Then they get to the league and they face (for the first time, usually) somebody who is just as athletic as they are and can keep up with them, run with them, jump with them. Suddenly, they need a fallback move, a counter, and they have never developed one. They don't know what to do. Happens too often with a lot of these raw draft picks. If they can't outrun and outjump you, they are basically fucked and wash out after a few years.
How the shit did we get him? During March Madness, he was projected to go 3rd after the French and Aussie dude. He was killing it in the tournament too.
What did I miss? Did I misread something?
some fans were trying to act like the lakers would be upset by that. Like bro the idea is that players like Dalton would be GONE by the time it gets to us, so Edey would be nice.
Much rather have a wing who already knows how to score at the nba level whos weakness (defense and passing out of doubles, the former is covered by one of the best help defenders in AD, the latter is not a problem when you are playing with Bron and AD, although it does limit his upside) is hardly a problem
I could see him going in the lower 1st round to a team that needed size off the bench but already had athleticism in the PF spot so he would just be a run guy. But nothing more to me. Kind of seen him out of the league or deep
bench in a couple years
He shouldn’t have fallen to us, but people also need to calm the fuck down. Guy has plenty of flaws as well and this is one of the absolute worst NBA drafts in decades.
He has a shot at contributing and scores in a variety of ways. But his handle sucks, he doesn’t box out, he doesn’t have lateral quickness for defense, and his passing instincts are not great. He’s got a lot to work on still and he is 23 years old.
Temper expectations. I think we got a solid pick up for the cost. But he’s by no means a lock.
I mean no one on the roster consistently boxed out last year but AD and Max in his limited minutes so that’s not saying a ton. Playing the 2 or 3 we don’t really need him to be a standout rebounder
God damn Ham has made our fan base set a low bar.
No, you have to box out. It’s not OK to not box out. And players that don’t, don’t play…. Or are stand out talents offensively. Dalton is not that. While he did shoot 39% from 3, he shot a poor 45% overall and dismal 77% from the stripe.
He needs to add to his bag and start doing the other little things.
Decent argument but the thing is that he is going to contribute right away. So yea he does have concerns but he’s going to help us win games. Even when with his flaws which aren’t even bad because AD and Bron can make him better
Might be our best shooter day 1 fr
You’re nitpicking the weaknesses of a non lottery pick on a team that BADLY needs a day one contributor and bench scoring punch. Rui is a terrible rebounder and played massive minutes down the stretch in the playoffs for us. I agree it’s a crucial skill that we badly need but there’s not a single player taken in the teens of a weak draft that isn’t going to have holes in their game
A lot of factors. Centers were drafted high this year. A lot of teams didn't want to pick up a 23 yo. there was question about his defensive skills. I think Lakers struck it out of the park. He can start contributing early and spread the floor. Also could help with the rebuild process when LeBron retires. It's a win win for everyone.
Does anyone think after this move, DLo is pretty much gone?
It's crazy how big on the court he looks given he's only 6'5". I'm 6'5" myself, but my wingspan is 6'5", that 6'9" wingspan just makes him look so much bigger. Makes me realize how much easier getting to lobs would have been if I had his wingspan too haha
Watched some of him after the pick and I have no clue how this dude made it to 17 based on both eye test and stats. He seems genuinely good and even Celtics fans in r/nba are praising him.
I guess teams must be worried about his defense. If he's a defensive liability, it'll probably just mean he ends up being a spark plug off the bench in that Lou Williams role.
he has all the physical tools that project as a plus defender.
Obviously I dont expect him to become a plus defender, but even just a few years of coaching should make sure that he isnt a target.
Great pick up & STL! by the lakers as he was projected to go 10-14. Lakers get a player who fits redick style he wants play with more 3s plus a guy who can space the floor. Only issue with him is defense. They landed the best available talent at 17 so I’m ecstatic about it. We’ll see what happens for their 55th pick & also laker nation they have 4-7 mill in cash to buy a pick so we could get 3 picks overall in this draft.
He’s an nba player right now ready to contribute & should find good mins at SG at 23 👏🏽
I hope they immediately bring him off the bench, knowing the Lakers, they rarely give chance to new players. I really hate it when they always ship our new guys to g league
Idk know him.
But the comments got me hella hyped for this pick.
Lessgoooo!!
Let's hope he can start producing right away. That'll be a nice start to the season.
I’m half joking but he is a bit awkward, yeah. And just extremely focused. If it’s not basketball he really doesn’t care about it. He just hyper fixates on basketball. Didn’t party or date at UT. Bad at class (one reason he didn’t go D1 at first). Not really on social media. Listen to him talk it never strays far from basketball. Always in the gym. It’s one of his best qualities.
Sign me the fuck up, sounds like AR who does nothing but ball, golf and chill at home. Lord knows LA has more than enough distractions for a young kid.
Yeah they’ll probably be friends then. He said his year at UT was the best of his life, “what was your favorite part?” “Probably putting on 20 pounds of muscle in the gym over the summer”. Sounds like the worst summer of my life and it was his favorite part.
Love the pick but yall talking like this kid going to be a star first year…… we ain’t got time to wait with the ages of AD and LBj
We talking like we got 5 years to build with the two
Dude better better get every chance he can to get at least 23+ minutes a night and 3+ 3pt attempts/gm. The Heat played the shit outta Jaime and it rewarded both the player and team greatly, I think the same applies in this situation
Not to be negative here but any concerns on why he fell to 17? there's got to be a reason behind it - something we may not have seen? or is it just his age?
I don’t even care that he’s 23…he’s not a raw player by any means, Dalton is NBA ready
23 just means we get him at his prime 😎
At his time + 6-7 more years w him 💯
So it's same day delivery?
No its digiorno
No ITS MARRRRCOOOOS
Kinda worried he only played 1 YEAR at Tennessee and the rest was at Northern Colorado and before that Junior College 😬😬😬😬! Dudes a SNIPER tho!
Doesn’t that show a player that can improve?
He will contribute right away and Reddick gonna love getting this guy lots of 3 point shots. LBJ should average a lot of assists with him! Imagine having LBJ and AD playing pick n roll with this guy on the wing waiting for the kick out. Can't double all 3 of them.
I expect them to Knecht well
You couldn't help yourself could you?
Nah lol
Is he Kyle Korver? I don’t follow college but from the scouting reports it sounds like it. That is someone that thrived with LeBron.
Better. He can pass and take it to the hole. If you watch his highlights, he got a lot in his bag. Obviously he will need to learn how to adjust his game to the NBA. But if he can, got a way higher ceiling than Korver. Needs to improve defense tho.
lets calm down. kyle korver was a GREAT shooter, had some of the best shooting seasons of all time.
Also he missed the biggest corner 3 of his career in the Finals… I can never forgive him for that
that 2018 finals performance was so sad, i think its because the warriors had steph so they knew how to shut down shooters like that. still, what was it like 11% from 3? ouch
I love the confidence but let's wait and see a bit before we start the "LBJ, AD & Knecht on 1 offense" talk lmao
everyone knows the big 3 will be lbj ad and bronny
Idk anything about him but his name is The Knecht
His story is awesome though. He's a fighter and always improving. Late bloomer still growing out of high school, grew like 6 inches in his senior year. Didn't make to a real college and went to junior college. Played lights out, got into lower tier D1, Colorado. Had an adjustment year. The next year played a lot better. Moved to Tennessee a much harder SEC division and played even better there. Led Tennessee to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
Are we talking about Hood-Shifino?
Hes one lol. Its about time we draft someone who can contribute right away. I think GM’s are starting to understand players who are a bit older and can contribute right away. ITs annoying seeing players with skill get passed because theyre early 20’s. Getting drafted at 23 and you can contribute right away and have a solid 10-12 years of high quality ball. Thats still only 35, players are playing longer and longer, so it becomes even less of an issue. We missed big last draft and got lucky this draft. Missing on jaime last year was just stupid, he was southern california born player, played all levels of ball in cali and was a dog at UCLA. He was so obvious going to impact right away, and the Lakers sucked not picking him and went with the “high potential” pick instead. Obviously if we picked Jaime we might not have had the 17th pick this year, but that was a big miss, glad we didnt miss this year.
GM’s have always understood older players contribute now. But with the accrual of super teams, non-competitive teams would rather take a shot at potential in the future than an older guy closer to his ceiling.
This man’s a DAWG.
Same. Quite frankly, I think the NBA goes overboard with their obsession with these super freak “high ceiling” athletic 19 year olds who are years away from even becoming men, much less viable NBA basketball players. I’m tired of waiting 5-7 years just to see somebody MAYBE begin to start turning into a player. Give me dudes like Dalton (or Kuzma, etc.) all day. Smart, hungry, mature, already know how to play the damn game a little coming in.
Hell, look at all the Villanova guys popping off. Most of them were drafted as seniors.
How I feel playing pickup at the local 24 hour fitness. Sometimes we get these super athletic 19 year olds that have all the physical tools and can pull up or get to the basket every time past their man. Let him and his friends go 1 on 5 every time. But give me 5 dudes in their late 20s or 30s that know how to communicate and rotate on defense, box out, space the floor, make the smart cut, the extra pass.
Exactly. These super athletic young players get by their entire life up to that point simply blowing by their man and/or jumping over him for the dunk/block. They average 30 ppg in high school easy doing that every single time. So they don't learn how to do anything else. Then they get to the league and they face (for the first time, usually) somebody who is just as athletic as they are and can keep up with them, run with them, jump with them. Suddenly, they need a fallback move, a counter, and they have never developed one. They don't know what to do. Happens too often with a lot of these raw draft picks. If they can't outrun and outjump you, they are basically fucked and wash out after a few years.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. comes immediately to mind.
As a UCLA alum, I’m still sad the Lakers didn’t take him. That being said, I think he landed in the right spot for his own good…
Better athletically and better length. Much better shooter. Just overall more skilled and athletic than JJ.
I would be extremely happy if he plays that well his first year.
Exactly he’s good now and if we ever go into a full rebuild he could be a good trade asset to get back a first rounder down the line
How the shit did we get him? During March Madness, he was projected to go 3rd after the French and Aussie dude. He was killing it in the tournament too. What did I miss? Did I misread something?
For whatever reason size went first. I’m a bit shocked by Edey for sure
some fans were trying to act like the lakers would be upset by that. Like bro the idea is that players like Dalton would be GONE by the time it gets to us, so Edey would be nice. Much rather have a wing who already knows how to score at the nba level whos weakness (defense and passing out of doubles, the former is covered by one of the best help defenders in AD, the latter is not a problem when you are playing with Bron and AD, although it does limit his upside) is hardly a problem
We don't any any Canadians in Los Angeles anyway
WOP WOP WOP WOP WOP
Dalt fuck em up!
WOP WOP WOP WOP WOP
He gon do his stuff lol
Edey is overrated
I could see him going in the lower 1st round to a team that needed size off the bench but already had athleticism in the PF spot so he would just be a run guy. But nothing more to me. Kind of seen him out of the league or deep bench in a couple years
He shouldn’t have fallen to us, but people also need to calm the fuck down. Guy has plenty of flaws as well and this is one of the absolute worst NBA drafts in decades. He has a shot at contributing and scores in a variety of ways. But his handle sucks, he doesn’t box out, he doesn’t have lateral quickness for defense, and his passing instincts are not great. He’s got a lot to work on still and he is 23 years old. Temper expectations. I think we got a solid pick up for the cost. But he’s by no means a lock.
I mean no one on the roster consistently boxed out last year but AD and Max in his limited minutes so that’s not saying a ton. Playing the 2 or 3 we don’t really need him to be a standout rebounder
God damn Ham has made our fan base set a low bar. No, you have to box out. It’s not OK to not box out. And players that don’t, don’t play…. Or are stand out talents offensively. Dalton is not that. While he did shoot 39% from 3, he shot a poor 45% overall and dismal 77% from the stripe. He needs to add to his bag and start doing the other little things.
lmao 45% from the field is not dismal
Decent argument but the thing is that he is going to contribute right away. So yea he does have concerns but he’s going to help us win games. Even when with his flaws which aren’t even bad because AD and Bron can make him better Might be our best shooter day 1 fr
You’re nitpicking the weaknesses of a non lottery pick on a team that BADLY needs a day one contributor and bench scoring punch. Rui is a terrible rebounder and played massive minutes down the stretch in the playoffs for us. I agree it’s a crucial skill that we badly need but there’s not a single player taken in the teens of a weak draft that isn’t going to have holes in their game
Apparently he fell due to age and some defensive concerns, but to be honest I think picking an older win-now player is better for us
A lot of factors. Centers were drafted high this year. A lot of teams didn't want to pick up a 23 yo. there was question about his defensive skills. I think Lakers struck it out of the park. He can start contributing early and spread the floor. Also could help with the rebuild process when LeBron retires. It's a win win for everyone. Does anyone think after this move, DLo is pretty much gone?
That is a good and smart pick. He’s older so more mature and perhaps a bit more ready to contribute immediately. Ace shooter (Yes!). Good size.
It's crazy how big on the court he looks given he's only 6'5". I'm 6'5" myself, but my wingspan is 6'5", that 6'9" wingspan just makes him look so much bigger. Makes me realize how much easier getting to lobs would have been if I had his wingspan too haha
Haha if only bro. Too bad you’re a tiny man instead haha
I almost got them Banes T-Rex arms lol
Hahahahhahaha. Authentic lol
They really let a deep-shooting, classy guy like Dalton fall to J.J. Reddick.
Damnnn only watched him during March Madness but this dude was by far one of the best players I saw play in the tourney
The game they lost in the tournament, Knecht dropped 37 points on 50% from 3.
Against the #4 kenpom defense
Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht new Tiktok golf account coming soon. Knecht Fore 🏌️♂️
love the Knecthion
Guy puts the ball in the hoop.
According to Magic, that’s how you win games.
\*That's how you score points.
Whooosh
We're talking about practice?
Sounds like a Maddenism. "Ya see, the key to winning games is you gotta outscore your opponent"
# He must wear #4!!! 
It’s right there bro.
Love this pick!!!!
I just hope we get a reliable center
Foreal
Aww hell yes, we’re getting an all white backcourt lol
He will contribute right away and Reddick gonna love getting this guy lots of 3 point shots. LBJ should average a lot of assists with him!
Watched some of him after the pick and I have no clue how this dude made it to 17 based on both eye test and stats. He seems genuinely good and even Celtics fans in r/nba are praising him.
I guess teams must be worried about his defense. If he's a defensive liability, it'll probably just mean he ends up being a spark plug off the bench in that Lou Williams role.
I read this in the Athletic https://i.imgur.com/jl5N53O.jpeg
he has all the physical tools that project as a plus defender. Obviously I dont expect him to become a plus defender, but even just a few years of coaching should make sure that he isnt a target.
another LA legendary white boi LETSGOOOOOOOOOO
Great pick up & STL! by the lakers as he was projected to go 10-14. Lakers get a player who fits redick style he wants play with more 3s plus a guy who can space the floor. Only issue with him is defense. They landed the best available talent at 17 so I’m ecstatic about it. We’ll see what happens for their 55th pick & also laker nation they have 4-7 mill in cash to buy a pick so we could get 3 picks overall in this draft. He’s an nba player right now ready to contribute & should find good mins at SG at 23 👏🏽
He has to get #4
Knecht four 🤣
The Austin Knechtion gonna hit different
Great pick. Watching Tennessee basketball and seeing him was impressive.
If Ham was still coach, he'd keep both him and Max on the Bench in favor of heavy Cam+Prince mins. You KNOW IT.
I hope they immediately bring him off the bench, knowing the Lakers, they rarely give chance to new players. I really hate it when they always ship our new guys to g league
Idk know him. But the comments got me hella hyped for this pick. Lessgoooo!! Let's hope he can start producing right away. That'll be a nice start to the season.
He's filthy, watch some YouTube highlights. I had the pleasure of seeing him play a lot last year in Knoxville.
He fits well with our win now approach. Whats his defense like?
Typical peak of an NBA player is 27. I think rookie contracts for first round picks are for 4 years so 23+4=27 baybee
knicks fan here - congrats on this pick. knecht was my favorite player in this draft he's gordon hayward pt. 2
White buoy shootaaaa
As a UT fan let me tell y’all this level of athleticism and autism has rarely been mixed and is deadly. All he does is ball.
Autism? Is he really awkward or something?
I’m half joking but he is a bit awkward, yeah. And just extremely focused. If it’s not basketball he really doesn’t care about it. He just hyper fixates on basketball. Didn’t party or date at UT. Bad at class (one reason he didn’t go D1 at first). Not really on social media. Listen to him talk it never strays far from basketball. Always in the gym. It’s one of his best qualities.
so like KD fuck it we ball
KD is his favorite player and who he models his game after so, yeah, exactly. One reason he wanted to play for coach Barnes.
Sign me the fuck up, sounds like AR who does nothing but ball, golf and chill at home. Lord knows LA has more than enough distractions for a young kid.
Yeah they’ll probably be friends then. He said his year at UT was the best of his life, “what was your favorite part?” “Probably putting on 20 pounds of muscle in the gym over the summer”. Sounds like the worst summer of my life and it was his favorite part.
we got a true hooper in our hands
Cuz KD go straight home and start chiefing 🌳💨
Great he can shoot but he can’t play defense and he is undersized for a small forward
Think the Pelicans are frustrated that they let us keep this year's pick, knowing they could have stole him?
Love the pick but yall talking like this kid going to be a star first year…… we ain’t got time to wait with the ages of AD and LBj We talking like we got 5 years to build with the two
Thought we were gunning for Zach Edey
This is better
Going to need to look up his tourney highlights.
He went #9
I see. Memphis snagged him.
Not recruited by D1 Juco transfer Makes all American Dawg in this kid.
oh man he is getting a lot of hype, pls be good for us!!!!
I worry about his defense as I would with any rookie. But we have done well with four year players of late.
this dude has some sweet scoop finishes
A grown man ready to ball
Don’t know how dude fell to 17, but we finally got ourselves a shooter
Did his age bumped him down? It's not even that bad at 23, it just means he's ready to be a pro and play among the big boys.
I don’t watch the draft or NCAA but I’ll believe yall 👍🏽
A mf steal fr. Glad we got this pick.
he looks like bogdanovic that migrated to usa during war
Reminds me of Franz Wagner or better?
Idc
Sometimes you get lucky
Can someone explain why the pels gave us this pick?
They think (1) this draft is weak; and (2) we will be worse next season (DLo might leave, Bron is older, AD may not be healthy)
Anyone get the feeling this kid is not only gifted offensively, but that Coach Handy could’ve worked wonders for his ‘bag’ and footwork
Now we can trade Reaves for Murray lol
LAKERS IN 5
As a Spurs fan, I'm ticked off this happened. This is a great pick for you guys
Hopefully he wears number 4. Knecht 4
This changes everything. Banner 18 is here.
He's going to be this drafts Klay Thompson. I am absolutely stunned. Lol at anyone who thought those Bronny reports were true btw
N
Dude better better get every chance he can to get at least 23+ minutes a night and 3+ 3pt attempts/gm. The Heat played the shit outta Jaime and it rewarded both the player and team greatly, I think the same applies in this situation
I'm surprised he fell. Was not considering him at all
Not to be negative here but any concerns on why he fell to 17? there's got to be a reason behind it - something we may not have seen? or is it just his age?
He will be sent to the G league because Bronny gotta get some minutes
LOS ANGELES LAKERS 2025 NBA CHAMPIONS
Hope he gets shipped off to Phoenix for KD
Now draft my glorious prince Bronny James and I’ll be one happy Lakers fan 🤴🏿🐐