{"id":163701,"date":"2025-10-21T18:06:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T22:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=163701"},"modified":"2025-10-21T19:24:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T23:24:56","slug":"lakers-dalton-knecht-team-option","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/21\/lakers-dalton-knecht-team-option\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Instill Vote of Confidence in Polarizing Sophomore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers made a key move ahead of their opening night tilt with the Golden State Warriors, securing <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/knechda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dalton Knecht<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s future with LA after a rollercoaster rookie year.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Lakers Instill Vote of Confidence in Polarizing Sophomore<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>LA Picks Up Knecht\u2019s Team Option<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KeithSmithNBA\/status\/1980613855395864956\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">picked up Knecht\u2019s $4.2 million team option<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Monday, keeping him on the books until the summer of 2027. Once considered a steal of the 2024 NBA Draft, Knecht showed flashes of potential as an athletic sharpshooter. A <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask?q=dalton+knecht+stats+from+11%2F15%2F24+to+11%2F21%2F24\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">four-game stretch in November<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which saw him replace an injured Rui Hachimura, saw him put up <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask?q=dalton+knecht+stats+from+11%2F15%2F24+to+11%2F21%2F24\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">23.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on 60% shooting from the field and 57% from deep. That included a career-high <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bs7B4iupM2E\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">37-point outburst<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> against the Utah Jazz in the Emirates NBA Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Lakers pick up the option on Dalton Knecht.<\/p>\n<p>Last year in November:<\/p>\n<p>14 games. <\/p>\n<p>13.6 points 4 reb on 46% shooting from 3<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Raj C. (@RajChipalu) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RajChipalu\/status\/1980659363951047027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, glaring inconsistency and a rescinded midseason trade defined Knecht\u2019s rookie campaign. All told, in 78 games (16 starts), Knecht averaged 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds on .461\/.376\/.762 splits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently Knecht bore the brunt of controversy after a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/11\/lakers-dalton-knecht-summer-slump\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">poor showing in Summer League<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Throughout LA\u2019s two stints in Sacramento and Las Vegas, he averaged <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/basketball.realgm.com\/player\/Dalton-Knecht\/Summary\/166488\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">11.7 points per game<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on .321\/.237\/.643 splits. His poor performances led to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/23\/lakers-should-send-dalton-knecht-to-the-g-league\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">decrease in his stock<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with teams no longer valuing him as a first-round pick, according to Lakers insider Jovan Buha.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Lakers Still Committed to &#8220;Knecht 4&#8221;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite offseason struggles, the Lakers\u2019 decision to pick up Knecht\u2019s option clearly displays their trust in the sophomore sharpshooter. Head coach JJ Redick had addressed Knecht\u2019s offseason during a September press conference.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDalton is in a really good spot right now. I\u2019ve had a number of conversations with him throughout the summer and they\u2019ve all been very positive. I really believe this: the guy did too much after the season and I think in summer league, he was burnt out. He was coming in here at 5 a.m. getting shots up, then doing two workouts with our Summer League staff and in the weight room. We had our last conditioning run of the preseason today, and he beat everybody by a long way. He\u2019s in phenomenal shape, he\u2019s in a great spot mentally and he\u2019s played well throughout September.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knecht has also appeared to flip the script in training camp, with data pointing to him being the team\u2019s best offensive player, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mcten\/status\/1977586495314960826\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">according to Redick<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But after an <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1642261\/dalton-knecht\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inconsistent preseason<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014where he tallied 28 points across the team\u2019s first two games before falling into single digits\u2014it\u2019s clear he has plenty of work to do to reach his full potential.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Why This Season Matters for Dalton Knecht<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knecht is entering a \u201cprove-it\u201d year despite having his option secured, with the team\u2019s additions posing some competition for rotational minutes. As things stand now, he will have to compete with <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/laravja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jake LaRavia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for opportunities at backup small forward\u2014chances that will become even slimmer once <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LeBron James<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> returns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Redick said, defense will be the key to Knecht reaching his ceiling, an area that LaRavia already has an advantage in. If Knecht wants to return to his November form (and keep that confidence going forward), he must show his commitment to that end of the floor while impacting the game through high effort and communication. Doing so, Redick told The Athletic, will make Knecht a true <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6697526\/2025\/10\/08\/dalton-knecht-lakers-needs-preseason\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cimpact player.\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If Knecht redeems himself and shows his value to the purple and gold, it could also keep him out of inevitable trade rumors that are bound to strike this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers envisioned Knecht filling a major hole as a 3-and-D wing. While he has yet to put it all together, they clearly trust his ability to bounce back for a solid second year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lakers made a key move ahead of their opening night tilt with the Golden State Warriors, securing Dalton Knecht\u2019s future with LA after a rollercoaster rookie year. Lakers Instill Vote of Confidence in Polarizing Sophomore LA Picks Up Knecht\u2019s Team Option The Lakers picked up Knecht\u2019s $4.2 million team option Monday, keeping him on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":149417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62,3],"tags":[50169,49212,2279],"class_list":["post-163701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-2025-nba-offseason","tag-dalton-knecht","tag-jj-redick"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163701"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163706,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163701\/revisions\/163706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}