Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht fell to the No. 17 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and a few of his former coaches at the University of Tennessee theorized as to why that happened.
Tennessee assistant coach Gregg Polinsky believes there were multiple reasons why Knecht’s draft stock took a hit.
“Looking back at it now, Polinsky thinks Knecht’s draft stock plunged for two reasons: Teams were put off by his age — already 23 after two seasons of junior college, two seasons at Northern Colorado and a fifth collegiate season at Tennessee — and by his interviews,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote.
In addition to that, Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark believes that Knecht’s honesty may not have helped him during his interview process.
“I guess some team asked him if he liked to read, and he told them no,” Clark told ESPN. “And I’m like, what does that have to do with playing basketball? All he’s doing is just being himself and telling the truth, like, ‘No, I don’t like to read.’ Which, I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of people that don’t like to read.
“But that’s him. Some people have met him and they’re like, ‘Yeah, he doesn’t talk much, right?’ And then people that know him are like, ‘Man, that dude’s funny as hell.’ He’s one of those guys that if he doesn’t know you, he has a real guard up and his antennas are up and he’s trying to feel you out to see what you’re about.”
While Knecht may have fallen in the draft, the Lakers are certainly happy that they were able to land him with the No. 17 overall pick.
Through 20 games in his rookie season, Knecht is averaging 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.
He’s played a major role for Los Angeles, starting eight games this season and playing 24.1 minutes per game. The rookie also has had some huge shooting performances in his first professional season, including a 37-point game on Nov. 19 against the Utah Jazz where he knocked down nine of his 12 shot attempts from 3-point range.
The Lakers have been in need of more shooting around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and Knecht has provided just that, averaging 2.4 made shots from beyond the arc on 5.6 attempts per game.
The Lakers, who are currently the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, have won 12 of their first 20 games, including a victory against the Jazz on Sunday night. On Monday, Los Angeles will play the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second night of a back-to-back.
Los Angeles beat the Timberwolves in its season opener, and Knecht scored five points on 2-of-4 shooting (1-for-3 from 3) in that matchup. He’ll look to have an even bigger performance on Monday night.
