2024 NBA Draft: Is Lakers draftee Dalton Knecht the perfect fit for JJ Redick and LeBron James?

NEW YORK–In April, Dalton Knecht woke up to a barrage of text messages. His parents also called. Everyone wanted to see the video of the Tennessee wing talking about LeBron James.

“I thought it was fake,” Knecht said Wednesday at Barclays Center.

Knecht’s name came up only briefly in a lengthy clip of James discussing the relative popularity of the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, posted by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. But it was clearly a big deal. James said he watched Tennessee’s game against Purdue “because of Jack Eddy and Knecht.”

Now, Knecht and James are teammates, assuming the superstar re-signs with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. Los Angeles selected the 23-year-old wing with the No. 17 pick in the draft.

“This is going to be special,” Knecht said. “And it will be fun to share that court with both Eddie and Braun.”

Shortly before reminiscing about the video clip in Brooklyn, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka told reporters in Los Angeles that he couldn’t believe his luck.

“We never thought a player as skilled as Dalton Knecht and a perfect fit for our needs would exist for us,” Pelinka said, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “We had him unanimously selected as a top-10 player on our scouting boards. I was scouting him extensively in the SEC Tournament and I was like, ‘This is the kind of player we need to select on draft night. There’s no way to be available for that.” ,

Knecht, the oldest player taken in the first round on Wednesday, was projected to be a top-six pick by ESPN, CBS Sports and other outlets. This would have been unusually high for a prospect his age, but Knecht was one of the best scorers in college basketball this past season (and this is an unusual draft).

More specifically, Knecht was one of, if not Best movement shooter in college basketball last season. Tennessee ran him off many screens, and he was excellent at reading the defense, finding open space, and getting in his shot. According to Synergy Sports, he made 42.3% of his catch-and-shoot 3s and 40.3% of his threes. Contested election Catch-and-shoot 3s, which accounted for more than two-thirds of them.

Pelinka told reporters that new coach JJ Redick was already on his whiteboard, “drawing up pindowns and ATOs and actions where he can run a movement shooter off the screen.” Informing about this, Knecht said, “It’s really exciting. At Tennessee, I watched JJ Redick a lot with coach (Rick) Barnes, and the way he moves and paces himself and Was able to make the spot. So it’s really exciting to hear, and it’s going to be really special.”

In theory, Knecht is perfect for Redick (who has already made it clear he wants to diversify the Lakers’ attack by using Anthony Davis as a handoff hub) and for James (who has elite shooters. ) has a long track record of working well with . Spacing has plagued Los Angeles for much of the LeBron era, and Redick, one of the best shooters in NBA history — especially when it comes to making tough, catch-and-shoot 3s — has been in surprising form. Se wants to modernize the Lakers’ offense.

“I was up there joking with Coach Redick that we’ve got a movement shooter to match his skills as a player,” Pelinka told reporters. According to Spectrum Sportsnet’s Mark Medina, he also said the Lakers view Knecht as a 3-and-D guy.

If Knecht can be a good defender in the NBA, Pelinka is justifiably excited with this selection. (Pelinka said the Lakers were “really, really excited,” “couldn’t be more thrilled” and “couldn’t be happier.) And maybe he will be. Knecht is a bigger than average movement shooter — he played at the Draft Combine. He measured 6 feet 5 inches tall without shoes, with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, and weighed 212 pounds – and he was physically good. However, he was not a plus defender on or off the ball in college. He was, and will undoubtedly be, poached in the pros. This, coupled with his age and relative lack of on-ball juice offensively, is likely why he fell into Los Angeles’ lap.

Knecht said he thinks James and Davis will help him “on both sides of the floor” and that he looks forward to competing with them. He didn’t directly address his draft-night slide, but he repeatedly said he felt like he’d been underestimated his entire life.

“Every time I touch a basketball or go into the gym, I always feel like I have something to prove,” Knecht said.