**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins

I thought it was imperative to keep Taurean since they have/had so few avenues to keep shooters, but I wonder if drafting Knecht makes him expendable.
 
Hollinger:
14. Dalton Knecht
G TENNESSEE Age: 23 Height: 6-5

Let’s start with the positives. There’s a reason his name is pronounced “connect”: This dude shot it. Knecht had both the highest 3-point frequency and accuracy of any legit top-50 prospect in this draft. More impressively, he did this not as a secondary off-ball threat, but as part of a Tennessee offense that often reverted to giving him the rock and getting the hell out of his way. Setting aside anything else, that alone automatically gets your foot in the door in today’s NBA.

Concerns about Knecht’s age and defense are real. Additionally, he’s just a career 76.8 percent foul shooter and shot only 49.9 percent from 2 this past season, so perhaps his shooting isn’t quite as elite as the top-line 3-point numbers make it seem. He managed to be extremely accurate despite possessing a more line-drive shot than most elite shooters and a release that still seemed to have some guide-hand involvement. But he has a strong frame, good size and gets into his shot very easily off the catch or the dribble, especially going to his left.

Knecht is already 23; even in an old-trending draft, he will likely be the oldest player selected in the first round. However, he’s also a late bloomer who came in as a transfer from Northern Colorado and ended up winning SEC Player of the Year in a landslide. At least at the college level, his on-ball shot creation was real. Knecht has good size and a quick trigger with a high release point that’s comfortable getting to from different movement situations, and he’s a pretty good two-footed leaper.

Defensively, neither his numbers nor his tape were positive data points, but he’s big enough and has enough mobility that he won’t be instant toast either. Combined with his age, his other analytics don’t point to him being a top prospect, but an outcome somewhere between Corey Kispert and Bogdan Bogdanović feels fairly bankable. He doesn’t have Bogie’s handle or passing ability, but he’s more threatening as a movement shooter than Kispert and has more shot-creation ability. That makes him a likely rotation piece but an unlikely starter; this feels like the right spot to take that plunge.
Vecenie:
Knecht is this draft’s most ready-made NBA scorer. He’ll be able to step in immediately and space the floor for his teammates and knock down shots. On top of that, he’s a good athlete who can attack closeouts. He’s also a professional cutter who runs well out of actions.

Having said that, where you think Knecht’s upside sits focuses on two areas. First, what level do you think his athleticism will allow him to reach on defense? Can he become a non-liability? Can he be an average player? He plays on that end as if he cares, so that is promising. There’s upside given his quickness and athleticism. But early on, it might be rough. Second, where do you think he can get to as an on-ball playmaker? Can he blend passing with his scoring better? Can he keep developing his craft in ball screens and handoffs?

The more I watched him, the more I thought that the scheme he lands in will be important to accessing that on-ball upside. Knecht can help anyone in the NBA immediately as a shooter. But to get the most out of him, the key is to put him in an offense that runs a ton of sets, allows him to play off movement and uses the threat of his jumper in the way Tennessee did this year.

No matter what, I see Knecht as a successful rotation player because of the shooting. But the upside is a bit more situationally based if you’re looking at him as a top-10 pick. Realistically, where I’d rank him if I was working for a team would be extremely dependent on the kind of offense I planned to run. There are teams I’d have him ranked in the top-five for in this class.
 
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