Lakers excited about Dalton Knecht pick: “Exceptional” value

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The Los Angeles Lakers selected Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht with the No. 17 overall pick on Wednesday, becoming the first player drafted by LA as an All-American to be voted a consensus All-American since Lonzo Ball was selected No. 2 in 2017.

“In my opinion, there’s no way we could have a player like that available on draft night,” said Rob Pelinka, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager. “Overall, I couldn’t be happier.”

Knecht, 23, averaged 21.7 points on 49.9% shooting (39.7% from the three-point line) in his only season with the Volunteers after beginning his college career at Northeastern Junior College in Colorado and then playing two seasons for Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Conference. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound wing led Tennessee to the Elite 8 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in March, scoring 37 points in an elimination loss to No. 1 seed Purdue.

The SEC Player of the Year was projected to go No. 6 to the Charlotte Hornets in ESPN’s mock draft released just before the first round, and Pelinka said the Lakers were surprised Knecht was available after their internal draft board ranked him in the top 10.

“If we had the 10th pick in the draft, we would have taken him,” Pelinka said. “So to get that value at No. 17 is really extraordinary.”

Knecht said his draft night reflected his basketball upbringing. As a high school student, he did not receive a single Division I scholarship.

“Every time I touch a basketball or step into a gym, I feel like I have something to prove, and no matter where I am, it’s always going to be there and I have that resentment because I feel like I’ve been underestimated my whole life,” Knecht told reporters at Barclays Center after being drafted. “So that’s going to be something I’m going to carry with me for the rest of my career.”

The selection of Knecht is the first major decision for the Lakers franchise since JJ Redick was hired as the new coach. Pelinka said Knecht’s skills as a motion shooter remind him of Redick as a player.

According to Pelinka, Redick immediately began drawing up plays for Knecht on the whiteboard in the Lakers’ draft room after the team announced its pick to the league.

“This is really exciting,” Knecht told reporters when told of Redick’s reaction. “In Tennessee, I saw a lot of JJ Redick with coach. (Rick) Barnes and just the way he moves, sets his pace and has been able to create space. So that’s really exciting to hear and will be something really special.”

Lakers star LeBron James praised Knecht when he spoke about the growing popularity of women’s college basketball in early April, after LA played an away game against the Washington Wizards just days after Tennessee finished the tournament.

“We watched the Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and Knecht,” James said at the time. “The attention is drawn to the crowd depending on who they are.”

Knecht said he almost didn’t believe James’ statement was true when he first saw the video.

“I remember that clip,” Knecht told reporters. “I woke up, rolled out of bed and thought it was fake because a lot of people were texting me. I just thought, ‘This is impossible.’ And when I watched the video, it put a smile on my face. And my parents called me right away and told me about it.”

“So this will be something very special. And it will be fun to share the space with both of them. (Anthony Davis) and Bron. Bron is one of the greatest. So it’s going to be something very special.”

Although Pelinka was pleased with how the night went for his team, he admitted that LA had polled the league for transfers before Wednesday to no avail. The Lakers had three first-round draft picks, including this year’s No. 17, that could be included in a potential deal.

“We looked at every improvement we could find to make our team better,” Redick said. “I think if you ask all 30 GMs in the league, transfers in general have become more difficult because of the new CBA system. And so I think there are fewer opportunities to make those big moves than there may have been under the old system. But that hasn’t stopped us from looking at everything and finding ways to put ourselves in a better position. But I think just this pick alone gives us a big boost and we’re excited about it.”

The second round of the draft takes place on Thursday. The Lakers have selected number 55.