Dalton Knecht’s Flaws Make Him No Sure Thing for Knicks

Dalton Knecht is one of those players fans love the idea of. He is a 6'6" wing that has hovered around 40% as a three-point shooter in both college and the pros. He has the offensive instincts to cut behind defenses. And he has just enough athleticism to finish above the rim he he does so.

Plugging him into lineups with really any combination of the Knicks' core players could, and arguably should, work. I'm sure it would look great on NBA 2k27. But the reality is, Knecht is a very flawed player.

What's gone wrong for Dalton Knecht matters to any chance he has with Knicks

If you threw Knecht into a game at this moment, he may put up some solid stats, and he may even look alright. But dig deeper, and you'd see a player who just isn't cut out to be a positively contributing player on a nightly basis.

On a team looking to win back-to-back championships that happens to be led by a very execution and detail-oriented coach in Mike Brown, Knecht would have a hard time getting on the court and staying there.

Knecht would need to go from a 40-ish% three-point shooter to an elite one who can warp defenses by shooting from anywhere and off of any type of movement. Think Duncan Robinson. But the thing is, Knecht's weaknesses would still drive fans, and more importantly, Brown, crazy.

Even Robinson, who is amongst the best shooters in the league and also two inches taller than Knecht, gets benched from time to time for his defensive shortcomings. And sure, Knecht is younger and more athletic. But Robinson also tends to be in the right spots at the right times much more often on both sides of the ball.

As seen above, Knecht has no idea where to be on rotations on the defensive side of the ball. He doesn't help off of his man to help out his teammates. And offensively, he has times where he doesn't know the play at all.

Now, mistakes like this happen, even to veterans. But for a young player that has to make the strongest of impressions in the limited time he'd get, these mistakes just cannot happen as often as they did.

Growth will be key to Dalton Knecht earning any type of Knicks role

Additionally, even when Knecht showed flashes of becoming a good player in Los Angeles, he was pretty one dimensional. He may have been a good shooter, but he relied heavily on his teammates to get him shots.

Now, a lot of NBA players fall under that category, but a lot of them, at least the actual good ones, do other things. Rebound, defend, playmake, etc.

Knecht did, as previously mentioned, make nice backdoor cuts when playing off of LeBron James and Austin Reaves. He had a knack for slipping behind defenses when they were caught ball-watching or played too far up on him. But other than that and the occasional fastbreak basket, there wasn't much else.

Knecht didn't attack close outs too well. He didn't have a go-to midrange game. He wasn't a creative or acrobatic finisher around the rim. And he did not have the dribbling or playmaking to create advantages for himself or for teammates. That, along with his limited defensive abilities, and lack of focus and execution, would make it difficult to see him getting any real minutes.

Knecht currently sits behind Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson, and Mohamed Diawara on the depth chart. And while he may not be fully entrenched behind Pacome Dadiet or Tyler Nickel, you also can't definitively say that Knecht is ahead of them, either.

Both know Brown and the Knicks' system more. And Nickel is not only a better shooter, he's younger, taller, and has at least shown much more defensive activity in his limited preseason minutes than Knecht has mostly ever done.

I still get the move from the Knicks' perspective. Kevin McCullar Jr. had been with the team for a couple of years. And while he had a few standout games, he also hadn't really stood out consistently.

McCullar may have a slightly higher floor given his defense and rebounding, but Knecht has a combination of shooting and size that scouts still often salivate over. The latter also has a higher ceiling.

For a team that was likely looking for some cheap and young depth that has a chance to develop and compete for a shot at contributing this season, it was a good low-risk move. But I would not expect Knecht to be a factor this season barring major trades and/or injuries.

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