The Los Angeles Lakers waived forward Dalton Knecht on Monday, reducing the size of their roster to 15 just before their 2:00 p.m. PT deadline.
The Lakers carried 16 guaranteed contracts for the majority of the offseason, and selected Knecht as the odd man out following a busy offseason. Los Angeles looked to trade Knecht for the majority of the offseason, but settled for waiving him after they couldn’t find a deal.
Knecht, who the Lakers selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft with the No. 17 overall pick, featured in 132 games over his first two NBA seasons, though only made 17 starts and couldn’t carve out a role for himself during his time with the team. He played 78 games in his rookie season, averaging 19.2 minutes per game with 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per night while shooting 46.1% from the field.
During that season, though, the Lakers attempted to trade Knecht in a package to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, though the deal fell apart after both parties agreed to terms due to Williams’ fitness. After that, Knecht’s role with the team shrunk.
Last season, Knecht only featured in 54 games, taking trips to the G League on several occasions. He only saw the floor for 10.2 minutes per game last season, and his production suffered as a result of his smaller role. He put up 4.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game last year, shooting 45.5% from the field.
Why Did the Lakers Choose to Cut Knecht?
While the Lakers had some notable offseason departures in the forward positions, like LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, they made several offseason moves to reinforce the position.
They signed Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams and Sandro Mamukelashvili to fill in at forward, and also drafted Cameron Carr out of Baylor in the first round to fill in at small forward. All of those players would have seen the floor more often than Knecht, and the Lakers also have returning talents in Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt who command time on the court as well.
With so many options in the front court, the Lakers will move on from Knecht and look to put together a solid season after crashing out of the second round of last year’s playoffs. With their roster set, the Lakers set their sights on Wednesday’s season opener against the Golden State Warriors at 7:00 p.m. PT.
The post Lakers Make Final Roster Cut Before Beginning of Season appeared first on LA Sports Report.