Lakers predicted to cut ties with Dalton Knecht, trade $48M defensive menace seeking fresh start originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently one player over the roster limit after making significant trades and free-agent acquisitions. LA is excited about its roster, but the team will have to make a move before the regular season begins.
Dalton Knecht is the name to watch, as he could be traded or even cut. California Post’s Khobi Price doesn’t believe this preseason has been a good sign for the former first-round pick.
“Not a good sign for Knecht, whom multiple rival executives expect to be the odd man out as the Lakers look to trim their roster from 16 players on standard NBA deals to the league maximum of 15,” Price wrote.
Lakers insider Jovan Buha believes Knecht could be part of a consolidation trade.
“My understanding is a consolidation trade. Obviously, it would be two-for-one, three-for-one, or three-for-two is a little more complicated," Buha said."So I think the most straightforward one would be two-for-one…And depending on the configuration of the trade, it could be a version of two of the back-end guys, let's say Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy, for a backup center."
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley believes the Lakers will cut Knecht and trade Jarred Vanderbilt.
“And if Knecht gets cut, that means his fellow chopping-block resident, Vanderbilt, holds solo status as the most logical trade candidate on the roster. The Lakers have clearly concluded that Vanderbilt's defensive impact can't offset his offensive limitations, but other teams could compute things differently. The right suitor might see him as capable of getting back to being a defense-first energizer,” Buckley wrote.
LA has some time to make a decision, but if Knecht is cut, Vanderbilt could be traded at some point. The forward may welcome a change of scenery, especially since his role with the team has diminished.
Vanderbilt is in the middle of his $48 million contract with the Lakers. Wherever he ends up, he could be a valuable defensive weapon for his new team. In a league where scoring is highly valued, he has watched his role in LA diminish quickly.
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