This was something that seemed to be in the cards for the last several weeks, but now it’s official. The Los Angeles Lakers have waived recent first-round pick Dalton Knecht. That makes them roster-compliant heading into the new season this week, at 15 standard contracts. And it means that Bronny James has made the cut.
The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving former first-round pick Dalton Knecht, sources told @ClutchPoints.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) October 19, 2026
Knecht was the 17th pick from the 2024 NBA Draft by LA and has been the subject of trade rumors for over the last year. pic.twitter.com/7EHAiCe1zH
The Lakers tried to find a trade for Knecht leading up to today’s final roster deadline. But after not being able to find any takers, they decided to cut ties with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Once he clears waivers, the 25-year-old will be eligible to sign a contract with any other team. He may have to settle on a two-way deal.
Both Knecht and James were excused from practice today. They had been the final two battling for that 15th spot.
Dalton Knecht loses out to Bronny James for last Lakers roster spot
It’s an unfortunate ending for Knecht in LA, who started so well in his rookie season. In 2024-25, Knecht was in the rotation to begin the year, and made his way into the starting lineup as November progressed. He averaged 18.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in the final nine games of that month.
Hard to believe this was Dalton Knecht less than two years ago.
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) October 19, 2026
37 points, 9 threes, and an NBA rookie record-tying performance against the Jazz. One of the most exciting individual performances from a Lakers rookie in recent memory.
Wishing Dalton the best wherever his career…
But it was a steep decline from there. Last season, he got into just 54 games, and played only 10 minutes a night, averaging 4.2 points, less than half of his rookie year.
He averaged just 2.8 ppg in five preseason games this fall.
“The biggest thing is the team changed,” coach JJ Redick said last week about Knecht’s role being so diminished. “The team changed. The needs changed, the fit changed. I think he got better as a player over the last two years. I think each guy has, particularly last year, each guy got plenty of opportunities with the amount of injuries we had. So I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings and he’s in a tough spot right now.”
So tough, that the former Tennessee Volunteer will now be volunteering his services to the other 29 teams across the league.
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