The Los Angeles Lakers have come to a decision on their roster to open the season.
Dalton Knecht has been waived, the team announced Monday afternoon. The move puts the Lakers roster at 15 players, the limit under NBA rules.
The Lakers, who carried 16 players through the preseason, had a choice to make between Knecht and Bronny James. Both players were held out of practice ahead of Monday's 2 p.m. cut deadline, with head coach JJ Redick saying the two cut candidates were "under the weather." And despite rumors over the weekend of trade talks centered around Knecht, it appears president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka ultimately decided to make a clean break.
Lakers waive Dalton Knecht
The problem that comes with trading a player who won't make the roster comes down to value. Teams have no reason to give up any assets for a guy they know they can get for nothing a few days later. Pelinka has shown over the years that he's particular about return packages; he's more than willing to pass on a trade if he's not 100% sure it would improve the roster.
For Knecht, it became painfully clear over the last couple of weeks that he was the odd man out. His shooting -- the reason the Lakers drafted him with the 17th overall pick in 2024 in the first place -- was too streaky to be relied upon, and his subpar defense made him a liability most times he stepped on the court. That, and the addition of several wings with size who could shoot -- Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili when he's not playing the five -- during their roster overhaul this summer, suddenly made Knecht's skillset redundant.
Redick admitted as much to reporters ahead of Friday's preseason finale.
"I think the biggest thing is the team changed. The team changed. Needs changed, the fit changed. I think he’s gotten better as a player the last two years. I think, particularly last year, each guy got plenty of opportunities with the injuries we had. I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings," Redick said at the time. "And he’s in a tough spot right now."
Knecht didn't check in until halfway through the fourth quarter of the Lakers' loss to the Denver Nuggets, the 12th man off the bench that night, and finished scoreless for the second game in a row. In his 7:30 minutes of playing time, he added one rebound and an assist.
The writing had been on the wall at UCLA Health Training Center for quite some time. Now, it's official.
Los Angeles Lakers roster
- #43 Cameron Carr | G | 6-5 | 182 lbs | Baylor | Rookie
- #77 Luka Dončić | G | 6-8 | 242 lbs | Real Madrid (Slovenia) | 8 years
- #5 Quentin Grimes | G | 6-4 | 214 lbs | Houston | 5 years
- #7 Jaden Hardy | G | 6-4 | 210 lbs | NBA G League Ignite | 4 years
- #9 Bronny James Jr. | G | 6-2 | 223 lbs | USC | 2 years
- #47 Arthur Kaluma (2W) | F | 6-7 | 240 lbs | Texas | 1 year
- #14 Walker Kessler | C | 7-1 | 270 lbs | Auburn | 4 years
- #12 Jake LaRavia | F | 6-7 | 235 lbs | Wake Forest | 4 years
- #55 Kevon Looney | F/C | 6-9 | 250 lbs | UCLA | 11 years
- #54 Sandro Mamukelashvili | F | 6-10 | 247 lbs | Seton Hall | 5 years
- #30 Chris Mañon (2W) | G | 6-4 | 206 lbs | Vanderbilt | 1 year
- #31 AK Okereke (2W) | F | 6-7 | 238 lbs | Vanderbilt | Rookie
- #15 Austin Reaves | G | 6-5 | 216 lbs | Oklahoma | 5 years
- #10 Collin Sexton | G | 6-1 | 200 lbs | Alabama | 8 years
- #1 Adou Thiero | F | 6-7 | 230 lbs | Arkansas | 1 year
- #26 Matisse Thybulle | G | 6-5 | 204 lbs | Washington | 7 years
- #2 Jarred Vanderbilt | F | 6-8 | 221 lbs | Kentucky | 8 years
- #11 Ziaire Williams | F | 6-9 | 214 lbs | Stanford | 5 years
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lakers make final roster decision, waive Dalton Knecht as Bronny stays