© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Few teams made more headlines after the 2024 NBA Draft than the Los Angeles Lakers and one former NBA star believes that the Lakers got the biggest steal of the entire draft – but not with the player most have been talking about.
Appearing on To The Baha, Theo Pinson made the case that the Lakers got the best player in the entire draft by taking Tennessee star Dalton Knecht with their 17th overall pick. He declared that if he could have, he would have taken Knecht with the top pick overall.
“The steal of the draft? Lakers (with) Knecht… from Tennessee. He’s a bucket! I would’ve taken him first pick… He’s a dog, bro. He can play and he’s got bounce,” Pinson said, via Clutch Points.
Knecht was a highly-touted prospect who many were surprised to see didn’t go in the top five, let alone the top 10. He was a consensus All-American for the Vols this past year and earned numerous accolades after averaging 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
But for the past week, the main person people have been talking about is Bronny James and the Lakers’ decision to take him with their second-round pick to pair him with his father.
That could wind up working to Knecht’s advantage as he gets to develop as a rookie with virtually none of the pressure or media scrutiny on him while all of it is on Bronny.
Will Knecht wind up being the steal of the 2024 NBA Draft?
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