With Dalton Knecht’s emergence, the Anthony Davis trade for the Lakers has become even more of an all-time steal.
It took very little time to settle the debate about who won the Anthony Davis trade. With the Lakers winning a title in literally AD’s first season, the debate pretty much ended there, no matter how many play-in games the Pelicans won.
The question was how big of a victory it would be for the Lakers. And as time has passed, it’s home run heist.
The final piece of the deal, though, really sent this one over the top. This spring, New Orleans had the choice of taking the Lakers pick in the 2024 NBA Draft or deferring to next season. There seemed to be little debate on the matter as the Pelicans opted to take the Lakers’ 2025 pick.
In doing so, the Lakers were allowed to keep their No. 14 pick…and select Dalton Knecht. It’s very early in his career, but Knecht feels like the potential steal of the draft.
Technically, he’s not officially part of the AD trade. But the fact he’s not on the Pelicans, who had the chance to retain the pick and draft him, just really drives home how badly they mismanaged everything about that trade.
None of the draft picks amounted to anything, starting from the very first pick received. The Pelicans traded the No. 4 pick for what would become Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, neither of whom panned out in New Orleans.
The remainder of the players elected with those picks were Didi Louzada, Herb Jones and Dyson Daniels. Jones is a very talented player and the best of the bunch by far. Daniels is making a compelling Most Improved Player of the Year case, but for the Hawks after being traded with the Lakers 2025 first round pick to Atlanta for Dejounte Murray.
The players that the Pelicans acquired didn’t amount to much for them, either. The Lakers sent out Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram in the deal as well.
Lonzo had a strong run in New Orleans but eventually left for Chicago in free agency for effectively nothing in a sign-and-trade. Hart has become an integral piece for the Knicks, but was shipped away in a trade by the Pelicans for CJ McCollum, who has been a bust for the Pelicans.
Then there’s Ingram. While he became an All-Star in New Orleans, things have really soured for him and the franchise over the last year, to the point that he recently signed with Klutch Sports and wants to be part of a “winning competitive environment.”
Sheesh.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are watching AD put up MVP numbers this season. And Knecht is already better than at least half of the players the Pelicans took, with only Jones and potentially Daniels ranking above him.
For a trade that had so much debate for far too long, the end result of the Anthony Davis trade is an absolute grand slam by the Lakers and a nearly complete whiff by the Pelicans.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.