When Dalton Knecht fell to the Lakers in the draft, they were shocked, but gladly picked him up with the No. 17 pick.
One quarter into the season, Dalton Knecht has quickly risen from a rookie with promise to a starter on the Lakers and an early candidate for Rookie of the Year.
What makes his ascension even more surprising is how he ended up on the Lakers to begin with.
A recent ESPN article by Dave McMenamin detailed how Los Angeles couldn’t believe he fell to them in the draft. The franchise was so shocked that Knecht was available that Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka had to ensure there wasn’t a bigger reason for him falling.
Inside the Lakers’ draft room, Knecht’s fall didn’t make sense. In preparation for the draft, L.A. had each of its scouts rank their top 100 prospects and aggregated those lists on their board. Knecht was in everyone’s top 10. What were they missing?
Pelinka called Schwartz and spoke to Knecht’s team with Excel.
“It was like, ‘You’re giving me your word?’” Pelinka told ESPN. “I had to do a trust call of, ‘There’s no red flags, right? You’re giving us your word.’ And that’s when it started to unfold.”
It turns out there were no red flags for Knecht and 14 teams just made a big mistake by letting him slip away. Lakers fans should also thank the New Orleans Pelicans for their role in Knecht landing in Los Angeles.
They could’ve had the No. 17 pick as the final piece of the Anthony Davis trade but opted to defer, allowing the Lakers to take Knecht. The AD trade has become even more of a heist for the Lakers by the day.
Knecht being this good surprises many, but not LeBron James. He saw this progression coming a mile away and expected Knecht to be this good.
Through 21 games, Knecht is averaging 11.6 points while shooting 41% from 3-point range. His numbers only improve if you look at his starter stats.
When beginning games, Knecht is scoring 16.7 points and shooting 42.5% from deep. He is in the top four in scoring among rookies and has made the most threes.
Needless to say, the Lakers have struck gold with Knecht and he’s been even better than advertised.
So, while the Lakers are again in the play-in region of the standings, fans can take solace in the organization getting another great player through the draft.
Knecht isn’t just a promising rookie. His arrival provides something this team has been desperately looking for during the LeBron James era: a reliable 3-point shooter.
So far, Knecht is the answer to that problem and every swish of the net on a Knecht three is music to the Lakers’ ears.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.