The past four days brought across a range of emotions for Dalton Knecht. The star Lakers rookie was hailed by LeBron James as a steal. Then at the trade deadline, the Lakers shipped him to Charlotte in exchange for Mark Williams. 48 hours later, a failed physical led to his return to LA. The situation was difficult as JJ Redick revealed the 23-year-old asked for some time to process the situation. But in his heart, all Knecht wanted to do was “hoop”.
The SEC Player of The Year only sat out one game since becoming the Laker again. Before his return tonight against the Utah Jazz, the locker room joked about this being his second debut. To Dalton Knecht though, the entire experience was a “movie”. But he’s just happy to continue playing for the team that drafted him.
“It was a crazy, you know, time. You know, not too many people done that and come back. But at the end of the day, I just wanted to hoop. You know? I told that to JJ and Rob when I got back that was the main thing,” the rookie said about his conversations with JJ Redick and Rob Pelinka.
Dalton Knecht’s first comments since the Hornets trade was rescinded and he came back to the Lakers pic.twitter.com/0MYLznO5cT
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 13, 2025
The post 1 Week Later, Dalton Knecht Breaks Silence on Lakers Trade Saga as Mental Toll Awaits an End appeared first on EssentiallySports.
