- As the offseason chugs along, the Los Angeles Lakers had themselves a solid start by selecting Dalton Knecht, a projected top-10 pick out of Tennessee who fell to them at No. 17 in the 2024 NBA Draft.
With JJ Redick taking the helm as head coach, he is looking to integrate a new system and philosophies that complement this new NBA playstyle. Redick hinted in his introductory press conference that he wants L.A. to shoot more 3-pointers after finishing dead last in attempts this past season.
So being able to draft a player like Knecht will aid the Lakers in getting up more attempts from 3. Notably, the 23-year-old shot 39.7% from 3-point range and that is something that Redick likes about his new rookie, who was the best movement shooter in his class.
“First of all, I was thrilled to be in the draft room,” Redick said. “It was a very amazing experience for me. We didn’t think Dalton would be available at 17, but he provides something that we just don’t have. He’s a movement shooter. He can obviously play off the bounce. We viewed him very highly on our draft board, and he can score at all three levels. He’s got size. There was a lot of things to be excited about with Dalton, and I’m excited to coach him.”
While L.A. needs to compete to win a championship as LeBron James and Anthony Davis have limited time together, the purple and gold have two prospects in their back pocket to develop with Knecht and Bronny James. But Redick believes both of them can provide spacing for James and Davis should their number be called this year.
“I think you have to surround your best players with shooting in today’s NBA,” he said. “Spacing is at a premium and as a coach, there’s a lot of plays that you don’t have control of. Over half the offensive possessions are coming off a make or a miss. So it’s important that you also have players that have a good feel for the game and can read and react. We want to implement more structure and with structure, you certainly need a high basketball IQ. But at times when there isn’t structure and you don’t have control, you also just have to have a feel for the game and both of these guys can shoot it and they have good feel.”
Once the 2024-25 season gets underway, it will be interesting to see how many minutes Knecht and Bronny get in their respective rookie seasons. However, the former Tennessee Volunteer is more NBA-ready at this point and his 3-point shooting could earn himself a spot in Redick’s rotation.
