Lakers newsletter: Dalton Knecht shows that experience can be better than potential
Hey everyone, this is Dan Woike and welcome to The Timesâ Lakers Newsletter, our once-a-week chance to form a meaningful writer-reader Knechtion. The Lakers have won six straight, optimism is high and they still have won every NBA Cup game theyâve played.
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This week weâre going to talk about something that matters dearly to me: old guys.
Experience as an X-factor
After the Lakers beat the Pelicans in New Orleans on Saturday night, Anthony Davis said something that didnât quite get the attention it probably deserved.
After Dalton Knecht navigated his way through another defense, scoring 11 points in the third quarter to pump energy into a gassed Lakers team, Davis said Knecht wasnât really a young player even though heâs a rookie.
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âItâs kinda how like Dame was,â Davis said, comparing Knecht to Damian Lillard. âYou go through college for so long, you mature, get older.â
Knecht, like Lillard, logged more than 3,000 minutes of court time in college, a lot of it as a primary scorer. They were top-line items on scouting reports, Lillard at Weber State and Knecht at Northern Colorado and then Tennessee. And despite drawing the attention of defenses, they logged a lot of experience navigating all that attention.
In fact, Knechtâs play at Northern Colorado had him firmly on the Lakersâ radar as a sleeper before he became an All-American at Tennessee.
âHeâs already pro ready,â Davis said.
Then, Tuesday, Knecht put on the biggest show of his young career, scoring 37 points and solidifying early hype as one of the biggest steals in the NBA draft.
While Knechtâs age â he turns 24 this season â turned some teams off, the Lakers already are seeing value in it, Knecht directly influencing wins against Sacramento, Memphis, New Orleans and Utah.
âWe were obviously very excited,â coach JJ Redick said about landing Knecht in the draft. âAnd for us, we certainly want to continue to develop our young guys and we place an emphasis on that, but getting a guy with a 17 pick that can play right away with our group is huge.â
While not quite a member of the 3,000-minute club, Austin Reaves is another Lakers find who slipped, in part, because teams viewed his age as a weakness.
âThe stories are similar,â Reaves said. â⌠I think a lot of people didnât think that we were good enough. I think a lot of these recruits, colleges didnât think ... I was athletic enough to play at that level and levels beyond that. I donât know what it was with him, but it had to be something because when I watch a game and I see him play, itâs like, âOh, thatâs a pro.â
âLike, I could tell the first time I watched him. So, I donât know what the problem was. But, yeah, I think thereâs a lot of similarities.â
And if youâre trying to win, landing experience in the draft seems like a no-brainer.
âIf youâre a team thatâs trying to win now and youâre not drafting off expectation, potential, [then] taking a guy thatâs been in college for three to four years thatâs shown he can be the guy on a team but also be a role player as wellâ makes sense, Reaves said.
The Lakers whiffed on the chance last year. They couldâve picked a player with more than 4,000 college minutes under his belt in UCLAâs Jaime Jaquez Jr. Instead, they took Jalen Hood-Schifino, betting on the guardâs potential. The Lakers have since declined Hood-Schifinoâs third-year option, as injuries and a crowded backcourt have limited his chances to gain traction.
There are none of those concerns with Knecht, who already is giving the Lakers another dimension, from a shooting standpoint, they havenât had in years, if ever.
âEvery time I see one go in, I think the next one is always going in,â Knecht said Tuesday. âEven if I miss it, I always have the confidence that my next shot is going in.â
The Lakers believe too. Theyâve seen it happen for years.
Song of the week
âSoft Spokenâ by Jeff Lamb
Knecht isnât the biggest talker on the Lakers, but his game is far from quiet. On the court he plays with the kind of confidence scouts love to see from young players. Love this tune from a relative rookie, Jeff Lamb. Itâs going into my rotation.
In case you missed it
âDid anybody watch him?â Hot-shooting Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht has NBAâs attention
Lakers to honor Showtime-era coach Pat Riley with statue outside Crypto.com Arena
Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht is taking his shot, and swishing it
Whatâs motivating Lakers in their NBA Cup title chase? âI mean, $500,000 is $500,000â
LeBron Jamesâ mind is on âdear friendâ Gregg Popovichâs health, not Lakers vs. Spurs
Until next time...
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