EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers chosen Dalton Knecht out of Tennessee with the No. 17 decide Wednesday, the primary consensus All-American drafted by L.A. since taking Lonzo Ball No. 2 in 2017.
“In my thoughts, there isn’t any means a participant like this will likely be obtainable for us to select on draft evening,” mentioned Lakers vp of basketball operations and common supervisor Rob Pelinka. “Throughout the board, simply could not be happier.”
Knecht, 23, averaged 21.7 factors on 49.9% taking pictures (39.7% from 3) in his lone season with the Volunteers after starting his collegiate profession at Northeastern Junior Faculty in Colorado then enjoying two seasons forNorthern Coloradoin the Huge Sky Convention. The 6-foot-5, 212-pound wing led Tennessee to the Elite 8 within the NCAA event in March, scoring 37 factors in an elimination loss to No. 1-seededPurdue.
The SEC participant of the 12 months was slated to go No. 6 to the Charlotte Hornets in ESPN’s mock draft printed simply earlier than the primary spherical, and Pelinka mentioned the Lakers have been shocked Knecht was obtainable after their inside draft board ranked him within the prime 10.
“If we’d have had the tenth decide within the draft, we’d have taken him,” Pelinka mentioned. “So to get that worth at 17 is admittedly extraordinary.”
Knecht mentioned his draft evening fall mirrored his basketball upbringing. As a highschool senior, he didn’t area a single Division I scholarship supply.
“Each time I contact a basketball or stroll right into a health club, I at all times really feel like I acquired one thing to show; and it does not matter the place I am at, it is at all times going to be there and have that chip on my shoulder for feeling like I have been underrated my complete life,” Knecht informed reporters at New York’s Barclays Middle after being drafted. “So, it should be one thing that I am going to carry with me for the remainder of my profession.”
The Knecht choice marks the primary main determination for the Lakers franchise since JJ Redick was employed as its new coach. Pelinka mentioned that Knecht’s skills as a motion shooter reminds him of Redick as a participant.
Redick, in line with Pelinka, instantly began drawing up performs to run for Knecht on the whiteboard within the Lakers’ draft room after the workforce known as of their decide to the league.
“That is actually thrilling,” Knecht informed reporters when knowledgeable of Redick’s response. “At Tennessee, I watched plenty of JJ Redick with coach [Rick] Barnes and simply the way in which he strikes and paces himself and was capable of create area. So, listening to that, it is actually thrilling and it should be actual particular.”
Lakers star LeBron James gave Knecht a shoutout whereas discussing the rising recognition of girls’s faculty basketball in early April after L.A. performed a street recreation towards the Washington Wizards just a few days after Tennessee’s event run ended.
“We watched that Purdue-Tennessee recreation due to Zach Edey and Knecht,” James mentioned on the time. “Gamers, relying on who they’re, will drive the eye relating to viewership.”
Knecht mentioned he virtually did not consider what James mentioned was actual when he first noticed the video.
“I do not forget that clip,” Knecht informed reporters. “I awoke and rolled off the bed and I assumed it was faux as a result of tons of individuals have been texting me. I used to be identical to, ‘There is not any means.’ And after I watched that video, it simply introduced a smile to my face. And likewise my mother and father, they known as me straight away and informed me about it.
“In order that’s simply going to be particular. And it should be enjoyable simply to be sharing that court docket with each of them, [Anthony Davis] and Bron. Bron’s one of many biggest. So it should be actual particular.”
Whereas Pelinka was definitely happy with how the evening went for his workforce, he admitted L.A. canvassed the league for trades main as much as Wednesday to no avail. The Lakers had three first spherical draft picks, together with this 12 months’s at No. 17, obtainable to incorporate in any potential deal.
“We explored each improve we might to make our workforce higher,” Redick mentioned. “I do assume if you happen to polled all 30 GMs throughout the league, simply normally, trades have turn into tougher due to the brand new CBA system. And so, there’s much less entry, I feel, to creating these large strikes than perhaps there was beneath the outdated system. Nevertheless it did not preserve us from attempting to take a look at every thing and methods to place ourselves in methods to be in place to be higher. However even this decide alone, I really feel like offers us an enormous increase and we’re enthusiastic about it.”
The second spherical of the draft will likely be held Thursday. The Lakers personal decide No. 55.
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