Dalton Knecht needed to wait fairly a bit longer than many anticipated on the Barclays Heart in New York on Wednesday night time.
Whereas that left many confused, the Los Angeles Lakers took full benefit and pulled off the most effective picks from a worth standpoint in your complete first spherical of the NBA Draft.
The Lakers chosen Knecht with the No. 17 total choose in what was one of many greatest surprises of the primary spherical. Many thought the Tennessee star can be a top-10 choose after his run within the SEC this previous season. Yahoo Sports activities’ Krysten Peek even had him going No. 6 total in her remaining mock draft earlier within the day.
But because the lottery picks got here and went, Knecht saved ready to listen to his title known as. Even the ESPN desk on web site was confused concerning the slide, which appeared to come back right down to an age problem. At 23 years outdated, Knecht is just older than many others on this draft class. He was the oldest participant chosen at that time, and solely two others — former Purdue star Zach Edey, who went No. 9 total to Memphis, and Windfall’s Devin Carter, who went No. 13 total to Sacramento — had been older than 20.
However based mostly on his profession, it’s nothing new and received’t be an issue for him. Knecht didn’t obtain a single Division I scholarship supply out of highschool, and he began at a junior faculty earlier than transferring into Northern Colorado. He then made the bounce to Tennessee for his remaining season, which is the place his profession really took off.
Knecht averaged 21.7 factors and 4.9 rebounds per recreation with the Volunteers final season whereas main them to the Elite Eight — which was this system’s deepest NCAA match run since 2010. He was the most effective scorers within the nation, capturing simply shy of 40% from behind the arc, and he was named the SEC’s Participant of the 12 months and a first-team All-American. Although he may not be a generational expertise to construct a whole franchise round, Knecht is an skilled guard who can add precious minutes straight away.
Knecht will now get to crew up with LeBron James and play for first-year head coach J.J. Redick in Los Angeles. He ought to slot in nice in Los Angeles. For all events concerned, the choose is certain to have been well worth the wait.