Dalton Knecht Released by Lakers After Failed Trade Search

The Lakers spent days searching for a trade destination for Dalton Knecht but came up empty. The Los Angeles franchise released the shooting guard in the final roster adjustment before the regular season, according to Shams Charania, leaving him free to sign with any NBA team.

It was the expected outcome. The Lakers had 16 guaranteed contracts and one was surplus. The preferred option was to trade Knecht to avoid paying his salary without him on the roster. The Bucks, Bulls, and Jazz showed interest, and Milwaukee even discussed a swap involving Jericho Sims, but no deal materialized. By releasing him, the Lakers will have to absorb the roughly $4.2 million Knecht had remaining on his contract for this final season. The other consequence is that Bronny James will remain with the team for a third year.

From Promise to Bench Player

Knecht's fall has been swift. He arrived in Los Angeles as the 17th pick in the 2024 Draft and the best player from the SEC with Tennessee, and in his first November in the NBA he scored 37 points with nine three-pointers against the Jazz. That promising start stalled in February 2025, when the Lakers included him in a trade for Mark Williams to the Hornets, a deal that was canceled hours later because Williams failed his medical examination. Since then, he lost playing time in the rotation.

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The 2025-26 season confirmed he had no role on the team. He played 54 games with just 10 minutes per night and averaged 4.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.4 assists. The signings of Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy, and Matisse Thybulle this summer pushed him even further down the rotation. In his two NBA seasons, he leaves with an average of 7.1 points and 37 percent from three-point range in 132 games.

At 25 years old, Knecht has a shooter's profile that many teams seek. What he doesn't have is margin: with rosters nearly finalized, finding a spot before the season starts will be difficult.