When the Los Angeles Lakers brought in Marcus Smart this offseason, it wasn’t just about adding another gritty defender to JJ Redick’s first-year roster. It was about reshaping the starting five and clarifying the team’s identity — a move that could have a ripple effect on younger players like Dalton Knecht.
Smart arrives with a championship pedigree and a reputation as one of the league’s most vocal defensive leaders, forged over nine seasons in Boston. But he also brings recent injury baggage — just 54 games played over the past two seasons. That combination of value and risk explains why Memphis flipped him to Washington, why the Wizards bought him out, and why Los Angeles could still see him as a Day 1 starter.
Marcus Smart’s Arrival Puts Dalton Knecht’s Lakers Future in Jeopardy
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According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, Smart is projected to join Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Deandre Ayton in the starting lineup. The bigger revelation, though, is who’s not in Buha’s predicted 10-man rotation — Dalton Knecht.
Buha broke down his reasoning in a mailbag exchange with fans:
“I think they need to play their best players and it’s hard to argue him higher than 10th. And even if you make that case, that means no backup center and the Lakers likely playing 16-20 minutes center-less. If they expand the rotation to 11 guys — unlikely but possible — then DK makes sense.”
That’s not just a depth-chart shuffle. It’s a potential turning point in Knecht’s Lakers career. The 17th pick in the 2024 draft opened his rookie season playing over 26 minutes per game in November. By April, that number had nearly halved. Trade chatter already swirled during the season — most notably when the Lakers nearly sent him to Charlotte for center Mark Williams, a deal scuttled only by Williams’ failed medicals.
Now, Knecht’s standing is being questioned not just because of Smart’s arrival, but also because of a disappointing Summer League. Buha was blunt in his assessment:
“Summer League has not helped Knecht’s stock, and I don’t think at this point he is valued as a first-round pick in terms of an asset evaluation.”
That sentiment wasn’t isolated. Multiple non-Lakers sources told Buha they share the same view. In Las Vegas, the chatter about Knecht’s future was, in Buha’s words, “not good.”
Lakers Nation’s Ryan Ward sees a mental hurdle compounding the on-court struggles.
“Something’s going on with that kid’s confidence… He should have been an audition. Like, if you think you’re going to get traded, you should be balling out to show why you’re so valuable.”
Confidence isn’t easy to quantify, but the numbers told their own story. Over three Summer League games, Knecht averaged 10.3 points on 27.9% shooting, including 23.8% from deep. Even Bronny James — the 55th pick in the same draft — posted better scoring numbers in fewer minutes.
Ward suggested the struggles might trace back to the emotional whiplash of Knecht’s first year — early-season hype, midseason benching, a near trade, and then a summer where expectations crashed.
“That’s got to mess with your head… He’s got the skill, but maybe if you don’t have it upstairs, if you’re not confident, that can crush a kid’s career super-fast, especially with a team like the Lakers, where it’s basically ‘what have you done for me lately.’”
For now, the Lakers appear committed to a rotation that prioritizes size in the second unit, which squeezes Knecht’s path to minutes. If Redick pivots to smaller lineups, Buha admits Knecht could sneak back into the top 10. But the broader reality remains: his trade value is slipping, and another extended stint on the bench could push it even lower.
The Lakers may still believe in Knecht’s skill set — a 24-year-old shooter on a rookie contract is a theoretically attractive asset. But with Marcus Smart locking down a starting role and the team eyeing win-now upgrades, the question isn’t just whether Knecht will play. It’s whether he’ll still be in Los Angeles when the season ends.