Where Tennessee's Dalton Knecht lands in ESPN's updated 2024 NBA mock draft

With the 2024 NBA Draft just a little over a month away, we're starting to get a good idea of how the first round could play out. 

And it's looking like good news for Tennessee Vols forward Dalton Knecht. 

The latest 2024 NBA mock draft from ESPN has Knecht sneaking into the top 10 and getting selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the No. 9 overall pick. 

From ESPN: An injury-plagued season gives the Grizzlies a chance to add more talent to a roster already featuring three significant building blocks in Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. Considering the team's timetable, and the urgency surely in place to make a run back to the NBA playoffs next season, finding plug-and-play options who can contribute immediately without too long of a development runway will likely be important.

That would be a heck of a landing spot for Knecht. 

The Grizzlies are a good team who had some tough luck in 2023-24 due to injuries and a 25-game suspension for star guard Ja Morant (Morant played just nine games last season after getting hurt less than a month after his return from suspension). 

If Knecht lands in Memphis, he could instantly carve out a role with a franchise that's expected to compete in the postseason next year. 

And it would also keep Knecht in the state of Tennessee, which I'm sure plenty of Vols fans would be quite happy about.