Former Tennessee Vols guard Dalton Knecht gets real after rough showing in NBA Summer League game

Former Tennessee Vols guard Dalton Knecht didn't have a very good showing in his first NBA Summer League game with the Los Angeles Lakers this past week. 

Knecht, who wrapped up his rookie season with the Lakers a couple of months ago, scored just 10 points while missing all six of his three-point attempts in a loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. 

After the game, Knecht admitted that he needs to "shake off the rust". 

"Took a while for me to get going, I mean I didn’t get going at all," said Knecht. "Just gotta come out ready to play better tomorrow and come out with more confidence, shake off the rust."

Unfortunately for the former Vol, things weren't much better in his second Summer League game. 

Knecht scored just four points while missing all three of his three-point attempts in 21 minutes of action on Sunday night against the Miami Heat. 

It's unusual for second-year players struggle in Summer League games -- especially players like Knecht that have multiple 30-point NBA games under their belt. 

Knecht proved as a rookie, however, that he can hang with the top competition in the sport, so there's no reason for Lakers fans to panic over his lackluster start to Summer League games. This is likely just a confidence issue for Knecht -- though it's something he'll quickly need to fix if he wants to prove he deserves a bigger role in his second season in Los Angeles. 

That is, of course, assuming Knecht isn't traded by the Lakers before the 2025-26 season.