Former Tennessee Vols star Dalton Knecht's NBA career is suddenly in a not good place

It feels like former Tennessee Vols basketball standout Dalton Knecht has been in the NBA for several years now.

But amazingly, the former Vol is entering just his second year in the league.

Knecht, a first round selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, went through a lot during his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The North Dakota native set a career high with with 37 points in the first month of his rookie season. He was later traded to the Charlotte Hornets. The trade, however, was rescinded (after Knecht had already reported to the Hornets) and he was shipped back to the Lakers.

After returning to Los Angeles, Knecht received sporadic playing time (including just four minutes of action in the playoffs).

At this point, it's clear that Knecht isn't a major part of the Lakers' future plans.

And unfortunately for Knecht, it sounds like he doesn't have much of a trade market.

Dalton Knecht is viewed by some as a negative asset in the NBA

The Athletic's Dan Woike pointed out this week that there are some major concerns about Knecht's defense around the league.

Woike also noted that some scouts view Knecht as a "negative asset".

"Scouts around the NBA couldn’t ignore the holes in his game, particularly on the defensive end, where he was often out of position," wrote Woike of Knecht. "Concerns about his ability to handle those concepts — one of the reasons he was available to the Lakers at No. 17 in the draft — were reaffirmed in the eyes of NBA evaluators....After a rough preseason debut where he shot 1 of 12, scouts left Palm Desert as pessimistic as ever, one even calling Knecht a 'negative asset,' meaning the Lakers would need to attach pieces to incentivize a team in a trade."

"It seems unlikely that Knecht will be the offensive focal point as he was in college, when he dominated offensively and was a consensus All-American," added Woike. "Here, he’s going to have to learn how to do less on that side of the ball while doing more on the other."

There's no doubt that Knecht is an elite shooter. And he's proved he can score at a high level in the NBA. The defensive concerns, however, are fair.

Ultimately, I think Knecht is in a terrible situation in Los Angeles. He's essentially being forced into a role with the Lakers -- a spot starter when the star players are out, and a role player off the bench who isn't the focal point of the offense when he's on the floor -- that isn't suited to his strengths.

If Knecht is going to thrive in the NBA, he needs to find a way out of LA.

The Lakers obviously wouldn't mind moving Knecht, but they aren't just going to give him away. Knecht just needs to hope another team sees his potential and decides to "overpay" for him in a trade. And then he needs to hope the trade isn't rescinded.

Otherwise, Knecht is likely going to wilt in Southern California.

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