Lakers' Dalton Knecht takes advantage of golden opportunity with LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the shelf

The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to stay above water at the start of the 2025-26 season with their two superstars out of action. In their absence, a handful of players are getting opportunities to show what they can do in an expanded role, and one of them is former Tennessee Vols start Dalton Knecht.

With LeBron James (sciatica), Luka Doncic (finger/leg), and Gabe Vincent (ankle) out of action, Knecht's playing time has increased recently, and that hit a season high on Monday in the Lakers' 122-108 loss to the Portland Trailblazers.

Dalton Knecht totaled 16 points in 25 minutes for the Lakers on Monday

Knecht came off the bench to total 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block across 25 minutes against the Trailblazers. Those all set or matched season highs for Knecht, who started off the season as a spectator before the wave of injuries opened up an opportunity for him. And while it's not determinative of his own individual defensive performance, he had one of the best plus/minus totals on the team for the game at -1.

Knecht has provided something that few of the Lakers' reserves have shown to date - a willingness to be aggressive on offense and give Los Angeles a scoring boost off the bench. The Lakers were among the worst in the NBA getting points out of their reserves in 2024-25, ranking 29th in the NBA in that category. And as we know, JJ Redick's head-scratching refusal to use Knecht down the stretch was no small part in that statistic.

It's become pretty clear over the last year how Redick and the Lakers' front office view Knecht, given they tried to trade him and did before a deal with Charlotte fell through last season, and that's not very favorably. As such, perhaps this stretch will be an opportunity for him to effectively audition for another opportunity elsewhere via trade. We'll see if he can continue to take advantage of those chances in the coming days and/or weeks.