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Lakers Former First-Round Pick's Value Plummets Following NBA Summer League, Per Report

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Ettinger | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 10:09 PM ET

NBA 2K25 Summer League is in the books. Each NBA team's top prospects, exciting rookies, and talented young players showcased their talents with hopes to land an NBA contract. NBA hopefuls descended upon Las Vegas with hopes to find their way onto an NBA roster at the conclusion of this year's Summer League.

Some accomplished this goal, while others, didn't help themselves get closer to their team's starting lineups.

One team that always has the spotlight shining upon them, having every roster move closely analyzed, is the Los Angeles Lakers.

While LeBron James and Luka Doncic didn't suit up for a single second of Summer League, they remained active in supporting their squad.

James was spotted in the front row to watch his son, Bronny James, while Doncic reportedly spent his Summer helping recruit Marcus Smart to the Lakers.

While the Lakers had an eventful offseason, one of their former first-round picks, recently seen as one of the team's most valuable assets, didn't help himself during Summer League.

The Lakers first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft (No. 17 overall), Dalton Knecht's value, has reportedly plummeted after his performance during this year's Summer League. According to Lakers insider, Jovan Buha, multiple NBA people outside of the Lakers, believe Knecht is no longer viewed as a "first-round pick".

Dalton Knecht’s trade value took a massive hit after the Summer League, and teams around the league no longer view him as a first-round pick, per @jovanbuha

“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… pic.twitter.com/YGAfFRPa25
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 22, 2025

“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 valuation. That was what I heard in Vegas from talking to multiple people, non-Lakers people, just gauging what would you give for Dalton Knecht? Or if the Lakers are putting Dalton Knecht in a trade, what is he worth? And the feedback I got was, no longer worth a first-round valuation,” Buha wrote.

In three Summer League games, Knecht averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists shooting just 27.9% from the field and 23.8% from 3-point range.

In 78 games during his rookie season, he averaged 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game shooting 46.1% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range.

Knecht was part of a trade last season that would have sent him to the Charlotte Hornets along with Cam Reddish in exchange for Mark Williams. The trade was later rescinded after the Lakers reportedly had an issue with Williams' physical, however, Knecht's game seemingly never bounced back following the (almost) trade.

It appears Knecht, 24, will enter his sophomore season in the NBA with plenty to prove if he wants the basketball world to view him as a first-round pick yet again.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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