Lakers' overnight trade sends Dalton Knecht to a place where many Tennessee Vol fans wanted him to go before

After acquiring Luka Doncic on Saturday night, it appears the Los Angeles Lakers weren't done dealing.  Late on Wednesday night, less than a day before the trade deadline, Los Angeles sent 2024 first round pick Dalton Knecht to the Charlotte Hornets as part of a package for center Mark Williams. 

It's a move that likely had many Tennessee Volunteer fans waking up very happy on Thursday morning.  After all, it's a place where many of them had hoped he would go in the 2024 NBA draft.  

First and foremost, it will pair Knecht with another all-time Tennessee great in Grant Williams.  Both earned SEC Player of the Year and first-team All-American honors in their final collegiate seasons before heading to the NBA - Williams in 2018-19 and obviously Knecht last year in his only season with the program. 

Now, Tennessee's two best players this century get to play on the same NBA team together.  What more could Vol fans want? 

Charlotte is also the second closest NBA franchise to Knoxville after Atlanta, and western North Carolina is a region where many Tennessee fans live.  Or it's a place where many are close enough to visit.  That was evidenced by Tennessee's takeover of Bank of America Stadium back on September 7 when Josh Heupel's Vols throttled NC State 51-10. 

Now, Knecht is back in an area where he's going to see a lot of orange in the stands and around the area.  Certainly, a lot more than he saw in Southern California. 

The Hornets will also give something to Knecht that he didn't have quite as much of in Los Angeles: opportunity.  It was known that Knecht wasn't going to be an immediate focal point for the Lakers in his rookie season.  Not on a team that has LeBron James and had Anthony Davis.  

He obviously had some great moments and some growing pains in his first half a season in Los Angeles.  But now, he'll get a chance to see the floor more often and potentially carry more of a load, which will help with his development.  

The path to a championship for Knecht was obviously greater had he stayed put.  However, now, Vol fans will get a chance to see two of the best to ever do it for Tennessee basketball play together on a nightly basis.

For those in orange, that's hard to beat.