NBA analyst reveals Dalton Knecht was a part of Luka Doncic—Anthony Davis trade talks until Lakers whittled down the package

"There's a weeks long process.  One of my sources inside the Lakers is indicating that the deal was bigger, and I think you guys were literally joking about this last night, that there were two firsts, and there was Dalton Knecht, and the deal got whittled down. Because I think (Lakers general manager) Rob Pelinka was able to convince the Dallas Mavericks that Luka is a lot of risk. You guys are right for trying to look at it this way. Because this guy is drinking or whatever, his weight problem, whatever it is. 

"So they were able to convince them. This was a weeks long process.  That's another thing that came out today. This wasn't - and Dallas started it. Dallas started it. This fell in Rob Pelinka's lap. And then he was able to reduce the outward Lakers assets to such - Mikal Bridges commanded five first round picks. " - Kirk Goldsberry, The Ringer

How in the world Pelinka was able to wear down the Mavericks by reducing the deal from effectively three first round picks (Knecht was the Lakers' first round pick not even 8 months ago) to just one plus Davis and Christie is one of the most unbelievable negotiating jobs that you'll ever see a professional sports general manager pull off.  Particularly when you consider the number of first round picks flying off the shelves in recent deals (De'Aaron Fox trade yesterday included three firsts). 

It also speaks to the appeal that Knecht still has, it appears, to the Los Angeles organization that Pelinka was able to reduce the trade package to keep LA's 2024 first round pick.  It remains to be seen whether the Lakers are done, and perhaps Pelinka had other ideas to improve LA - perhaps a power forward - involving Knecht as collateral. 

But, for now, Knecht will get the chance to play alongside two of the best players in the league at the same time. We'll see soon enough if that opportunity is a long-term one.