What happened to Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom put Dalton Knecht’s current problems in perspective

Dalton Knecht still might not have gotten over being traded

Knecht has barely seen any playing time over his last two games, combining for 5 minutes in those contests.

Do you think Dalton Knecht can get back to this form for the LA Lakers?

Knecht has seemed checked out this season as he is averaging just 6.6 points in 16.7 minutes per game.

Former Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti was on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast and he talked about Knecht’s struggles since the Charlotte Hornets trade.

He said if great players like Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol struggled with that, it makes it even harder for the younger Knecht to re-adjust.

Vitti alluded to the three-way deal between the Lakers, Hornets and Houston Rockets that happened coming out of the 2011 lockout, which stunned the NBA.

The deal: Chris Paul to the Lakers, Gasol to the Houston Rockets and Odom, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, Luis Scola and a first-round draft pick (from Houston via the Knicks) to the Hornets.

However, the late and former NBA commissioner David Stern vetoed the deal. Gasol and Odom had to return to the Lakers and Vitti said they weren’t the same.

“They just traded them to New Orleans. David Stern turned the trade around now he’s got to come back.

“Neither one of those guys, Lamar or Pau, ever recovered.

“Pau was infinitely better at handling it.

“I love Lamar, one of the greatest guys you’ll ever meet in your life, he had issues.. he had a lot of stuff in his life that he didn’t deserve. He did the best he could, with it.”

Dalton Knecht has lost all confidence

Knecht’s 37-point performance feels like it happened so long ago. Knecht had some bright moments early in his rookie season, which suggested he could become a vital piece in the Lakers’ rotation.

However, since the trade Knecht has not found himself or his shooting stroke. This season his points per game average is down along with his three-point shooting percentage.

He did show some life with a 16-point outing against the Oklahoma City Thunder on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and 4-for-5 shooting from deep.

But then he followed that up with two weaker performances before finding himself out of the rotation in his last two games. At this point, it will be tough for Knecht to carve out a meaningful role with the Lakers.