Former Tennessee standout Dalton Knecht is on the move at the NBA Trade Deadline. The Los Angeles Lakers are sending Knecht to the Charlotte Hornets just 48 games into his NBA career, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Thursday night.
The Lakers are sending Knecht, Cam Reddish and a 2031 First Round pick to the Hornets in return for center Mark Williams.
The move comes just four days after the Lakers made a blockbuster trade, sending Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a deal that landed them NBA mega star Luka Doncic. Trading Davis left a serious void in the Lakers’ front court that Williams fills with his 16 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Knecht is averaging 9.4 points on 46.5% shooting from the field and 35.8% shooting from three-point range this season. The 6-foot-6 guard is also grabbing 3.1 rebounds in his 20.7 minutes per game mostly off the bench for the Lakers.
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The Lakers selected Knecht with the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after a standout lone season at Tennessee.
Knecht turned in one of the best individual seasons in Tennessee basketball history in his lone season in Knoxville. The Northern Colorado transfer averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He was even better in SEC play where he averaged 25.5 points per game on 48% shooting from the field and 42% shooting from three-point range.
Knecht joined Grant Williams as Tennessee’s second SEC Player of the Year winner under head coach Rick Barnes. The flame thrower also earned the Julius Irving Award while leading Tennessee to the SEC Regular-Season Championship and the second Elite Eight appearance in program history.
In Charlotte, Knecht joins Williams. The power forward is currently out for the entirety of the 2024-25 season after tearing his ACL in December.
