Four days after the Lakers agreed to trade Dalton Knecht to the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles is rescinding the trade and will keep Knecht according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Lakers say the Mark Williams/Dalton Knecht trade has been rescinded.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 9, 2025
The trade saw the Lakers are send Knecht, Cam Reddish and a 2031 First Round pick to the Hornets in return for center Mark Williams. It is unclear why the trade was rescinded though one report claims Charlotte failed to satisfy a condition of the deal.
Knecht is averaging 9.4 points on 46.5% shooting from the field and 35.8% shooting from three-point range for the Lakers in his rookie 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 were looking to add quality front line help after trading star Anthony Davis in the block bluster deal that sent Luka Doncic to L.A. Williams is averaging 16 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for Charlotte this season.
Los Angeles selected Knecht with the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after a standout lone season at Tennessee. Staying with the Lakers keeps Knecht on a NBA Finals contender and allows him to play meaningful basketball in the remainder of his rookie season.
Knecht turned in one of the best individual seasons in Tennessee basketball history in his lone season in Knoxville. He 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.
The Northern Colorado transfer 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.
