The Los Angeles Lakers are sending a pair of young players to their G League squad.
Per Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation, Los Angeles assigned second-year guard Dalton Knecht and rookie forward Adou Thiero to the South Bay Lakers.
Here’s a look at the updated depth chart after the move.
2025-26 Los Angeles Lakers Depth Chart
PG: Luka Dončić, Gabe Vincent, Nick Smith Jr.
SG: Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, Bronny James
SF: Rui Harchimura, Jake LaRavia
PF: LeBron James, Jarred Vanderbilt
C: Deandre Ayton, Jaxson Hayes, Maxi Kleber, Drew Timme
The move to assign Knecht and Thiero to the G League comes amid a strong 18-7 start to the season for the Lakers that has them sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference.
Knecht, the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft out of Tennessee, is putting up 6.4 points in 15.1 minutes per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from deep. He’s played in 20 games thus far, making one appearance in the starting lineup.
Knecht had a solid rookie year, averaging 9.1 points and playing nearly 20 minutes per game, but he hasn’t had quite as big a role this season. This will mark Knecht’s first stint in the G League.
Thiero, a second-rounder in this year’s draft out of Arkansas, has seen even less time than the Knecht this season. He’s appeared in just nine games, only playing about 6 minutes per contest. Given the lack of playing time, he’s putting up just 1.1 points per game.
Thiero previously appeared in two games for the South Bay Lakers and performed well, putting up 15.5 points, so he’ll look to make it a quick stint in the G League and earn his way back to the Lakers’ roster.
At this point in the season, it’s fair to question whether the Lakers plan to use the space freed by moving Knecht and Thiero to the G League to land some other talent. Los Angeles reportedly is interested in adding a 3-and-D player before the deadline, so that could be what the plan is after demoting Knecht and Thiero.