{"id":570229,"date":"2026-01-30T06:38:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T06:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/570229\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T06:38:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T06:38:18","slug":"markieff-morris-doesnt-hold-back-on-knechts-trade-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/570229\/","title":{"rendered":"Markieff Morris doesn\u2019t hold back on Knecht’s trade request"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> forward Markieff Morris<\/a> offered a blunt assessment of Dalton Knecht<\/a>\u2019s reported trade request, sharing unfiltered comments about the young guard\u2019s confidence, on-court limitations and strained standing with the franchise.<\/p>\n

On the latest episode of The Morris Code, Morris addressed Knecht directly while recounting his first impressions<\/a> and later interactions with the former first-round pick. The comments came as reports surfaced that Knecht has formally requested a trade from Los Angeles, a move the team is expected to accommodate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s arrogant as s\u2014t. Like super arrogant. Super confident. His chest is wide as s\u2014t at all times. And for a little bit he rubbed me wrong. I\u2019m like this little n\u2014\u2013, you didn\u2019t do nothing in the league. You got to tuck your chest in, you got to tone it down a little bit,\u201d Morris said. \u201cThen as I get to know him a little bit, we\u2019re playing pick up. I\u2019m busting his a\u2013 and s\u2014t. He\u2019s like, \u2018Damn, you can still hoop G.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Morris said his perspective shifted after getting to know Knecht away from the court, including a conversation over dinner in which Knecht explained the mindset behind his demeanor.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo long story short I got to meet him a little bit. And he told me over dinner why he\u2019s like that,\u201d<\/p>\n

Morris said. \u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018Bro, I\u2019m a white basketball player. How else am I supposed to be? If I\u2019m in here tucked in and trying to be the yes sir, that\u2019s not going to work for me. I\u2019ve got to have my chest out because I\u2019m confident in my ability.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Rescinded Hornets trade lingers over Dalton Knecht\u2019s second season with Lakers\"LosGary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

While Morris credited Knecht\u2019s offensive skill and confidence, he was equally direct about his shortcomings.<\/p>\n

\u201cRightfully so, he can play. He can\u2019t guard no f\u2014-ing body,\u201d Morris said. \u201cThat\u2019s my younger, he can play. He deserves time, but he just can\u2019t guard no f\u2014\u2013ing body.\u201d
Morris joined the Lakers alongside Luka Don\u010di\u0107 around the same period last season when<\/p>\n

Knecht was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in a deal for Mark Williams<\/a> that was ultimately rescinded. According to league observers, that sequence marked a turning point in Knecht\u2019s relationship with the organization. After the trade fell apart, Knecht reportedly sensed he was no longer part of the Lakers\u2019 long-term plans, creating an awkward dynamic that lingered into the following season.<\/p>\n

Now in his second year with Los Angeles, Knecht\u2019s role has diminished<\/a>. The 24-year-old is averaging 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 44.2% from the field, 68.8% from the free-throw line and 32.3% from three-point range across 37 games, with one start and 12.4 minutes per contest. Those numbers represent a notable drop from his rookie season, when he averaged 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 46.1% overall and 37.6% from beyond the arc in 78 games.<\/p>\n

According to Anthony Irwin of Offside, Knecht has requested a trade, and the Lakers are expected to grant it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles enters the latter portion of its eight-game road trip with a 28-18 record, sitting fifth in the Western Conference standings. The Lakers are coming off a 129-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> and are scheduled to face the Washington Wizards (11-34) on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET on MNMT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Markieff Morris offered a blunt assessment of Dalton Knecht\u2019s reported trade request, sharing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[7,1250,150,7549,6],"class_list":["post-570229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-dalton-knecht","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-markieff-morris","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115982678990421828","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}