{"id":701933,"date":"2026-04-06T19:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/701933\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:47:21","slug":"lakers-predicted-to-part-ways-with-18m-former-first-rounder-after-underwhelming-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/701933\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers predicted to part ways with $18M former first-rounder after underwhelming season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lakers predicted to part ways with $18M former first-rounder after underwhelming season<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> were performing well heading into the playoffs until disaster struck, with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves both suffering injuries at the same time. The Lakers were competing for a championship, making them a legitimate contender<\/a>\u2014just as LeBron James wanted.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLeBron wants to compete for a championship,\u201d Rich Paul told ESPN. \u201cHe knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the injuries, it was expected that some young players would need to step up. Dalton Knecht was anticipated to get some minutes, but that didn\u2019t happen, making it clear this is his last year in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two sides must part ways in the offseason. The Hornets<\/a> wanted Knecht at the 2025 trade deadline, but his value has disappeared. Los Angeles owes him $4.2 million next season and will likely have to use Knecht as a throw-in to get him off their roster. They can\u2019t expect any value in return. It should all be about making a change and finding someone coach Redick trusts to put around Luka Doncic. Dalton Knecht has likely already played his final game with the Los Angeles Lakers after not getting on the floor on Sunday night. The roster was banged up, but coach Redick still couldn\u2019t find time for DK. Playing three young guards over him means Knecht is glued to the bench and will likely be traded this summer,\u201d Lake Show Life\u2019s Tyler Watts wrote.<\/a><\/p>\n

Knecht got off to a stellar start in his rookie campaign, but he never recovered after his trade to the Charlotte Hornets was rescinded. With the Lakers in a difficult position and Knecht not seeing minutes, his future with the team is now very clear. Knecht is in his second year of a $18 million deal.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Lakers were excited about Knecht when he was drafted, but that enthusiasm quickly faded. The hope is that Knecht can find a home where he is wanted and has the opportunity to prove he still has what it takes.<\/p>\n

More NBA news:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lakers predicted to part ways with $18M former first-rounder after underwhelming season originally appeared on The Sporting News.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1013,7,473,1250,185,251,150,368,6,395,564],"class_list":{"0":"post-701933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-austin-reaves","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-charlotte-hornets","11":"tag-dalton-knecht","12":"tag-lebron-james","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","15":"tag-luka-doncic","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-redick","18":"tag-rich-paul"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116359492173170448","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701933","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=701933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}