LOS ANGELES — NBA roster cutdown deadlines always force front offices into ruthless decisions, but the way the Los Angeles Lakers handled their final roster spot exposed the harsh reality of modern asset management. Right at Monday’s 5 PM deadline, Rob Pelinka and company made the shocking-but-also-unsurprising decision to waive Dalton Knecht, turning the former 17th overall pick into a free agent.
While some fans immediately assumed this was lingering fallout from his rescinded trade to Charlotte in February 2025, that narrative misses the real picture. Knecht addressed the trade noise and roster uncertainty head-on right before cutdown day.
“All that shit is shit. A lot of it… I really understand it is a business. It happens,” Knecht said. “They drafted me for a reason, so I just go out there and keep hooping and stay confident.”
Despite speculation that the failed transaction permanently damaged his standing in Southern California, local beat reporting confirmed that the voided trade was not the catalyst. Instead, his departure came down to a shifting depth chart under head coach JJ Redick, asset mismanagement by the front office, and cold salary cap math.
JJ Redick On The Wing Logjam That Led The Lakers To Waive Dalton Knecht
Addressing the impending roster move before opening night, head coach JJ Redick offered a blunt reality check regarding Knecht’s standing on the depth chart.
“I think the biggest thing is the team changed,” Redick said. “The team changed. Needs changed, the fit changed. I think he’s gotten better as a player the last two years… I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings and he’s in a tough spot right now.”
As Redick noted, the front office loaded up on wing depth like Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle, and Ziaire Williams. That pivot left Knecht, a movement shooter whose defensive processing struggled in Redick’s scheme, squeezed entirely out of the rotation.
At the same time, I would be remiss to not highlight the front office’s broader failure to manage assets better. Rather than moving Knecht earlier when his trade value started nose diving following the rescinded trade, general manager Rob Pelinka held onto him until his market dried up.
Asset Mismanagement And The $4.2 Million Cap Hit
Search efforts to find late trade partners to absorb Knecht’s $4.2 million salary yielded nothing, as rival front offices viewed him as a negative value on that number. Pelinka refused to attach future draft picks as a sweetener to facilitate a dump, leaving the Lakers with only one option.
Rather than bleeding draft capital, L.A. chose to waive Dalton Knecht, eat the $4.2 million in dead guaranteed money, and hand the final 15-man opening night roster spot to third-year guard Bronny James.
Now sitting on the NBA waiver wire, Knecht is free to sign elsewhere once he clears the 48 hours wait time. For a rival front office scanning the NBA waiver wire for perimeter shooting upside, taking a low-cost flier on a 25-year-old former SEC Player of the Year is still worth a shot, even if L.A. had to eat $4.2 million just to walk away.
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