Draymond “Dalton Knecht is not expected to make the Lakers’ roster: it’s crazy because he seemed to have some promise but I think the voided trade ruined him. I blame his agent because the moment the trade fell through he should have been working to get him out of LA. Someone has failed this kid”
Draymond Green can only feel bad for Dalton Knecht as he faces an uncertain situation and future with the Los Angeles Lakers.
As things have taken a new, difficult turn for the Lakers’ young forward, Green pointed to Knecht’s representatives as the reason behind his struggles in LA.
“Dalton Knecht is not expected to make the Lakers’ regular-season roster, as the team has 16 guaranteed contracts and can only carry 15. Apparently, Bronny James and Jaden Hardy have outplayed him in camp, making him the odd man out. It’s crazy because Knecht seemed to have some promise, but after the trade that would have sent him to the Hornets and brought Mark Williams to the Lakers was voided, he has been in purgatory ever since,” the Golden State Warriors star said on the latest episode of his The Draymond Green Show.
“Ultimately, I think it ruined him. I blame his agent because, the moment the trade fell through, the agent should have been working to get him out of LA.”
Dalton Knecht has generated the most noise outside the Los Angeles Lakers throughout the year.
Once well-regarded for his red-hot shooting and sparkling start as the team’s prized 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Knecht became notably involved in the Lakers’ trade pursuit of Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets, only for the deal to be canceled because of the big man’s injury problems.
Since the trade failed to push through, everything suddenly went upside down for Knecht. After averaging 9.1 points in his 2024-25 rookie season, he fell out of JJ Redick’s rotation last season and averaged just 4.2 points in 10.2 minutes across 54 games.
As the Lakers currently have 16 players on standard contracts heading into the new 2026-27 season, Knecht has recently emerged as the odd man out in LA.
For Green, it’s puzzling that Knecht’s agents have done nothing to resolve the struggles and long-term questions surrounding the 25-year-old in Los Angeles.
“I blame his agent because the moment that trade didn’t go through, that agent should have been working the lines to get him out of LA. … The fact that he’s still on the Lakers right now is absolutely awful representation work,” Green claimed.
“You can’t leave this kid, and you know this is crushing him. You’ve seen it since the time he ended up back on that roster, and you still got this kid in LA.”
Dalton Knecht is currently represented by Anthony Coleman and Mike Lindeman of prominent sports agency Excel Sports Management.
Both Coleman and Lindeman individually manage several other prominent NBA players like Derrick White, Ayo Dosunmu, Tyler Herro, Tari Eason, and even three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
For Draymond Green, it’s disappointing Knecht is suffering from mismanagement and lack of movement from his representatives to find him a way out of the Lakers amid the non-stop rumors and speculation.
“I’m not saying he has a bad agent because I actually don’t know who the agent is. But what I am saying is the agent has done a bad job in this case. It could be an agent who I very much so respect and think is a great agent, but great players have bad games, and great agents have bad situations,” Green added. “This one right here has gotten away from the representation because there’s no way in hell, with what we can see Dalton Knecht has dealt with mentally and how we know he’s dealt with some shit mentally, that we don’t think this has affected him mentally. We’ve seen him play since this trade didn’t happen. He needed a fresh start and something new.
“Someone has failed this kid.”