By now, a lot of people have probably seen the joke about how Dalton Knecht has never lost a game or missed a shot in the few days he was a part of the Charlotte Hornets. But kidding aside, Knecht's brief time with the Hornets and Mark Williams' unexpected return to Charlotte will end up as one of the most bizarre trade-deadline stories in NBA history.
While many Hornets fans reacted negatively to the decision to trade Williams, who is brimming with potential and still only 23 years old, some of them were excited that the team landed Knecht.
The almost-ex-Los Angeles Lakers swingman has made waves in the basketball circuit through his outside shooting abilities and decent ball-handling acumen. Also, one of his most endearing qualities is his confidence, which was in full display during the 2024 NCAA Tournament when he led the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to the Elite Eight.
Some people even wondered why Knecht fell all the way to the No. 17 spot in the 2024 draft, with the Hornets among those who passed on him, opting to take Tidjane Salaun with the sixth overall pick.
Dalton Knecht's weakness would have been hard to mask
Because of his offensive potential, Knecht's supposed arrival in Charlotte was met with plenty of excitement. He even looked like the perfect complement to LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller due to his capability of spacing the floor for the stars and creating his own shot when needed.
However, overlooked amid the anticipation was that the North Dakota native has yet to prove his mettle on defense.
One would think that he should be playing more in Los Angeles based on his offensive prowess alone. But in addition to his inconsistency, which we can probably chalk up to the rookie jitters, he has arguably been a defensive liability for the Lakers.
To be fair, Knecht's scouting report before the 2024 draft already showed that he had a lot of room to improve on that end of the floor. However, there has been virtually no growth this season, which would have probably doomed the Hornets.
A platoon of Ball, Miller, and Knecht on the perimeter would have given the opponents a field day on offense. That would have required the coaching staff to stagger the minutes of those three plus Nick Smith Jr., and presumably Tre Mann or a point guard next season, and make sure that at least one of Josh Green and Josh Okogie was on the floor to take on the toughest defensive assignment.
So, in some ways, it might have been a blessing in disguise for the Hornets that Knecht is back on the Lakers. The only downside is that Charlotte also had to return draft assets in the fallout.