The Los Angeles Lakers have ended their second era in four months. In the overhaul that followed LeBron James’ exit, they finalized their opening night roster on Monday by waiving third-year forward Dalton Knecht ahead of the league’s 2:00 PM PT deadline. A day before the 2026-27 season opened, they ended a tumultuous tenure for the former No. 17 overall draft pick.

Entering the week with 16 guaranteed contracts, one over the NBA limit, the Lakers chose to retain guard Jaden Hardy and third-year guard Bronny James over Knecht, absorbing the remaining $4.2 million on his contract. The transaction was confirmed by ESPN’s Shams Charania following months of unsuccessful trade discussions surrounding the 25-year-old wing.

While most saw it coming, it doesn’t make it any less of a disaster. To outline just how bad the buildup to Knecht’s waiver was, Lakers’ veteran insider Jovan Buha reacted immediately while out running errands.

“The Lakers have waived Dalton Knecht, trimming their roster from 16 players of guaranteed contracts to 15. They chose to retain Jaden Hardy and Bronny James over Knecht. And this is a really disappointing outcome, I think for both parties,” Buha said in his immediate reaction.

“For Knecht, this was a sign of his trade value. The Lakers have been trying to trade him for over a year, but especially this offseason and this training camp, and have been unable to strike a deal. And so, just a fall from grace from him, especially after his sky-high value early in his rookie season and ultimately culminating in the rescinded Mark Williams trade, which seems to be a turning point in his career.”

Beyond calling it ‘disappointing,’ he delivered a scathing critique of Rob Pelinka, labeling Knecht’s decline as a pattern of Lakers’ asset mismanagement.

Buha mentions another sore point in Lakers history: Jalen Hood-Schifino. Also selected 17th in 2023, a year before Knecht, the Indiana product was highly touted by scouts. He’d play more for the South Bay Lakers only to be traded to Utah to facilitate the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap. He’d get waived and sign with the 76ers. However, he’s not played in an NBA game since 2025 yet is listed on the NBA website as a Sixers player.

Knecht’s tenure in Los Angeles is almost deja vu. Same draft pick, same team, same immense promise. Following his selection out of Tennessee in the 2024 NBA Draft, the 6’5 wing got his career start when Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura were sidelined with injuries in November 2024. In back-to-back games, he’d break his own career high records, ultimately scoring his best 37 points against the Utah Jazz.

However, his career trajectory altered drastically in February 2025. Following Los Angeles’ acquisition of Luka Doncic, the front office included Knecht, Cam Reddish, and draft capital in a trade package sent to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams. When Williams subsequently failed his physical examination, the Lakers were forced to rescind the trade, returning Knecht to a locker room that had already prepared for his departure.

Following the botched deal, Knecht struggled to regain a consistent rhythm or command playing time under head coach JJ Redick. Defense remained a glaring liability, and as the Lakers brought in wing depth such as Quentin Grimes and Matisse Thybulle, Knecht’s rotational minutes collapsed.

After averaging 9.1 points in 19.2 minutes per game as a rookie, his production plummeted to 4.2 points in 10.2 minutes during the 2025–26 season, reaching a rock-bottom in the 2026 preseason where he averaged 2.8 points and shot just 25% from the field across four appearances.

Addressing Knecht’s sharp decline prior to Monday’s deadline, Redick acknowledged that structural shifts doomed the forward’s fit in the new look Lakers.

“The team changed. The needs changed, the fit changed. I think he got better as a player over the last two years… So I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings and he’s in a tough spot right now.”

That was a couple of days before Knecht was thrown into unrestricted free agency with a strong likelihood of two-way contract interest. Meanwhile, the Lakers open their 2026–27 campaign against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday with all spots filled, but under heavy scrutiny for letting consecutive 17th overall picks slip away for nothing.

The post ‘Disaster’: Lakers’ Dalton Knecht Waiver Branded a Front Office Failure as Rob Pelinka Draft Pick Goes to Waste appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.