Dalton Knecht had to wait considerably longer than many expected at the Barclays Centre on Wednesday evening.
While many were stunned, the Los Angeles Lakers took full advantage and grabbed one of the best value picks in the entire first round of the NBA Draft.
The Lakers selected Knecht with the No. 17 overall pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday night, one of the biggest surprises of the first round. Many thought the Tennessee star would be a top-10 pick after his run in the SEC last season. even had him go No. 6 overall in her final mock draft earlier in the day.
But as the lottery picks came and went, Knecht waited for his name to be called. Even the ESPN desk on site was confused by the slide, which seemed to boil down to an age issue. At 23, Knecht is simply older than many others in this draft class.
But given his career so far, it’s nothing new and won’t be a problem for him. Knecht did not receive a single Division I scholarship offer after high school, and he started at a junior college before moving to Northern Colorado. He then made the jump to Tennessee for his senior season, where his career really took off.
Knecht averaged 21.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game with the Volunteers last season while leading them to the Elite Eight – the program’s deepest NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010. Knecht was one of the nation’s leading scorers and he was named SEC’s. Player of the Year. While he may not be a generational talent to build an entire franchise around, Knecht is a veteran guard who can jump right into an NBA team with valuable minutes.
It took a while, but Knecht will now team up with LeBron James and play for first-year head coach JJ Redick in Los Angeles. As far as starting spots in the league go, he should fit in right away.
This post will be updated soon with more information.
