Lakers Rumors: Knecht Fell in NBA Draft as Scouts 'Turned Off by' Most 4-Year Players

The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have benefitted from other team's biases towards older NBA Draft prospects.

The Lakers were able to snag Dalton Knecht with the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and he has flourished early alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that the 23-year-old's age when entering the draft did turn some teams off and that the Lakers identified his skills and are reaping the benefits.

Tim Bontemps of ESPN expanded upon this and said that Knecht fits into a complimentary role with James very well and could be a major impact player as a rookie.

An NBA scout also revealed to Bontemps that an older player with a bona fide NBA trait can find success.

"He's proof of why it can work -- if they have a sure NBA skill," one scout told Bontemps.

"He has one in his shot, and shooting is at a premium." Knecht is averaging 11.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15 games for Los Angeles in 2024-25.

More notably, howver, is the fact that he has reached double figures in five consecutive games and scored a whopping 37 points on Nov.

19 against the Utah Jazz.

His improvement has helped Los Angeles start the season 10-5 and the team currently sits in fourth place in the Western Conference.

While his current pace could be hard to sustain, his improvement shows how well he fits into the Lakers system and shows that a team with a clear need should not be afraid of an older draft prospect..

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