Fans Roast Lakers' JJ Redick for Keeping Dalton Knecht Sidelined

Los Angeles Lakers rookie swingman Dalton Knecht is not a great defender.

Or, okay, even a particularly good one, yet.

That may be in part why first-year Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick decided to bench Knecht, who's technically already been traded away from the team and brought back from a since-rescinded deal for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams.

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The 23-year-old had been out of Redick's lineups for a while, playing mop-up minutes at the ends of games or serving as a sub for injured rotation pieces.

He sat out L.A.'s Thursday 123-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors entirely, before playing 20 critical minutes during the team's 124-108 victory against the lowly New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. The former Tennessee All-American scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor (2-of-6 from distance) and grabbed a rebound, while notching a +12 plus-minus during his minutes.

DALTON KNECHT TONIGHT
🛜 20 minutes
🛜 12 points
🛜 1 rebound
🛜 5/10 FG
🛜 +12 +/-

SECRET WEAPON IN PLAYOFFS 🤫 pic.twitter.com/aA7O2lbnkO
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) April 5, 2025

Redick has come under significant scrutiny for his treatment of the 6-foot-6 swingman lately.

Redick was thoroughly roasted on social media for his decision not to play Knecht for a single second in the Warriors defeat, with fans pointing to his success against New Orleans as evidence. A Tennessee fan ripped him for "coaching malpractice."

THIS IS WHY YOU PLAY KNECHT!!

After not playing AT ALL last night, he comes in and instantly puts up 8 consecutive pts! https://t.co/JCGN7biGhe pic.twitter.com/qib8G3eAJD
— Tri-Star Network (@TennesseeNet) April 5, 2025

Another fan observed that Knecht nailed more triples in his eight minutes of action against New Orleans than five-time All-NBA First Team superstar guard Luka Doncic had in both the Pelicans and Warriors games. Redick was again called out for the minutes decision.

Dalton Knecht hit more 3's in 8 minutes than Luka has in the last 2 games and JJ has him warming the bench every game pic.twitter.com/iXhWKrEViW
— eliezel. (@_measles_) April 5, 2025

Fan @Legendary_GK had a similar sentiment, requesting an increase in Knecht minutes.

…I don’t think the Lakers will do well in the postseason if they don’t increase Dalton Knecht’s minutes. imo.
— Legendary (@Legendary_GK) April 3, 2025

Redick's decisions during that Warriors game, the first of a back-to-back set, seemed to forecast where his head has been trending as far as rotational decisions go.

Against Golden State, Redick played just eight Lakers: starters Austin Reaves, Doncic, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Jaxson Hayes. 3-and-D forward Dorian Finney-Smith played a bench-most 29:23.

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Guards Gabe Vincent and Jordan Goodwin and forward Jarred Vanderbilt were the only four other Los Angeles reserves Redick opted to play, as he culled his lineup to just eight.

Knecht showed growth, and was playing very well not sure why he was taken out the rotation.
— KB24 (@scizzorz24) April 4, 2025

Across his 73 games with Los Angeles this season, Knecht is averaging 9.1 points on .461/.370/.750 shooting splits, 2.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists a night. That 37.0 3-point conversion rate arrives on 4.4 triple tries per bout.

As one astute fan noticed, no one on the Lakers' roster behind the team's three best players and Knecht managed to score particularly prolifically in the Pelicans clash.

Knecht is the only other player in double figures alongside Bron, Luka & Reaves but they decided to give him no play last night 👍🏽
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) April 5, 2025

L.A. fan account @LakersSpin came right out and demanded Redick keep Knecht in his rotation — for good.

Dear JJ,

Never bench Dalton Knecht again.
— LakersSpin (@LakersSpin) April 5, 2025

Knecht also has a fan on the hardwood in new teammate Luka Doncic.

Luka with praise for Dalton Knecht pic.twitter.com/xrKaIsnhCW
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) April 5, 2025

"Yeah, it's big-time today," Doncic said following the New Orleans matchup. "He didn't play one or two games. Just to come out is very tough, especially for a rookie... You've gotta stay ready."

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