Will Lakers Regret Trading Dalton Knecht For Mark Williams?

Gabe Smallson | Feb 6, 2025

Jan 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht (4) dribbles against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are shaking up the basketball world.

Superstars get traded, and generational talents are traded less frequently but nonetheless traded. Franchise cornerstones, however, are seldom moved, let alone for each other.

A trade that LeBron James nor Anthony Davis knew about sent Davis and Max Christie to the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Dončić to the Lakers, among other pieces.

BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Three-team deal that includes Utah.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 2, 2025

As many fans, insiders, and analysts assumed, Los Angeles was not done yet.

Even while A.D. was a member of the Lakers, the need for another big man was obvious. Davis even spoke to Shams Charania about a week before his trade to plead for another big.

Although Davis is no longer in Los Angeles, the Lakers finally got their big.

Mark Williams, a 23-year-old, 7-foot center from the Charlotte Hornets, is now on the Lakers. This did come at the expense of another 23-year-old in Dalton Knecht.

Just In: The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/QGUwETssGd

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2025

The Lakers' 2031 first-round draft pick, Knecht, and Cam Reddish were the haul that Charlotte walked away with. Similar to what the Dončić move did for L.A., they are in win-now mode but also set for the next decade.

Knecht was having a nice rookie year averaging 9.4 points per game on 46.5 percent shooting, but unfortunately, he wasn't what the Lakers needed at this present moment.

Great shooting will get anyone far in the NBA, and is especially helpful for a LeBron teammate, but that isn't quite what the Lakers need at this moment. Williams is not only a perfect lob threat, but is averaging the most blocks of his career with 1.2 per game.

Doncic also specifically asked the Lakers to pull off a move like this. Insider Dave McMenamin reported that Doncic expressed his desire to play with a lob threat, who is also mobile and provides another option for the Slovenian superstar.

After huddling with Luka Doncic after the trade, he impressed upon Lakers’ brass his desire to play with a lob threat, mobile big whose vertical spacing gives Doncic another option when making his reads, sources told ESPN.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 6, 2025

Knecht, despite being a rookie, will be 24 in April. By no means is this considered past his prime, but the Lakers essentially traded a rookie for a younger player that better fits their needs.

It is fun for fans to fantasize about the endless playmaking and highlights that LeBron and Luka will create, but the reality is that L.A. did not have someone to legitimately guard the game's best big men.

The Lakers are not oblivious to this fact and brought in a big man who is not just going to be the lob threat, but grow with the team on Luka's timeline.

Christie and Knecht were two young players that fans would have loved to see develop, but they are casualties of much bigger moves that put the Lakers back into the legitimate contenders conversation.

The quest for banner No. 18 begins now.

More Los Angeles Lakers news: Who is Mark Williams? Meet the Lakers New Star Center

Lakers HC JJ Redick Hints at Major Starting Lineup Changes Around Luka Doncic

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.