EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The Los Angeles Lakers introduced their two newest members on Tuesday: first-round draft selection Dalton Knecht and second-round pick Bronny James.
“This is a day to be incredibly grateful for and incredibly excited about, most importantly because we are launching the careers of two fine young men,” said Rob Pelinka. “These are two men of high character and hard work ethic; those are qualities we look for at the Lakers when we draft players.”
Knecht fell in the 2024 NBA Draft after being the eighth-leading scorer in the NCAA this past season. He was projected to be a lottery pick, and the Lakers were fortunate to select him with the 17th overall pick.
Knecht is 23 years old and played five years in college, two at junior college Northeastern, before transferring to Northern Colorado for two seasons, then finally one year at Tennessee. He was named SEC Player of the Year while averaging 21.7 points per game for the Volunteers.
Knecht did not even take part in a pre-draft workout with Los Angeles as his camp believed he would not still be on the board when the Lakers were set to pick.
“My journey is not like everybody else’s, but that’s okay. Everybody has a journey of their own, so just creating my path, and that is something special that a lot of kids will look up to,” said Knecht.
With his older age and experience, Knecht is the type of player who perfectly fits the Lakers’ roster. He will be able to contribute from day one. He is a polished, versatile scorer and has the ability to be an above-average three-point shooter in the league.
“Just go in and be aggressive,” said Knecht. “Be ready to make some shots, and then show my game that I am an all-around complete NBA player.”
Selecting Bronny James made headlines and has been one of the biggest stories of the draft. He now has the opportunity to share the floor with his father, LeBron James. If everything goes according to plan, they will be the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.
Family ? pic.twitter.com/PFI8r6nZAf
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 2, 2024
“To be honest just living by the day, trying not to care about what other people think about me because there are a lot of people that have something to say,” said Bonny James.
Despite his high-profile name, Bronny is still a relatively unknown prospect who only played 25 games in college for USC. He has the raw abilities to develop into a promising piece in Los Angeles, but the organization knows that it might take some time before he reaches his potential.
“I always try to put that narrative away and try to get my name out for myself. Just coming in and trying to get better. Rob has told me that there is a great developmental system here, so I just want to come in, put my work in, and get better every day,” said James. “I never had that thought of going and playing with my dad, but that is always there to take part in, but that was not the main focus going in.”
Drafting James comes as little surprise and has been a highly speculated move for much of the past year. Adding Bronny to the roster all but ensures LeBron will remain with the team for the foreseeable future, which likely means he will eventually retire as a Laker now that he is entering his 22nd season in the NBA.
For the first time during his tenure in Los Angeles, LeBron is reportedly willing to take a slight pay cut if it means they can add more high-level talent around him. This is a new development that probably would not be the case if it were not for having his son on the roster.
“You have to surround your best players with shooting in today’s NBA. Spacing is at a premium. As a coach there are a lot of plays that you don’t have control of, so it is important that you also have players that have a good feel for the game that can read and react,” said JJ Redick. “Both these guys can shoot it, and they have a good feel.”
Benjamin Verbrugge is a reporter for News4usonline who studied journalism at CSU Dominguez Hills. “Sports have brought me much joy throughout my life, and I want to give a little back to something that has meant so much to me.”