Lakers waive former Tennessee star Dalton Knecht, their 2024 first-round pick

Dalton Knecht's run with the Los Angeles Lakers is over. The Lakers waived the former Tennessee star on Monday as NBA teams finalized their rosters ahead of the season's start on Tuesday, parting ways with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after just one full season and change.

Knecht's time in Los Angeles never quite settled. He put together a solid rookie year in 2024-25, averaging 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, and was even sent to Charlotte in a trade for Mark Williams, only for the deal to be rescinded when Williams failed his physical, sending Knecht back to the Lakers. Last season his minutes shrank and his scoring fell to 4.2 points per game, and the Lakers ultimately decided he was no longer part of their future.

It is a sharp turn for a player whose college peak is still fresh in Knoxville. In 2023-24, Knecht carried Tennessee to the Elite Eight, averaging 21.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent from the three-point line, and he became one of the most recognizable players in the country doing it.

For now, one of Tennessee's most celebrated recent stars is looking for a new team. His college resume, an elite scoring season against top competition, figures to earn him another look somewhere, but the waiving closes a disappointing chapter for a player the Lakers once pictured as a key part of what they were building.