Salt Lake City – Dalton Knecht was one of the most troublesome NBA situations, playing for the Lakers again after being dealt with Charlotte in a trade that was eventually revoked.
“It was a crazy time,” Knecht said. “Too many people aren’t doing that (after being traded). But at the end of the day, I just wanted to flip it over.”
Knecht got that chance Wednesday night and scored 10 points in a 131-119 defeat at Utah. He hasn’t played against the Clippers since February 4th. The Lakers then wrapped him in a trade for Hornets Center Mark Williams before the deadline, and general manager Rob Perinka stopped the rookie midway through his team’s facility shooting routine, bringing him news to this whirlwind I sent him.
“It felt like a movie. After that (the Clippers) game, I came back the next day and went to take some shots at the gym…and Rob called me and told me the news. I did. It was tough,” Knecht said. “Because I was drafted here, LA means a lot. So, hear that, then I went to Charlotte in the morning with one of my people and introduced me and met all those people. Start, then jump towards what I call my “debut game.” Back to LA”
Coach JJ Reddick praised Knecht, saying the organization no longer considers the trade that was revoked.
“He had a good spirit. I thought he played well,” Reddick said. “We’re not going to talk about it anymore. We talked about it. He’s in a good place. We’re fine.”
Charlotte reportedly considered ways to protest the Lakers’ decision to physically fail Williams, which led to trade being cancelled.
“To be honest, I had no clue,” Knecht said when asked about possible protests. “I’m just doing what I want to do, I go there and play, and like I said, whatever happens, it happens.”
Knecht, who will be taking part in the Rising Star game on Friday at San Francisco’s All-Star Weekend, said he was glad he returned to the Lakers locker room.
“Each of them came in and hugged me and said, ‘What do you want?’ They said, “Welcome.” And obviously tonight they said, ‘That’s your debut game again,'” he said with a laugh. “So at the end of the day, it’s just business. I’m going where Rob and JJ go, so at the end of the day, I want to go out there and do work and play basketball, I want to play. I’m just doing that.”
