The Lakerswho entered the day with 16 players on standard guaranteed contracts, giving up a first-round pick Dalton Knecht to set his 15-man roster for the regular season, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Link to Twitter). The team officially issued a press release confirming the move.
The 17th pick in the 2024 draft, Knecht got off to a promising start as a rookie, but soon saw his production and playing time decline. In the 2025/26 season, he averaged 4.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game over 51 games. Known as a three-point shooter, the former Tennessee standout shot just 34.2% on 2.1 attempts per game in his second NBA season.
Knecht was included in the trade that sent him to Charlotte at the 2025 deadline, but that deal was canceled two days after the Lakers gave up on the results Mark Williams‘ physical. While Knecht remained in Los Angeles for another season and a half after that botched trade, his place in the team’s long-term plans looked increasingly tenuous, especially after a series of free agent additions in the offseason that left LA with more guaranteed contracts than regular season spots.
The Lakers have reportedly scoured the trade market in recent weeks in an attempt to find a two-for-one deal to solve their roster problem or simply find a replacement for Knecht. However, the 25-year-old had a negative trade value of $4.2 million on his cap, and Los Angeles had limited draft capital to deploy as sweeteners to get something of value in return.
In the end, the Lakers simply opted to waive Knecht and eat his guaranteed salary for 2026/27 rather than attach one or more of their three remaining second-round picks to shed his contract. As a result of the waiver, Knecht’s $6.45 million rookie-team option for ’27/28 will be voided and he is on track to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. He could sign a two-way contract with another team.
Releasing Knecht is guaranteed to appeal to other players remaining on the roster Jaden Hardy, Bronnie Jamesand Jared Vanderbilt will open the regular season with the Lakers, who currently have 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.
