The Los Angeles Lakers had a decision to make regarding their final roster spot ahead of Monday’s 5:00 PM Eastern deadline. Los Angeles final roster spot came down to draftmates Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, the son of Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick confirmed that the franchise would make its final decision ahead of the NBA’s deadline, and said that both players missed Monday’s practice due to feeling under the weather.
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Over the weekend, CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn asserted that the franchise should keep Knecht and trade James to a franchise that could be looking for help selling jerseys.
“If I were the Lakers, I’d be trying to trade Bronny right now to some owner who wants to sell some jerseys,” Quinn posted on X. “I’d rather keep Knecht on the books as possible trade salary than cut him and deal with dead money. The Lakers don’t really need the James brand like other teams do.”
“(He) Just hasn’t reached the point of offensive viability through two years,” Quinn added, “and the defensive threshold is just so freaking high at that size that if he’s never gonna make shots, he basically has to be a Jamal Shead-level pest to even justify a roster spot and he isn’t.”
On Monday, as Redick promised, the franchise announced its final decision.
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“The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving 2024 No. 17 pick Dalton Knecht, sources tell ESPN,” reported ESPN’s senior NBA Insider Shams Charania.
The move means that as things stand, James remains a Laker, a move that shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise given Redick’s comments leading up to Monday.
“I think the biggest thing is the team changed. The team changed. Needs changed, the fit changed. I think he’s gotten better as a player the last two years,” the coach siaid before Friday’s preseason finale. “I think, particularly last year, each guy got plenty of opportunities with the injuries we had. I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings,” Redick said at the time. “And he’s in a tough spot right now.”
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Only time will tell what James does with his opportunity, but he’s proven that he can make a roster without his father. Maybe next he’ll be beating the Sr. James.
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