The Philadelphia 76ers will enter the 2026-27 season as definitive title favorites on the strength of their uber-talented and revamped core following the additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. Be that as it may, their roster can still be improved on the margins, and right from the get-go, it is apparent that this team might need some more firepower from the perimeter for it to truly unlock its potential. To that end, one player they could target for cheap is Lakers wing Dalton Knecht.
Los Angeles has gone through the biggest roster facelift in the league this summer, and that has created a clear roster crunch ahead of training camp. Knecht, who has been with the team for a couple of seasons now, is one player who could very well end up getting tossed aside or cemented on the bench next season. As such, that makes him a prime trade candidate the 76ers can move the needle for.
The 76ers could turn to Lakers' Dalton Knecht for cheap shooting help
Last season, the 76ers were in the bottom third in all three-point shooting metrics, from attempts to makes and conversion rate. The front office brought in Anfernee Simons, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Dean Wade to give them a hand in that regard, but that might not be enough given that only Simons is a volume shooter among the three.
Brown and James can get hot from three-point range, but both of them are not exactly knockdown shooters. Going by the percentages, Knecht isn't one either. However, part and parcel of his decline last season in his sophomore campaign is the fact that the Lakers simply did not deploy him much.
Knecht had a promising rookie campaign before he got technically shipped to the Hornets, only for that trade to falter. His confidence took a huge hit, and that carried over to the previous campaign, where the Lakers' depth chart had him plunged into garbage-time duty for the most part.
That being said, the 25-year-old is a true-blue volume three-point shooter who, at 6'6", has great size and range as a wing. With a new situation in Philly, he might just be able to get his confidence back, especially outside the constant-pressure blender that is the Lakers.
If the 76ers do strike a deal for Knecht, playing time will not be a guarantee either. However, he needs a restart right now, and there is no better situation for him than to play for a veteran squad competing for a title with an ideal role tailor-made for him, even if only in spurts.
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