When the Philadelphia Sixers were on the clock for the No. 16 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Tennessee's Dalton Knecht was still available after sliding down the board. Instead, they went with Jared McCain, a decision some thought would come back to bite them, since Knecht was seen as the more established player.
So, about that. With the Lakers needing to trim their roster to 15 before the regular season starts, they waived Knecht, whom they drafted right after the Sixers selected McCain in 2024, after failing to find a trade partner for the 25-year-old.
The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving 2024 No. 17 pick Dalton Knecht, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/SaeDxdSBUo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2026
Of course, McCain is no longer in Philadelphia with the team that drafted him, as the Sixers traded him to the Thunder before the deadline. In return, they received a 2026 first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick, and two 2028 second-round picks.
As unpopular as it was when it first happened (and in the weeks after), the deal looks better now than it did then because the Lakers waived Knecht, failing to get anything of value in return. The Sixers used the first-round pick from the Thunder in the McCain trade to draft Labaron Philon Jr., whose playmaking has already stood out for Philadelphia.
Lakers waive Dalton Knecht
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report was one of several who criticized the Sixers for selecting McCain over Knecht:
But if Philly wanted a net-shredder, why not go with the plug-and-play Dalton Knecht here instead? This feels like an upside play from a team that should be operating in championship-or-bust mode.
This piece isn't meant to poke fun at Buckley or the others who felt the same way (there are probably a few of you reading this who did). Plenty of draft takes age poorly. That's kind of the nature of the game.
In this case, though, the teams that passed on Knecht after he slipped down the draft board didn't look silly for doing so. And the Lakers didn't get the steal of the draft, either.
The writing was on the wall for Knecht: he didn't have a future in Los Angeles, going back to the beginning of 2025, when the Lakers agreed to send him to the Hornets in the failed trade for Mark Williams. His primary role in LA was to knock down shots, and in 54 games he appeared in this past season, he averaged 4.2 points per contest on 45.5% from the field and 34.2% from three.
If you're not going to hit shots or play defense, you won't go far in the NBA, and that's why Knecht's time with the Lakers ended. It's not like he would've been a totally different player had the Sixers drafted him.
You can criticize how Daryl Morey handled the McCain trade and still appreciate that they didn't end up with Knecht instead.
Anyway, the Sixers are in a completely different position now than they were in 2024, and even this past February, so there's no need to be held up on either decision, not with Philadelphia preparing to start the regular season with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James.
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