The Los Angeles Lakers selected Dalton Knight with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on Sunday (June 27) at Barclays Center in New York City.

Some players are selected earlier than expected in the draft, while others slip down the board and settle for lower picks. It happens every year.

This draft was no different. There were surprises like Memphis selecting Zach Eady with the ninth overall pick, or Milwaukee taking AJ Johnson with the 23rd pick. On the other hand, Dalton Knecht from the University of Tennessee 사설 토토사이트 was a case of a name being called much later than expected.

After two years at Northern Colorado University, Knecht transferred to Tennessee for the 2023-2024 season, where he averaged 21.7 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 39.7% from three-point range. At 6-foot-9, he’s a shooter’s resource.

He was projected to go in the middle of the rotation in this year’s draft. ESPN even projected him to enter the NBA with the sixth overall pick in its pre-draft projection. The Lakers also had Knecht as a top-10 pick in their internal circles.

However, quite a while after the draft began, Knight’s future was still unclear, and when it came down to their pick, the Lakers didn’t hesitate to take him. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka couldn’t hide his happiness after the unexpected selection.

“If we had the 10th pick, I would have taken Dalton Knecht. To get him at No. 17 is huge. I couldn’t be happier,” he smiled.

A former shooter joins a former shooter. Head coach J.J. Redick, who was one of the NBA’s best shooters during his playing days, has high expectations for Knight. Born in 2001, he’s older than his draft classmates, but he has the shooting ability to energize a team if he adjusts to the NBA.

“His movement as a shooter reminds me a lot of J.J. Redick’s game,” Pelinka said. After Redick asked the team to select him, he immediately started drawing plays on the whiteboard in our draft room that he would run with Knight.”

The question now is whether the Lakers will call the name of LeBron James’ son, Brodie James, with their remaining second-round pick. The Lakers hold the 55th overall pick, and the second round of the draft will take place on June 28th.