For the 2024 NBA draft, the Lakers had the 17th pick (1st round) and 55th pick (2nd round). At 17, they selected Shooting Guard, Dalton Knecht. At 55, the Lakers selected LeBron James' son, Guard Bronny James. So who are Knecht and James and why did the Lakers select them?
First off, let's take a look at Lakers 17th pick, Dalton Knecht. Knecht (6-foot-6), 23, most recently played college basketball at the University of Tennessee, a D1 school ranked #5 in the entire NCAA last season. Not bad. Knecht was named SEC Player of the Year by both the league's coaches and the Associated Press (AP). He was also named SEC Newcomer of the Year by the AP. Knecht, quite simply, is a very good shooter. Knecht had 11 games with at least four made 3s last season, including a 6-for-12 performance in their Elite 8 loss to Purdue. His range is limitless as well as he can pull up from beyond the 3-point line. Lakers really needed a hot shooter last season and now they have one. Last season at Tennessee, Knecht averaged a per game stat line of 21.7 pts, 4.9 rebs, 1.8 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.6 blk, and 1.7 tov on 58% true shooting in 30.6 minutes. He also shot almost 40% from 3. Pretty good pickup and Lakers filled a much needed need, a confident lethal shooter. This is why they drafted him.
Bronny James, as we all know, is LeBron James eldest son. And now in the first time in history, we will have a father and son play together in the NBA. LeBron got what he wanted. Bronny played college basketball for USC. Bronny, 19, averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals in 19.4 minutes across 25 appearances (six starts) while shooting 36.6% overall, 26.7% on 3-pointers and 67.6% on free throws. Not too impressive. Bronny is also 6-foot-2, an undersized player but athletic. To be fair, at 55, it is not easy to find a solid NBA player so drafting Bronny at 55 is a very low risk.
Overall, I would give the Lakers draft picks a solid "B." Dalton Knecht was a really nice draft pick and Bronny, while he is not the best drafted player, picking him at 55th overall doesn't hurt.
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