Lakers newsletter: Dalton Knecht shows that experience can be better than potential

Hey everyone, this is Dan Woike and welcome to The Times’ Lakers Newsletter, our once-a-week chance to form a meaningful writer-reader Knechtion. The Lakers have won six straight, optimism is high and they still have won every NBA Cup game they’ve played.

This week we’re going to talk about something that matters dearly to me: old guys.

Experience as an X-factor

After the Lakers beat the Pelicans in New Orleans on Saturday night, Anthony Davis said something that didn’t quite get the attention it probably deserved.

After Dalton Knecht navigated his way through another defense, scoring 11 points in the third quarter to pump energy into a gassed Lakers team, Davis said Knecht wasn’t really a young player even though he’s a rookie.

“It’s kinda how like Dame was,” Davis said, comparing Knecht to Damian Lillard. “You go through college for so long, you mature, get older.”

Knecht, like Lillard, logged more than 3,000 minutes of court time in college, a lot of it as a primary scorer. They were top-line items on scouting reports, Lillard at Weber State and Knecht at Northern Colorado and then Tennessee. And despite drawing the attention of defenses, they logged a lot of experience navigating all that attention.

In fact, Knecht’s play at Northern Colorado had him firmly on the Lakers’ radar as a sleeper before he became an All-American at Tennessee.

“He’s already pro ready,” Davis said.

Then, Tuesday, Knecht put on the biggest show of his young career, scoring 37 points and solidifying early hype as one of the biggest steals in the NBA draft.

While Knecht’s age — he turns 24 this season — turned some teams off, the Lakers already are seeing value in it, Knecht directly influencing wins against Sacramento, Memphis, New Orleans and Utah.

“We were obviously very excited,” coach JJ Redick said about landing Knecht in the draft. “And for us, we certainly want to continue to develop our young guys and we place an emphasis on that, but getting a guy with a 17 pick that can play right away with our group is huge.”

While not quite a member of the 3,000-minute club, Austin Reaves is another Lakers find who slipped, in part, because teams viewed his age as a weakness.

“The stories are similar,” Reaves said. “… I think a lot of people didn’t think that we were good enough. I think a lot of these recruits, colleges didn’t think ... I was athletic enough to play at that level and levels beyond that. I don’t know what it was with him, but it had to be something because when I watch a game and I see him play, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s a pro.’

“Like, I could tell the first time I watched him. So, I don’t know what the problem was. But, yeah, I think there’s a lot of similarities.”

And if you’re trying to win, landing experience in the draft seems like a no-brainer.

“If you’re a team that’s trying to win now and you’re not drafting off expectation, potential, [then] taking a guy that’s been in college for three to four years that’s shown he can be the guy on a team but also be a role player as well” makes sense, Reaves said.

The Lakers whiffed on the chance last year. They could’ve picked a player with more than 4,000 college minutes under his belt in UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. Instead, they took Jalen Hood-Schifino, betting on the guard’s potential. The Lakers have since declined Hood-Schifino’s third-year option, as injuries and a crowded backcourt have limited his chances to gain traction.

There are none of those concerns with Knecht, who already is giving the Lakers another dimension, from a shooting standpoint, they haven’t had in years, if ever.

“Every time I see one go in, I think the next one is always going in,” Knecht said Tuesday. “Even if I miss it, I always have the confidence that my next shot is going in.”

The Lakers believe too. They’ve seen it happen for years.

Song of the week

“Soft Spoken” by Jeff Lamb

Knecht isn’t the biggest talker on the Lakers, but his game is far from quiet. On the court he plays with the kind of confidence scouts love to see from young players. Love this tune from a relative rookie, Jeff Lamb. It’s going into my rotation.

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