LAKERS PLAN TO TRADE DALTON KNECHT

What's going on everyone? So, news came

out the other day that the Los Angeles

Lakers plan this off season is to trade

Dalton Connect. That as soon as they are

able and eligible to make a trade, they

are going to put him on the trade market

and try to shop him. Uh they said this

report, this news came out a couple days

ago, but then we had like the Luca and

Osar Reeves news and all that stuff. So,

had to kind of push it back uh to this

point. And Lakers still aren't really

playing Daltton Connect, which is a cuz

like, okay, if the plan is really to

trade Daltton Connect this off

seasonason, which I think it's

inevitable that they're going to trade

him. I really do since he was traded and

the trade got rescended. And look, I've

defended him a ton. And to JJ's credit,

he has tried earlier in the season in

particular. I mean, connect was

literally starting games for the Lakers.

and he just he couldn't get together in

the off season or not offse well yeah

off seasonason but summer league right

he just he couldn't score he was like oh

of what 25 or something like at start

summer league and I even defended that I

was like I don't care I like I I we know

he can shoot and score the basketball I

care less about his offense his offense

is irrelevant to me because he'll find

his offensive flow I care about his

defense right can he defend because we

know he can four now. It's just kind of

getting his confidence back up

offensively. But if he can hold his own

defensively, then you can keep him in

the game long enough for him to be able

to score the basketball

and

he just was getting embarrassed

defensively. I mean, literally great

example, go watch the Spurs game. David

Jones Garcia, every possession switched

Dalton Connect and every single

possession just butchered. I mean, it

was like, dude, throw in the towel. He's

get he's he's getting pummeled, right?

Like, it was embarrassing. And teams

were doing that regularly. And I even

said and made videos about it. I was

like, if Dolan Connect is getting

switched hunt in summer league, what do

you think's going to happen come the

regular season, you know, and he's not

he hasn't been good enough offensively

to justify him playing? Because I've

seen people be like, "You can't it can't

just be the defense because again,

there's a lot of guys that don't play

defense." But again, those guys at least

score consistently, right? Like Ruie

when he doesn't score the basketball is

unplayable. I've talked very heavily

about that. We've had entire

conversations about it, right? Like all

of it. And

yet again, he's more consistent

offensively. Dalton Connect doesn't give

you anything offensively right now at

least since the trade. It has completely

broken Dalton Connect. And look, again,

I've defended him. I think he is going

to end up getting traded

and you're going to see at least a

version of the Dalton Connect we wanted

to see, right? Like, I'm rooting for

him. I don't want to see him fail and

have success. I just think the his time

with the Lakers have passed. Now, I do

think he should be getting play. I do

think you should be running him. One,

he's one of the few guys that if you can

wake him up could help us, right? Dalton

Kad's a guy that come playoffs could win

you a game because he just gets hot,

right? We all remember Lonnie Walker in

Golden State series, right? When we went

to the conference finals 2023. I could

see Dalton Connect having a game like

that where he just goes off for 25 or 30

or something like that and he just can't

miss. The problem is is I just don't

think he's going to get that

opportunities. I don't think they're

going to let him get those

opportunities. And it's frustrating cuz

it's like, you know,

I get the plan is to trade him. Again, I

believe wholeheartedly it's inevitable.

I think, you know, the writing's been on

the wall and it's something that, you

know, is going to happen sooner or

later, right? [snorts] My my problem is

is that

if you're if you're going to if the plan

and the goal is to trade him in the off

season, don't you want to play him and

hope that he like raises his stock? I I

don't see a scenario where he's gonna

lower it. Like genuinely, like I don't

see a scenario where his his sock his

stock is going to tank. I DON'T I JUST

DON'T see that happening. I don't see a

scenario where he's going to be so bad

that teams are going to be like, there's

no way. Again, he already had negative

value at the trade deadline. They were

trying to trade him this trade deadline

and teams weren't signing up to take

him. He they were looked he's looked at

as a guy that you'd probably have to

give up an asset for. Now, he would be

an expiring contract next year. So, you

know, maybe have a little more wiggle

room where they actually picked up his

option. So, that kind of ruined, you

know, the potential to trade him. But

like it's just

it's so frustrating to watch this Lakers

team, right? And see the struggles and

see the things with the young guys that

they're not getting opportunities,

they're not getting runs, they're not

getting play, they're not like all of

those things are like if you were ever

going to play the young guys, like now's

the time to play them, right? Like

again, instead of playing LeBron James

48 minutes a night, you're probably not

winning a game anyway the rest of the

way, right? So like, might as well get

the young guys some reps. I understand

JJ needs to

look, I'm a big JJ JJ guy, big defender

of JJ, but like this this is one of the

things that are frustrating. And it's

not just JJ. Most coaches don't want to

play young guys, right? Like most

coaches aren't do I mean there some of

the greatest coaches of all time don't

even play young guys, right? There's a

lot of coaches that refuse to play young

guys. Um, you know, and big reason for

that is cuz they're going to make

mistakes. They're going to make errors,

right? Like you look at Kobe Buffkin in

the Dallas game. You know, we're trying

to gain some momentum. We're trying to

get back in the game. We're doing all

this stuff and then Kobe Buffkin just

goes runs up and down the court and then

just like takes an ill advised three

when everyone's trying to get back and

he hits the other side of the backboard

and now they're running the other way

and go and get a bucket and it's like

now JJ's got to call timeout and get him

out the game, right? like, but you need

to let them have those hiccups. So,

again, I understand JJ is in this spot

where it's like, man, we need to try to

win games. Not only do we need to try to

win games, but like, you know, we we

need to figure some stuff out, right?

Hopefully, you can figure it out enough

to kind of weather the storm throughout

the playoffs and and then Luca can come

back and maybe you can gain some

traction. But, like, you don't need 48

minutes a night to do that, right? Like

you could do that in, you know, give the

guys that you want to figure it out with

30, you know, 25, 30 minutes, whatever.

Have them figure it out and then, you

know, play the young guys in between.

Get those guys some reps. Get those guys

some opportunities. Like I just

my concern is you're going to end up

running LeBron into the ground and then

that's going to be a problem. And then

or you're going to run the the other

guys into the ground and then that's

going to be a problem. It's just like

[snorts]

lean into your young guys. Like look at

OKC. Like SGA's missed like 22 something

like that. 23 fourth quarters literally