I’m so happy Rob didn’t make a stupid over-reach and waste the pick on a damn backup center and instead took the best guy left on the board. You just hired a guy who’s gonna stress 3pt shooting so common sense says that you go out & get shooters….it ain’t rocket surgery (lol).
The thing I like about Knecht is that he’s a good example of a player I think we need more of…I want a buncha young, quick, athletic live wires all around 6’5″-6’9″ surrounding our CENTER Anthony Davis.
The drawback for Knecht is that he’s not a defender and we need TWO-WAY PLAYERS. We scored 118pts a game..that’s #2 in the West. Best in the league was IND at 123 (World Champs scored 120). Problem is that we gave up 117 in the process! Can JayJay squeeze out an extra 4 or 5 points? Probably. But if we continue to neglect the defense (especially the perimeter) then we’re gonna be a 5 or 6 seed and a 2nd round exit. Can’t go into the season (and definitely not the playoffs) with this same backcourt.
Backup center? Much easier to fill that spot than finding elite shooting & athleticism. 3 & D wings are becoming even more rare. Rob gotta show us something……
I desperately wanted a backup center but it was good to see Rob ‘adapt’ and make a JJ Redick pick and not let a dead-eye shooter like Dalton get by.
It will be interesting to see how he does defensively. He has 2nd best vertical and is athletic. Reminds me of Bogdan Bogdanovic. Great size at 6′ 6″ w/6′ 9″ wingspan.
I’m with you on the future of the league is tall, long, fast, athletic players who can shrink the court defensively and rain threes. The JJ Redick era is going to modernize the Lakers.
Hiring JJ will give the Lakers somebody with a vision at last.
JayJay is just another coach. If Rob can’t somehow piece together a balanced roster then none of the hyperbole will make a bit of difference. Knecht is a step in the right direction but we need alot more….alot
The other misconception is that we’re fine offensively. The truth is our failure to embrace the 3-point revolution has saddled us with a 10-points per game negative differential in made 3-point shots. Imagine if we eliminate that differential but still win PIP and FTM. That’s a championship formula. No question we need to get better defensively but we also need to get better offensively, specifically in taking and making more threes without losing our domination in the paint and at the line.
We scored 118pts a game. That ain’t chump change. I honestly don’t give 2 shits about where the points come from…you ain’t gonna score a whole helluvalot more than that. The difference is defense; especially come playoff time. Even when GSW was rolling they were elite defensively. We JUST saw BOS clamp down on what was being touted as 1 of the most talented offensive backcourts in history. It ain’t flashy & sexy but we ain’t winning a damn thing without it improving.
While Dalton may never become a stopper, with hustle and desire there is no reason he can’t become a good team defender. He has the frame and wing span needed.
True, but that can be said for a large percentage of players in the league. Hell, we see it every night with Austin Reaves. He plays with alotta hustle & desire on defense but constantly finds himself outta position. We’ll have to see how the rest of this roster is put together because if we’re playing Lebron and Austin and Knecht at the same time then that ain’t a very good defensive unit no matter who the other 2 guys are…even if it’s AD & DJM. Good teams will hunt the mismatches.
Couldn’t agree more and it’s really funny to me that Rob has set the bar so low we all get happy and congratulatory when he simply makes the correct decision “Oh, Rob didn’t blow it?! YES!!!!” was my basic vibe last night. Very low bar for a job that should have much higher standards.
Eventually folks are gonna come to the realization that Rob is the weak link and has been from the day he was hired. But I guarantee he’ll be nominated for Executive Of The Year in this forum a few weeks from now….lol