Dalton Knecht went through a whirlwind of emotions just a few days back.

Dalton Knecht breaks his silence on returning to the Lakers after the failed Mark Williams trade, acknowledging the NBA's business side

The Los Angeles Lakers initially decided to trade Knecht to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams. However, after the preliminary practices, the Lakers were seemingly unsatisfied about the medical results of Williams. Failing reportedly in multiple tests, the Lakers decided to rescind the trade and bring back Knecht to the Lakers’ setup once more.

This was surely an extremely awkward situation for Dalton Knecht to be in. Breaking his silence for the first time after being called back, Knecht stated that the transition back and forth was extremely hard for him. However, the rookie also stated that he understood the business and thus, does not have a problem in playing along.

“I get it’s a business, so at the end of the day, I told them let’s just go play basketball,” Knecht reflected on his failed trade.

Coming back to the team, Knecht played his first game against the Utah Jazz. Unfortunately, the Lakers suffered a 119-131 loss. Meanwhile, after his failed trade, Knecht also had a blunt request to make to JJ Redick.

Dalton Knecht Had A Unique Request For JJ Redick

Dalton Knecht surely went through some emotional turmoil. He himself admitted that getting drafted to the Los Angeles Lakers was special for him. Thus, getting traded was surely not a pleasant experience. Moreover, Knecht even had a shootaround with the Charlotte Hornets recently. Thus, after coming back to the purple and gold squad, Knecht had a request for JJ Redick.

As per reports from Jovan Buha, Knecht had asked Redick to give him some time to process the situation. This was echoed via an X post from ‘Legion Hoops’ that read, “Dalton Knecht told JJ Redick prior to yesterday’s game that he’ll need more time to process everything before returning to play.”

Thus, despite things getting awkward, Dalton Knecht will have to power through. However, it remains to be seen how things pan out for the rookie next.