Until now movies were made only in Hollywood in Los Angeles. But looks like, this year, the Lakers decided to take a share of the credit away from the iconic name. It all started with the Luka Doncic trade that turned the entire NBA world upside down. Now part 2 of the trade-thriller is again something that the basketball fans do not get to see too often. In the center of that stands rookie star Dalton Knecht, who literally said that the entire saga “felt like a movie” to him after being traded to the Charlotte Hornets only to be returned to the Lakers after Mark Williams failed in physical test!

It started as a usual day on February 5. Knecht was out there shooting free throws. Amid that, Knecht was called into the office of Lakers vice president of basketball operations. There the general manager Rob Pelinka informed him about the trade. The next sequence of events unfolded so dramatically and in so quick succession that could have been enough to throw anyone off balance.

“It was hard,” Knecht said on February 12 after his first game back in the Lakers’ 131-119 loss to the Utah Jazz. “I got drafted here, so L.A. means a lot. So, hearing that and then I go to Charlotte in the morning with one of my guys and get introduced and start meeting all those people and then fly out to Detroit to what was called my ‘debut game,’ to then, now I’m flying back to L.A. Rob (Pelinka) called me and said, ‘You’re coming back.’ ”

Knecht shared that his teammates embraced him with open arms as each player hugged him and asked him how he was doing. Some of them jokingly referred to his first game back as his “debut” game again. Knecht scored 10 points (3-of-7 shooting) and had one steal in 17 minutes in his return. Looking at all this, Draymond Green is worried. “Going through something like this can really derail his career…It could do that because it could kill his confidence. When you lose confidence in this league, you don’t get it back,” Green said on his podcast. However, Paul George has a completely opposite take on this.

George—one of the smoothest scorers in the game—didn’t hold back on his podcast. “He shouldn’t be salty. He needs to be a professional,” he said. “But there’s gotta be a little bit like, man, these guys, they were able to get rid of me quick.” That’s a real reaction. No player likes to see their name in trade discussions. It feels like the team is saying, Yeah, we like you, but not enough to turn down a good deal. That indeed stings. Just last to last season, Walker Kessler found himself in trade talks despite having a breakout year with the Jazz. So, like Nikola Jokic had said after the Luka trade, “Nobody’s safe.” But George said, Knecht has a choice—let this shake him up or use it as fuel.

“But you’re a rookie,” George pointed out. “You know, so appreciate your blessings for what it is. You’re in the NBA. You’re playing for the most storied organization in the NBA. Appreciate that. Go out there and prove now at this point. Prove why you belong, like why that was a bad decision to get rid of you. And to be honest, take it as a compliment, you played so well you had trade bait, there’s teams out there that want you. You have to look at it for what it is.” In other words? Shake it off and get to work. And honestly, Knecht is in a great position to do that. Why? George also pointed that out.

“Double down on it knowing the success you have already, to move on. Now you have two incredible players to learn from at the guard position,” George noted. Indeed, Knecht showed his impressive scoring ability early in the season. He is averaging a solid 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds with LA, shooting 46.4% from the field and 36% from three. It speaks volumes. Now, after coming back, the biggest difference in the Lakers squad is the presence of Luka. So, Knecht’s three-point shooting ability adds an extra threat to this team, allowing JJ Redick to spread the floor, creating further danger for opponents trying to stop LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. And Knecht knows it.

“I’m just glad to be back and be a part of the team. I get to learn from Luka now. I had AD, Bron and now I’m with Luka and Bron. So, it’s crazy. I get to learn from a lot of greats,” said Knecht. In fact, he is already in awe of his new teammate. “It’s crazy,” Knecht said. “The passes that he [Luka] was making out there, it’s crazy. They told me the first thing back is no matter what, when he has the ball, be ready to shoot. He’s going to get it to you, no matter what. And seeing a couple of passes to AR (Austin Reaves), Bron (LeBron), he wasn’t even looking. So it was crazy. I’m excited.” Interestingly, he already seems to have the mentality that George asked to have.

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I like him, and will be an important piece of the Lakers this years and many years to come.

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“I get it’s a business, so at the end of the day, I told them let’s just go play basketball,” Knecht said. “Not too many people have done that, come back (after being traded). But at the end of the day, I just wanted to hoop,” he further added. Yeah, not too many, but the Lakers itself got caught in such a botched trade back in 2011.

Coming out of the 2011 lockout, a three-way deal between the Lakers, New Orleans Hornets starHornets and Houston Rockets stunned the Association. LA agreed to give away Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in exchange for the then-26-year-old Hornets point guard Chris Paul, who would eventually become one of the best playmakers in NBA history. However, the late NBA Commissioner David Stern vetoed the deal.

Lakers governor Jeanie Buss would later reveal the trade collapsed due to miscommunication between Stern and Dell Demps, New Orleans’ general manager at the time. The league owned the Hornets when, Buss said, Demps sanctioned Paul’s trade without the approval from Stern. The situation enraged other NBA teams, leading to the commissioner canceling the deal. Like Knecht, Paul also thought it was “crazy.”

“It’s crazy how all that stuff went down, man,” Paul said on a podcast in 2023. “How the GM called [presumably a reference to Kupchak], and me and Kobe got on the phone. We talked and a phone call came through that the trade was nixed. I went to go eat at a restaurant called Z’s, that’s where I was… We thought the trade was happening, it didn’t.” Indeed, such crazy situations take a toll on the players’ minds. So the league has stepped in to support.

NBA commissioner addresses “disruptive” situation in respone to Dalton Knecht episode

Remember what Luka said about the break he was getting because he was not playing in the NBA all-star game? “Just mental break for me, work out and just trying to have some fun with the family.” That speaks volumes about the immense pressure he had to deal with during the entire saga, despite handling the entire situation with stunning calmness without a single emotional outburst. But not everyone can be like that.

That’s why NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been vocal about the league’s commitment to player support. Especially for those caught in trade speculation. “For players who are involved in trades, how disruptive it can be. I’m sure it’s equally as disruptive to think you had been traded and not to have been traded—disruptive for the player, disruptive for their teammates,” Silver explained.

To address this, the NBA has expanded its mental wellness initiatives, including access to sports psychologists, mentorship programs, and resources designed to help players stay focused through high-pressure situations. This support could be a major asset for Knecht looking to revive his career and prove everyone wrong. Honestly, the Lakers could use a bit of Knect in the line-up.

After nearly being dealt with at the deadline, Knecht has a golden opportunity to turn this experience into motivation. With the right mindset, he could use this as fuel to elevate his game in the second half of the season. The question is, will Knecht rise to the challenge, or will the trade rumors linger in the back of his mind?

And more importantly, do Lakers fans believe he has what it takes to carve out a long-term role in L.A.? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and let’s get the conversation going!