Saturday marked the beginning of Bronny James‘ journey in the NBA with his first-ever Summer League appearance for the Lakers. The scrutiny around the 55th overall pick was rampant even before the draft. But now with the first outing behind him, there are even more eyes on Bronny than before. Because the Lakers are yet to rope a big fish in the trade market or free agency, the pressure will be on the rookie to deliver from the get-go.

But his co-draft pick Dalton Knecht will also have a chip on his shoulder. Sure, he averaged 21.7 points in 36 outings for Tennessee, but the NBA is a different ballgame altogether. Knecht also made his debut alongside Bronny against the Kings but the real test will start once the season tips off.

Following Bronny James and Dalton Knecht’s Summer League debut, John Gonzalez of the Ringer provided a thorough report card of the 23-year-old. “Dalton Knecht, 3 for 12, 12 points on 12 shots. He was okay. He threw a nice pass at one point. I thought his shot selection was good. I’d like to see a little bit clicker trigger, but I wasn’t sure if that was just a little nerves or he was trying to feel his way around in his first-ever professional basketball game. He also like Bronny James is a guy who needs to be more physical,” Gonzalez said while talking on Sportscenter.

Knecht had a decent if not impressive debut compared to Bronny. The 23-year-old’s full three years in college puts him in a better place from the experience standpoint and also in terms of his readiness to embrace the NBA. While his 12 points in 26 minutes with 1 of 4 shooting success from beyond the 3-pts arc left much to be desired, his passing was fluent and helped him record 4 assists. However, his shooting was a concern and that is a major worry for the Lakers.

The LA side ranked 29th last season in shot attempts, so having output from shooters like D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Knecht will be a key to success.

“LeBron James today was just talking about how Dalton Knecht, and take this with a grain of salt, but he was talking about how Dalton Knecht was his favorite player other than Bronny in college this season and how he expects Dalton Knecht to be a contributor for them,” Gonzalez further added.

Hence, there is pressure to perform on Knecht, and that too from LeBron James. Even after the draft, LeBron talked about Knecht and how he did not expect him to fall to 17th pick. But after watching him on the court, LeBron’s assessment of him is a chip on the 23-year-old’s shoulders. With the Lakers making next to no movement in free agency, the onus is on Knecht to be that X-factor the gold and purple need.

Pressure on Knecht is more than Bronny James with the Lakers’ free agency woes

When looking at the current Lakers roster, one can easily identify the holes. A point guard is need of the hour, with D’Angelo Russell more likely to be traded for the right offer. The center position also lacks depth with only Anthony Davis as the starter and Jaxson Hayes as the backup. The Lakers had their targets in Jonas Valanciunas for the position, but they missed out. DeMar DeRozan went to the Kings, and Klay Thompson ditched a move in favor of teaming up with Luka Doncic.

Moreover, most of the big names are already off the market leaving the Lakers with limited options that’d lead to trades later in the summer. With Rich Paul as an agent and LeBron James around, it is safe to assume that Bronny is immune to trade. That puts Knecht in the threat of being traded off if the opportunity presents itself. Hence there is no alternative to performance from Knecht and performance is what LeBron expects of him.

“Throughout the course of the college season, Dalton, besides Bronny, was my favorite player in college basketball,” LBJ said during an interview today. Knecht’s contract has a 30-day no-trade clause but after that, he might be a viable trade chip for the Lakers who will be driven by desperation stemming from their present failure in the market.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this video