The past four days brought across a range of emotions for Dalton Knecht. LeBron James hailed the young star’s move as a steal. At the trade deadline, the Lakers shipped him to Charlotte in exchange for Mark Williams. 48 hours later, a failed physical led to his return to LA. The situation was difficult as JJ Redick revealed the 23-year-old asked for some time to process the situation. But in his heart, all Knecht wanted to do was “hoop”.

The SEC Player of The Year only sat out one game since becoming the Laker again. Before his return tonight against the Utah Jazz, the locker room joked about this being his second debut. To Dalton Knecht, though, the entire experience was a “movie”. But he’s just happy to continue playing for the team that drafted him. “It was a crazy, you know, time. You know, not too many people done that and come back. But at the end of the day, I just wanted to hoop. You know? I told that to JJ and Rob when I got back that was the main thing,” the rookie said about his conversations with JJ Redick and Rob Pelinka.

If it were up to him, though, he would have played two nights ago. But “I got in late and, you know, at the end of the day, they said Wednesday was my return” Knecht explained. Nonetheless, what consumed him was the excitement of being able to play against wearing the Purple and Gold. While the night ended on an embarrassing loss, the 23-year-old had a decent day out.

He scored 10 points on his return, hitting three of his seven attempts from long range. With passers of the caliber of Doncic and LeBron James, the rookie could be poised to get cleaner looks than ever. However, some uncertainty still looms.

Dalton Knecht could still go back to the Hornets

Dalton Knecht went through a will experience. He was scheduled to make his debut for the Hornets moments before he got a call from Pelinka to inform him about the move being rescinded. He had met with his teammates and was mentally ready for the move. Williams’ failed medical test, though, required him to take a flight back to Los Angeles.

In the end, Knecht appears happy, as did the Hornets. After the trade fell through, the franchise released a statement welcoming Mark Williams back into their squad. However, just days later, they are reportedly finding ways to challenge the decision and make the exchange official.

This could potentially mark one of the weirdest situations in the NBA. At least NBA analyst Bobby Marks was perplexed over the results of Williams’ physical. Se before the trade, the Hornets’ promising center was a regular starter for the franchise. Although he has a history of injuries, Marks couldn’t piece what went wrong during the physical.

“It’s at the discretion of your team doctors. If they do a physical and nothing checked out, I’m sure the Hornets would have a leg to stand on. And I’m sure the league will ask for the medical records to see what they failed him on. The biggest concerns that teams would have is how do you fail a player on a physical when the player is playing. You would have a better case of failing Anthony Davis on his physical than Mark Williams,” Marks commented.

As of now, no development suggests the NBA will reverse the trade once again. But till a final decision comes to light, Knecht may as well stay on his toes with the possibility of having to travel back to Charlotte.