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Dave McMenamin
SALT LAKE CITY — In the span of a week, Dalton Knecht went from playing for the Los Angeles Lakers to joining the Charlotte Hornets to going back to the Lakers after the trade that sent him to Charlotte was rescinded.
Wearing purple and gold again in L.A.’s 131-119 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, Knecht reflected publicly on the chaotic circumstances for the first time.
“It was a crazy time,” Knecht said after scoring 10 points in 17 minutes against the Jazz. “It felt like a movie.”
Knecht said he was at the Lakers’ practice facility on Feb. 5 going through his normal routine before his shooting drills — needing to make 25 shots from the foul line — when he was interrupted after his 20th free throw.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, wanted to see Knecht in his office. Knecht was informed he was traded, along with Cam Reddish, a 2030 pick swap and the Lakers’ 2031 first-round pick, to Charlotte for 7-foot center Mark Williams.
“It was hard,” Knecht said. “I got drafted here, so L.A. means a lot.”
Knecht flew from L.A. to Charlotte on Thursday to onboard with his new team. Then he flew from Charlotte to Detroit on Saturday, anticipating his first game with the Hornets coming against the Pistons on Sunday.
Once in Detroit, he heard from Pelinka again. The trade was off.
“Rob called me and said, ‘You’re coming back,'” Knecht said. “I was just excited to go out there and hoop, no matter where I was going.”
Knecht flew from Detroit back to L.A. on Sunday and met with Pelinka and coach JJ Redick on Monday.
“I just want to go hoop. I told that to JJ and Rob,” Knecht said. “I get it’s a business, so at the end of the day, I told them, ‘Let’s just go play basketball.'”
Knecht was on the bench in street clothes Monday for the Lakers’ 132-113 win over the Jazz in L.A., with a plan in place for him to play Wednesday in Utah. In the meantime, the Hornets contacted the NBA to dispute the Lakers’ failed physical assessment of Williams, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
When asked about Charlotte’s challenge, Knecht said he had “no clue” about how feasible it would be for the league to step in to reverse the trade again.
“I’m just doing what I love to do, going out there and playing,” Knecht said. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m just going to compete hard wherever I go, and hopefully it’s L.A. Whatever happens, I’m just going to go out there and compete.”
Knecht said his Lakers teammates welcomed him back with hugs and check-ins, and joked that he was making his debut all over again for the franchise that picked him No. 17 in the draft last June.
“This league is a business and trades happen,” Austin Reaves said. “I’ve never seen something like this happen. So, this is the first for me. At the end of the day, he’s got to come in and be a professional. Go out there and do his job, and I thought he was good tonight. I don’t think he played a game in probably a week or so. Can’t wait to get him back out there acclimated with everything that we’re doing because he’s going to help us be successful.”
Redick said that now that Knecht was back in the fold, he was done addressing the rescinded trade.
“I thought his spirit was good,” Redick said. “He played well. We’re not going to talk about it anymore. We’ve talked about it. He’s in a good spot. We’re good.”