Dalton Knecht was traded to the Charlotte Hornets ahead of the NBA trade deadline last week. Knecht, who was selected with the No. 17 pick, was part of a package that brought big man Mark Williams to Los Angeles to give the Lakers some depth up front. Then he failed his physical, causing the Lakers to rescind the trade which brought Knecht back after a rather busy few days.
Knect scored 10 points in his return to the Lakers on Wednesday night and spoke with the media after the game.
Travel is nothing new to NBA players, but Knecht's travel schedule was something anyone would want to avoid. Knecht went from LA where he played against the Clippers on Tuesday, to Charlotte on Thursday, to Detroit for a Hornets road game on Sunday, back to LA to sit on the bench against the Jazz on Monday and then he finally played again in Utah on Wednesday.
And if the Hornets have anything to say about it, he'll be back on a plane over the All-Star break to re-join Charlotte.
To his credit, Knecht is handling the situation pretty well and maintains that he just wants to play basketball. He was asked how he would handle it if the trade somehow went through again.
"I have no clue to be honest," said Knecht. "I'm just doing what I love to do. Going out there and playing and you know, like I said, whatever happens, happens. I'm just gonna compete hard wherever I go. Hopefully, it's LA. Whatever happens I'm going to go out there and compete. I don't really care about anything. I want to go play."
If the trade did somehow go through Knecht would have to head back to Charlotte and then in a cruel twist of fate return to Los Angeles to make his Hornets debut against the Lakers.
The fake that Knecht isn't very annoyed right now is a great testament to his patience, if not his character. Right now there's no one on the Lakers who deserves a break more.
More of the Latest Around the NBA
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dalton Knecht Still Bracing Himself to Play for the Hornets Just In Case.
