Could Bronny James be more central to Lakers rotation than Dalton Knecht?
The question no longer is whether he belongs in the NBA; the new question is does he now deserve more minutes than last year's first round pick Dalton Knecht? Angela Miele with USC Trojans on Sports Illustrated dissected former NBA star Gilbert Arenas' thoughts on Knecht and Bronny James.
"Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas has been vocal about James' development in the NBA," Miele wrote. "He has previously called out the critics for being too hard on a second-round draft pick, and has recently made his opinions on James and Knecht clear. 'Who looks more like the first-round pick. [James] or Knecht right now? F*ck the names, just the production, and charisma, and style and comfortability,' Arenas said on his show, Gil's Arena. 'Who looks more like the first-round pick? Are they three years apart from each other? One looks way more comfortable than the other.' In the summer league, the former USC guard averaged 14.3 points and 3.8 assists. He showed his improvement with distributing the ball and is showing more confidence on the court. With his development throughout his rookie year and his performance in the summer league, James is on pace to be a part of the Lakers' rotation this season."
Bronny James rarely saw the court last season for the Lakers, and Dalton Knecht was part of the rotation, playing 78 games last season and averaging 19 minutes per contest. Dalton Knecht was involved in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets that got rescinded; it was the package for Mark Williams. That episode caused a riff between Knecht and the Lakers.
Trade packages including Knecht continue to be reported as the Lakers try to improve. For a highly touted first-round pick, he had a less than impressive summer league season. Bronny James' stock continues to rise. We could see James be a more impactful and consistent part of the Lakers' rotation this season. Knecht could either be out of the rotation or on another team.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
10 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
The Latest: Spain up 1-0 at halftime in Euro 2025 final against England
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Defending champion England faces Spain in the final of the Women's European Championship. The match in Basel is a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final where Spain defeated the Lionesses 1-0. Coincidentally, the same countries played in the men's European Championship final last year. Spain won that match 2-1. Here's the latest: Spain leads 1-0 at halftime Spain heads into the break in the lead after Mariona Caldentey's goal in the 25th. Both teams traded early blows but Spain looked stronger after the goal. La Roja kept most of the possession and did not allow England to threaten much. England also trailed at halftime in the quarterfinal against Sweden and semifinal against Italy, but still won both games. Spain takes the lead Mariona Caldentey has made it 1-0 for Spain in the 25th minute. Ona Batlle whipped in a cross from the right, after good work by Aitana Bonmati, and Caldentey headed it powerfully home. Closing ceremony Swiss former player Lara Dickenmann carried the trophy out onto the field after the closing ceremony of Euro 2025. A large circular banner was unfurled in the center of the field in tribute to the host nation, while smaller banners were displayed nearby with 'Thank You' in Switzerland's four official languages —Italian, French, German, and Romansh. Two large Alpine-inspired shapes were then carried onto the field, with the England flag on one and Spain's on the other. Nearly 30,000 inflatable clappers had been distributed to the fans beforehand, while 40 members of the closing ceremony cast also had them on the field. The Asturia Quartet, an all-female string ensemble, performed the national anthems. Del Castillo starts for Spain In somewhat of a surprise change, Athenea Del Castillo has been named in Spain's starting lineup in place of Claudia Pina. Del Castillo's only other start in the tournament was in the final group-stage match, against Italy, when many regular starters were rested with Spain already through. The Real Madrid forward scored one and set up another. She also scored the opener in the quarterfinal win against Switzerland just four minutes after coming onto the field. Pina was decisive the last time Spain played England, scoring twice to help her team to a 2-1 comeback victory in the Nations League last month. The only other change to Spain's lineup from its semifinal victory over Germany is the return of defender Laia Aleixandri from suspension, with María Méndez dropping back down to the bench. Spain's lineup: Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Aleixandri, Olga; Bonmatí, Patri, Putellas; Mariona, González, Del Castillo. James is back for England Lauren James has recovered from injury and starts for England with coach Sarina Wiegman making just one change. James had to come off at halftime in England's semifinal victory over Italy on Tuesday with an ankle problem and was seen applying ice to her injury during the match. James has started all five of England's games at Euro 2025 and has been named in the lineup for the final. Defender Jess Carter returns after being omitted from the starting lineup for the first time against Italy, for tactical reasons, two days after revealing she was the target of racist abuse online during the tournament. England's lineup: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Toone, Walsh, Stanway; James, Russo, Hemp. St. Jakob-Park is filling up Basel's soccer stadium has a capacity of 34,250 during Euro 2025 and no empty seats are expected at the final. With an hour to go until kickoff, thousands of fans have already taken their seats. Even before the final, the tournament has broken the total attendance record for a Women's European Championship. A total of 623,088 spectators have attended the 30 matches so far, surpassing the previous total attendance record of 574,875 from Euro 2022. Skies clear up after heavy rain in Basel There have been intermittent torrential showers and thunderstorms but that has not dampened the spirits of thousands of Spanish and England fans that have been gathering in the fan zones in Basel. The rain teemed down about two hours before kickoff but the sun came out shortly afterward and the skies above St. Jakob-Park have cleared up for now. Defending champions did it the hard way England got off to a rough start with a 2-1 defeat to France, becoming the first reigning champion to lose its opening match at a women's Euros. The team bounced back with a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands and a 6-1 thrashing of Wales. Then came the craziness of its quarterfinal against Sweden when it was trailing 2-0 with 12 minutes to go before equalizing and taking the match to extra time and a penalty shootout. There were nine failed penalty attempts before England finally triumphed 3-2. England left it even later in its semifinal against Italy. Teenager Michelle Agyemang leveled in stoppage time to force extra time and fellow substitute Chloe Kelly scored in the 119th minute to secure a 2-1 win, just as it appeared another penalty shootout was looming. (Almost) smooth sailing for Spain Spain swept through the group stage, winning all three matches against Portugal, Belgium and Italy — scoring 14 goals and conceding three. Spain found it tougher to get past Switzerland in the quarterfinals but finally broke the resistance of the host nation with two quickfire goals midway through the second half. Spain also missed two penalties and hit the woodwork three times. Like England, its semifinal lasted 120 minutes. It took a moment of magic from two-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí in the 113th minute to secure a 1-0 win over Germany. ___ AP soccer:
Forbes
11 minutes ago
- Forbes
Are The San Antonio Spurs Gearing Up For A Trade This Coming Season?
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 09: Interim head coach Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs ... More looks on against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter at Chase Center on April 09, 2025 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by) The San Antonio Spurs had a very strong draft, selecting Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant, both of whom could become foundational pieces moving forward. In free agency and on the trade market, however, the Spurs made some decisions that now, collectively, seem curious. Spending big on backup centers San Antonio first signed Luke Kornet to a four-year deal worth $41 million, albeit just under $24 million are guaranteed. They then traded for Kelly Olynyk, via the Washington Wizards, and took on his $13.4 million for 2025-2026 on top of it. That's $24.4 million for both of them this season, which is a fair bit of financial cheddar when you consider neither will have a starring role, as both play behind Victor Wembanyama and Jeremy Sochan. Of course, one can argue that Olynyk in particular should be able to play alongside the star Frenchman, but nevertheless, it seems optimistic to expect Olynyk to play an enormous amount of minutes given that he's 34 and played just over 20 minutes per game last season. As such, it's fair to wonder if the Spurs are gearing up to a mid-season trade, if they're in the hunt for a playoff spot. Endless possibilities The Spurs have a plethora of trade assets, both in form of player contracts and draft selections, so it'd make sense if the team is actively looking to make a move near the February trade deadline, especially by using the contracts of Kornet or Olynyk to facilitate a deal. After all, investing over $24 million on backup big men seem at-best optimistic, even if it's only for one year. It thus lends itself to the theory that the Spurs did it to keep their options open. Last trade deadline, San Antonio acquired point guard De'Aaron Fox, and it isn't inconceivable that they're planning on making an acquisition of similar quality, to pair with Fox and Wembanyama. They can easily match salaries for most players, as Keldon Johnson's $17.5 million, and Harrison Barnes' $19 million are also movable, and then align value via draft selections. This isn't to say the Spurs are looking to dramatically accelerate their timeline. The organization have shown patience, even after the selection of Wembanyama, and seem to insist on creating a long-term competitive window, which is the right play. It'll be interesting how to see how they play this over the next 6-12 months. Unless noted otherwise, all stats via PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
USA Today
40 minutes ago
- USA Today
WATCH: All-Access with Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry at a celebrity golf event
Every summer, Stephen Curry takes to the golf course. The Golden State Warriors superstar is a high-level player on the links and often impresses with his golfing ability. This summer, Curry returned to the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament, and as you would expect, he had some memorable moments as he made his way around the course. Some highlights of Curry's golfing exploits undoubtedly made their way onto social media. The four-time NBA champion finished fifth overall, with a score of 58 points, losing to Joe Pavelski, who had 73. Curry won the championship in 2023, but clearly didn't do enough to add a second chip to his golfing resume. Nevertheless, the overall event was a fun watch. If you missed it, and would like to see the event from Curry's perspective, he posted an "All Access" video to his personal YouTube channel, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at his participation in the celebrity event. You can watch the full All-Access video by clicking on the embedded link above. This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
