The Lakers have a Rookie of the Year candidate hiding in plain sight

Despite not making a major offseason move, the Los Angeles Lakers appear confident heading into the 2024–25 season. There is some reason for optimism with a new head coach in JJ Redick and returning stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

On paper, they probably won't be better than last year's team, which finished with 47 wins and ranked 7th in the Western Conference standings. However, they did add two rookies, one of whom appears ready to contribute immediately.

Dalton Knecht was one of the best shooters in college last season but fell in the draft, out of the lottery where he was projected to go, to the Lakers at 17. That may prove to be an underrated pick-up for Los Angeles, with his shooting ability possibly filling a major flaw from last year's team.

Last season, the Lakers ranked 15th in offensive rating, largely due to them ranking 28th in three-point attempts. However, Knecht provides an experienced college player who can score in several ways, including shooting off the dribble, off screens, spotting up, and even off drives.

Those skills have apparently been evident during training camp, with LeBron being impressed by his play.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a Rookie of the Year candidate in Dalton Knecht.

If Knect can crack the Lakers rotation as a rookie and play consistent minutes, then he could be an impactful player during his first season in the NBA. That would put him in the Rookie of the Year conversation, with many players taken in the first round either playing on bad teams or likely to struggle to earn minutes on good teams.

Helping his case is the fact that the top of this year's draft isn't particularly strong, with Zaccharie Risacher
not looking like he will make an immediate impact as the number one overall pick. Additionally, second-overall pick Alexandre Sarr put together an embarrassingly bad Summer League performance. Meanwhile, fourth-overall pick Stephon Castle may not play big minutes for a Spurs team trying to win now.

That could leave third overall pick Reed Shepherd and 10th overall pick Zach Edey as Knecht's biggest potential threats for Rookie of the Year honors. With a questionable draft class, playing a key role on a playoff team and putting up solid if not spectacular numbers might be enough to win Rookie of the Year.

Even if he is simply in the conversation, then that would still be great news for the Lakers, who would have found a cheap rotation player without having to give up any assets. We will have to wait and see how he plays this season but he already has a fan in LeBron.