Dalton Knecht Waived as Disastrous Lakers Tenure Ends, Roster Down to 15

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers · Oct 19, 2026 · 19m

The Lakers had until this Monday (2 pm PT) to get their roster down from 16 players to 15. Reports persisted throughout the offseason, chronicling a desire to make a consolidation deal, sending out two non-rotation players (and draft assets) for one more playable guy. That was always a long shot for a variety of reasons. The most logical end was them having to eat a contract, with three obvious candidates: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, and Dalton Knecht.

A case could have been made for James being the player cut, but the more likely conclusion was Dalton as the odd man out. It's a very logical…