Spurs Prospect Preview: Dalton Knecht

The Tennessee Volunteers had been giving the Purdue Boilermakers a run for his or her cash. In an Elite Eight matchup that favored the enormous, Zach Edey, the Vols hung in there. They did so on the again of Dalton Knecht, who had 37 factors within the eventual loss. He went on fairly the journey to get to that time.

Knecht performed highschool ball at Prairie View in Brighton, Colorado, a northern suburb of Denver. Out of college he performed school ball for Northeastern Junior School the place he scorched the nets, averaging 23.9 factors in his sophomore season. His play landed him a roster spot on Northern Colorado within the Huge Sky Convention. Because of an additional yr of eligibility on account of COVID, and the switch portal, Knecht was in a position to attend Tennessee to play for the legendary coach, Rick Barnes, for his fifth yr.

He set the school basketball world on hearth in Knoxville. Knecht was the SEC Participant of the Yr and an All-American in his sole season with the Vols. He scored 30+ factors eight instances final yr, placing the ball within the basket in any respect three-levels. He took Tennessee from the highest of the SEC to an actual risk to win the NCAA Title. He made himself a projected lottery choice within the 2024 NBA Draft within the course of.

Knecht makes numerous sense for the the San Antonio Spurs, who’re searching for capturing this offseason. His scoring potential will make him one of the wanted gamers within the draft. Questions stay about his defensive potential and upside at 23-years-old. Regardless of his flaws, Knecht is firmly within the dialog to be a top-10 choose within the 2024 Draft.

Dalton Knecht, 6-foot-6 wing, Tennessee

2023-2024 stats: 21.7 factors, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 45.8% FG, 39.7% 3PT, 77.2% FT, 53.8% eFG

Participant comparability: Max Strus

Strengths

In a draft filled with wings with query marks, Knecht gives a degree of certainty. He has a couple of abilities which are simply translatable to the following degree, chief amongst them is his capturing. Knecht hit 39.7% of his threes on 6.5 makes an attempt per sport. He made these pictures in quite a lot of methods – off screens, pulling up, from deep, within the corners, above the break. You identify it, Knecht can shoot it.

Knecht’s finest ability is his motion capturing. Tennessee beloved to run floppy motion and pin down screens to get him open pictures from deep. He has nice footwork and a easy, compact stroke that he can get off over defenses because of his peak. Knecht made 42.4% of his catch and shoot jumpers and shot 39.7% on makes an attempt coming off screens. Apart from his sound fundamentals, Knecht is a little bit of an athletic beast. He had the second finest lane agility time on the Draft Mix (10.56 seconds), the quickest shuttle run (2.79 seconds) and a 39-inch vertical soar. He can fly off screens and get himself open in a rush.

Knecht represents the ultimate evolution of the motion shooter archetype. Max Strus is an efficient athlete who can knock down quite a lot of pictures. Buddy Hield is lights out from everywhere in the flooring. Duncan Robinson crushes you with continuous motion. Knecht gives all of it plus some juice as a three-level scorer and passer.

The scout on Knecht was to run him off the road. Defenses would overplay the wings when he ran off screens. Knecht was nice at adapting to that, curling off screens to get mid-range jumpers or flaring to the corners for threes. Knecht has a candy mid-range pull-up that he particularly likes to go to in the midst of the ground. When defenses ran Knecht off the road, he was in a position to get to the rim and end. He shot 59.4% on the rim this season.

When Knecht will get sizzling, he does so in a rush. He would go on insane scoring stretches, typically carrying Tennessee’s offense. If he sees a few threes go down, it normally results in an avalanche of scoring. When these stretches come, the protection has no selection however to double or deny him the ball. Knecht noticed loads of doubles come his approach and did a superb job playmaking after they did. He was in a position to create a bonus along with his passing potential even when protection took away his shot. Make no mistake, Knecht isn’t a high-volume passer or some form of level ahead, however he could make defenses pay for over-aggression.

Weaknesses

Pretty much as good as Knecht is offensively, he leaves rather a lot to be desired defensively. His instincts on that finish are fairly unhealthy, making him late to steals and blocks because of tardy off-ball rotations. The opposing crew can create offensive benefits by placing him via screening actions, as Knecht will get misplaced or dies on them more often than not. His closeouts could be sloppy and he’s vulnerable to letting drivers blow by him.

Regardless of his athleticism and bodily presence, Knecht isn’t an impactful rebounder or defender. It was obvious that Barnes and the Vols teaching workers had been annoyed by Knecht’s lack of aggressiveness on protection. It was uncommon to see him go seize a fifty-fifty ball, or put his physique on the road to get a defensive cease. Too typically Knecht would stand and watch a play fairly than go act on it.

His deal with stands out as a gap in his offensive sport. It’s not terrible, however he lacks the creativity off the bounce that you simply usually discover in go-to scorers. Knecht will in all probability be a tertiary scorer on the subsequent degree. Somebody who’s a risk to attain always, however not somebody who you anticipate to go get you a basket in isolation. Contact on the rim bothered him every so often. He’s higher at ending over a protection than via it.

There will likely be questions on Knecht’s upside at 23-years-old. It’s uncommon to see a participant come into the league at that age and develop right into a star. Nevertheless, Knecht’s path is something however conventional. He’s tailored and improved at each degree of competitors. The deck has been stacked in opposition to him earlier than and he gained in any case.

Spurs match

San Antonio wants capturing. It was obvious final yr and has been echoed by followers and basketball evaluators alike. Knecht would give them among the best motion shooters within the draft. He would exchange numerous the manufacturing that Doug McDermott gave them final season.

The query is: ought to they spend a top-10 choose on a participant sort you’ll be able to probably register free company for cheaper? There are many veteran shooters on the market. Ought to the Spurs be trying so as to add extra skilled capturing to complement their youthful gamers? They might additionally afford to get a couple of extra wing defenders. Knecht could be one other participant, like Malaki Branham or Keldon Johnson, whose worth comes totally from the offensive finish.

If San Antonio values upside, protection and ball-handling, Knecht might not be the most effective choice at eighth total. Nonetheless, it’s laborious to discover a extra explosive offensive participant within the draft. The Spurs struggled to attain the ball final season with out Wembanyama on the ground. Knecth would give them an instantaneous scoring punch.

Earlier Prospects:

Rob Dillingham

Reed Sheppard

Nikola Subject

Zaccharie Risacher

Stephon Fort

Tidjane Salaun

Ron Holland

Matas Buzelis

Devin Carter