JJ Redick Details Change to Lakers' Rotation, Key to Dalton Knecht Earning Spot

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick told reporters that forward Dalton Knecht will enter the rotation for Friday night's home game versus the Memphis Grizzlies and offered a two-word response for how he can stay there.

The 24-year-old Knecht is in his second season with the Lakers, who selected the ex-Tennessee star 17th overall in the 2024 NBA draft.

For the season, Knecht has played 26 games (one start), averaging 5.7 points on 47.5 percent shooting (35.8 percent from three) and 1.8 rebounds per game. His outside shooting skills fill a big need for the Lakers right now.

Knecht has only played 7.6 minutes per game since Nov. 18 and 12 minutes overall over the past three contests. So this is a big change for Redick's rotation.

Ultimately, the Lakers need to change something up. L.A. has lost four of five games, and those defeats were by 15, 24, 23 and 22 points. The Lakers still have a solid 20-11 win-loss record, good enough for fifth place in the Western Conference, but they're also the only winning team that has been outscored this year.

We'll see how Knecht fares soon enough, but the first-round pick has a great chance to make a big impact.