With the NBA Trade Deadline period ending yesterday, this past week has undoubtedly brought many surprises. With just a few days left before the All-Star break, the final stretch of this NBA season promises to be one for the ages. In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder (40-9), who will have Chet Holmgren back for the final stretch of the season, are on pace for the best regular season in franchise history, with just five games separating the fifth and 11th seeds. In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers (41-10) lead the way after adding De’Andre Hunter to their roster. The race for the playoff spots remains tight as well, with only six games separating the fifth and tenth seeds.
As for last week’s trades, I think we can all agree that the Lakers’ acquisition of Luka Doncic was the biggest move in the NBA since Kevin Durant joined the Warriors. This move instantly puts the Lakers among the top three contenders in the East. Aside from this blockbuster trade, my favorite move was the pairing of De’Aaron Fox with Victor Wembanyama, securing a promising future for the Spurs after five years without a postseason appearance. On the other hand, the Warriors’ addition of Jimmy Butler seems a bit desperate, leaving the team with a two-year window to win Stephen Curry’s fifth ring. On the bright side, they managed to keep their young core intact.
Bronny, the Reason Dalton Knecht Was Traded
For Dalton Knecht, what started as a dream after being drafted with the 17th overall pick by the glorious Los Angeles Lakers is now turning into a nightmare after being traded to the Charlotte Hornets after just 48 games with the team. The Hornets have only made the playoffs once in the last 10 years, so Knecht’s career is undoubtedly taking a different turn. Always controversial, Gilbert Arenas believes the reason Knecht was traded is because he wasn’t passing the ball to Bronny James, which prompted LeBron to take action. It should be noted that Knecht averages less than one assist per game while attempting 7.4 shots per game.
Knecht shot 46.5% from the field, 35.8% from three-point range and averaged 9.4 PPG in just 20.7 minutes. However, his stats weren’t the reason for his trade. Rather, his youth-similar to Cam Reddish-suggests that he still has room to develop and improve in Charlotte. Meanwhile, let’s be honest, no team would take Bronny even for free – unless it was because he’s LeBron’s son and the marketing and sales potential he brings. Those would be the only reasons a team would consider a trade involving Bronny.
Knecht joins a young Hornets team led by LaMelo Ball, with Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller rounding out the top of the rotation, along with the recent addition of Jusuf Nurkic. This season will likely continue Charlotte’s playoff drought, but looking ahead, with this roster, a strong draft pick, and a veteran acquisition or two in the offseason, the franchise could finally emerge from a decade of darkness in which they’ve only had two winning seasons.
