Tennessee Professional Athletes

From Staples to the Mecca: Knecht's Wild Week

Dalton Knecht's second NBA offseason did not go quietly. The Lakers waived the former Tennessee forward on Monday, October 19 — one day before their season opener against the Warriors — after failing to find a trade partner for the 2024 first-round pick. The move ended a two-year stint in Los Angeles that began with promise and closed with Knecht sliding out of head coach JJ Redick's rotation entirely.

The exit was abrupt but not shocking. Knecht, selected 17th overall in the 2024 draft, had not carved out a consistent role and was ultimately squeezed out in a roster crunch that kept Bronny James and Jaden Hardy on the team instead. The Lakers tried to move him via trade in the days leading up to the deadline, but no deal materialized, leaving a straightforward waiver as the only option.

What happened next moved fast. Four teams surfaced as suitors, and within days, the defending champion New York Knicks won the race, signing Knecht to a deal after agreeing to terms, per ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel. Landing with the Knicks — who are coming off an NBA title — gives Knecht a genuine opportunity to reinvent his NBA trajectory on the sport's biggest stage.

The fit makes sense on paper. Knecht is a noted sharpshooter, and if he can carve out a role in New York's rotation, the upside is real. Former Lakers champion Metta Sandiford-Artest went so far as to call Knecht a future All-Star following his release — a bold endorsement that signals the league hasn't written off the 24-year-old.

Knecht also took time to address Lakers fans directly after the waiver, sending a heartfelt message following the news.

Julian Phillips Earns Two-Way Deal in Houston

Elsewhere in the Tennessee alumni circuit, Julian Phillips got a meaningful piece of news of his own. The Rockets converted the Vol forward to a two-way contract on October 19 as part of Houston's final roster-shaping moves before the regular season. Phillips had been operating without that security, so the deal — announced alongside Oscar Tshiebwe's own two-way conversion — offers a clearer path to NBA minutes in what figures to be a competitive Rockets rotation.

Early-Season Cameos

A handful of other Tennessee alums checked in during the week's opening-night action. Nate Ament logged 10 minutes for the Bucks in a loss to the 76ers, posting 1 point, 3 rebounds, and a steal. Ja'Kobi Gillespie picked up a minute for the Spurs in their loss to the Thunder, scoring 2 points. Felix Okpara contributed a point for Washington in a loss to Toronto. Chaz Lanier and Jahmai Mashack also dressed for their respective squads, with Lanier's Pistons topping the Heat 128-111.

The broader story this week, though, belongs to Knecht. Cut by one franchise, claimed by the champions — it's the kind of dramatic roster whiplash that defines the early-season NBA landscape, and a Tennessee alum is right at the center of it.

Dalton Knecht's tenure in Los Angeles is almost certainly over — the only question left is how it ends.

The former Tennessee standout and 2024 first-round pick spent the final week of the NBA preseason at the center of a swirling trade market, with the Lakers actively seeking to move or waive him before the 2026-27 regular season tips off. Head coach JJ Redick didn't mince words when explaining the decision: Knecht has simply fallen too far down the depth chart to justify a roster spot, a damning verdict for a player entering just his third year in the league.

The Bucks Trade That Wasn't

The most concrete path out of LA surfaced mid-week, when NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Lakers had engaged the Milwaukee Bucks in trade discussions centered on Knecht going to Milwaukee in exchange for center Jericho Sims. For a Lakers team desperate to add size, it looked like a clean transaction — until it wasn't.

Multiple reports quickly poured cold water on the framework. Insider Jovan Buha flagged a significant holdup in the talks, and by late in the week, optimism had evaporated. The Bucks deal, once looking like Knecht's most viable exit ramp, was facing major doubt with the roster deadline closing in fast.

The Chicago Bulls had also been loosely connected to Knecht throughout the preseason, but those conversations never developed meaningful traction.

Redick's Truth Bomb

What made the week especially pointed for Knecht was the public nature of his demotion. Redick openly acknowledged that Bronny James — boosted in part by a Collin Sexton injury — had leapfrogged Knecht on the depth chart, and that the team's roster construction simply had no room for the former Vol. It's a blunt reality for a player who showed flashes as a sharpshooter in his rookie season before watching his production dip across the board in 2025-26.

Knecht himself didn't hold back after the Lakers' preseason finale — a 106-121 loss to Denver — commenting on the trade situation and the broader uncertainty around his future. The Lakers finished the exhibition slate 2-3, and the roster crunch only intensified the urgency.

What Comes Next

As of October 17th — the Lakers' deadline to finalize their roster — the team was still weighing its options, with waiving Knecht emerging as the more likely outcome if no trade materialized. Being released would allow him to sign with any team as a free agent, but it would also represent a significant fall from grace for a player drafted in the first round just two years ago.

For Vol fans tracking their guy in the pros, the next 24 hours will likely determine whether Knecht gets a fresh start somewhere new or heads into an uncertain free agency. At 25, there's time to reboot — but the Lakers window is firmly closed.

Tennessee's NBA alumni class enters the 2026-27 season with two of its most prominent names facing genuine uncertainty — and the clock is ticking for both.

Knecht's Lakers Tenure on Life Support

Dalton Knecht's sophomore NBA campaign may not happen in Los Angeles. The former Vol and 2024 first-round pick is squarely on the trade block, with the Lakers carrying one too many players on their roster and a hard October 19 deadline to make a final decision. A cut or trade is widely considered inevitable.

The situation has drawn outside attention. Golden State's Draymond Green, on his podcast, said Knecht has been "ruined" and left in "purgatory" by the Lakers organization — and pointedly blamed Knecht's agent for mishandling the young forward's development and positioning in LA. It's a brutal public verdict on what was supposed to be a promising start to a pro career.

A preseason performance that failed to move the needle only deepened the gloom. The Chicago Bulls have emerged as the most frequently cited trade destination, though proposals ranging from a swap for Pat Connaughton to a package deal involving Jaden Hardy and Knecht for Jalen Smith have also surfaced. There was a brief "glimmer of hope" reported after a standout individual workout, but the broader trajectory hasn't changed: Knecht is the odd man out on a roster that has no room for a young wing still looking for his footing.

Whether he lands via trade or clears waivers, Knecht's path forward likely runs through a fresh start somewhere other than Hollywood.

Harris Opens Spurs Era on the Trainer's Table

Tobias Harris signed with San Antonio this offseason as the Spurs' marquee free-agent addition — a veteran presence designed to complement Victor Wembanyama as the franchise builds around its generational talent. That plan hit an immediate snag.

Harris suffered a strained left calf during training camp, and head coach Mitch Johnson offered a notably cryptic update on his timeline — enough to put the veteran's availability for the season opener against Oklahoma City in serious doubt. Reports indicate Harris could miss at least two weeks, which would rule him out of the early schedule entirely.

Before the injury, Harris had been publicly enthusiastic about his new situation, saying he already loved playing alongside Wembanyama. The feeling, by all accounts, was mutual — making the timing of the setback all the more frustrating for a Spurs team that invested in Harris specifically to help bridge this developmental moment for Wemby.

For a franchise still climbing back toward relevance, losing its biggest offseason signing before opening night is a rough way to start — and for Harris personally, missing time in a prove-it role on a new team is far from ideal.

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Two Vols, two franchise question marks, one week before the games count. Tennessee's NBA pipeline is deep enough that there are other alumni to watch across the league — from Keon Johnson in Atlanta to Chaz Lanier in Detroit — but the Knecht and Harris storylines are the ones that will define how Vol Nation follows the NBA this fall.