Rob Pelinka Discusses Picking Dalton Knecht | 2024 NBA Draft

Extremely exciting night for the Los Angeles Lakers obviously going into the

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process at the beginning of this one we weren't sure with the Anthony Davis trade if our pick would pass on to us or actually stay with the Pelicans so the first step in making this pick I received the news that the Pelicans would allow us to keep our pick this year, which of course was 17 and that started, you know, deliberations with scouts and other members of the front office and then bringing in JJ Reic. and getting our board right um we would never have imagined that a player so skilled and perfect for our needs would be there for us when Dalton connect um we had him, you know, as a unanimous top 10 player on our scouting boards um, I I was at the SEC tournament, studying it extensively, and in my mind I thought there was no way a player like this could be available for us to pick on

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night, so overall I couldn't be happier.

I was joking with coach reic above that you know, we found a move shooter that matched his skills as a player and he already had his board drawn with pins and atos and actions where he could run a move shooter off screen, like this which I think his mind is already uh, working on drafting plays for Dalton, so, really, really excited, um, the draft is an unpredictable process, you never know how it's going to go when the night starts and ends like this, um we couldn't be more excited. So I'll open it up to the question room and again thank you for being here at the draft Nate we'll start with Mike Chel get our beats and then we'll get some other questions Rob we know it's.

It's really a long process where you guys are looking at each player correctly to make your board, what stood out from the beginning about dton connect and how you would describe his skill set and where you might think what he did in college translates at the NBA level. Yeah, I'm talking about the SEC Player of the Year, it's one of the toughest conferences, so just the competitive nature of him stood out. He is a three-level scorer. He's a guy who's going to defend. He is physical. He is athletic. He really is a three-and-D player that all teams have.

You know, he craves it, but he's also a very good athlete at the combine. He had a 39-inch vertical, so he has the ability to come off the rebound and attack the rim when teams pull him off the line, so that versatility is really hard to find. Um, and we think he fits very well with our pillars, you know, and in the announcement, and hopefully, if things work out in free agency with LeBron, but having a guy that's going to cause a gravitational pole because of his shooting and also when you run Shooters. around the court like he can do it, he transforms, the defense just opens up driving lanes, so there's a lot of versatility in his game and I think he gives us a weapon that we don't currently have on our roster, okay? ?

Dalon came to train, we didn't know, with the 17th pick we asked for it and, you know, I think agents make those decisions and a lot of times, when guys are at the beginning of the process, you know, ready to get to the top . 10 we don't have the opportunity to work with it, so we didn't, but again we explored it extensively. I got to watch his last games in college, which was cool. Our scouting team again unanimously had him in the top 10. his board so we felt like we knew him very very well he just hasn't been in our building yet and will be soon and we're excited about that and quickly when mcain comes off the board you guys are in the room like if your mind changed to connect pretty quickly there was no change like we were super excited about the possibility of him being there and um again, if we had the 10th pick in the draft, we would have taken him to get that value at 17 is really extraordinary Rob, obviously, we know offensively what he can do, but you mentioned three and D in his defense, how do you see him fitting in defensively?

What position do you think is? I think the way he's built you know he is. an older guy in the draft, so he's 23 and has big shoulders and a big base and I think he'll use his strength to defend. I think he'll be able to defend, you know, three, two, and he's got pretty good Feet that even if they switch him to one, I think he'll compete. Interchangeable defender, not a five position defender, he is 66, but I think he will be a good perimeter defender and that is why I label him as a three. and player D BT BT, you see him as someone who is someone right now, yeah, you know, I think ultimately it's going to be a coach's rhetic question, but I think our discussions upstairs were incredible, we just find a player we can watch play with next. team of the year and have a real impact and that's exciting.

I think there are a lot of advantages left in his game, of course, his journey started in college and went all the way to Tennessee, so with every step he has improved and so have we. I'll also expect that improvement at the next level, before the trade line. I guess after the exchange line you mention that the guys have a choice, so now you could have had the opportunity to use up to three, obviously the guys took it how they did. You've seen, I guess, what that process was like? Was it different than maybe you had thought back then because of that choice, um or the three selections that you can use?

Yes, we explored, you know, we talked about this a couple of days ago, when coach Reic Se came to you, we explored all the improvements we could to improve our team. I think if you take out every 30 GM, you know, the 30 gems in a league, but in general, trades have become more difficult because of the new CBA system and So, I think there's less access to make those big moves that maybe under the old system, but that didn't stop us from trying to look at everything and ways to put ourselves, you know, in a position to be better, but this.

Even this election alone I feel like it gives us a big boost and we're excited about that, okay? Rob, when a kid goes from Junior College to a very small university in Northern Colorado and becomes SEC Player of the Year, what do you see in that gym? rat, you know we've studied it a lot and this kid lives in the gym. I think to be an elite shooter and an elite motion shooter, the only way to get there is with consistent reps and, uh, when we did our data and we studied "He at every level is the guy that's the most in the gym and I think those will be our expectations here.

I think even though he is 23 years old, player development is still key. I think his best years are ahead of him and us. We're going to put Coach Reck's Player Development staff around him and help him get better. Keep improving. Because of that Journey, you got the sense that he kind of resents everything, yeah, you know, just from talking to him when we cast him. I think, of course, he was ranked on a lot of the boards in the top eight and top seven, so I think you can already feel that mentality of well, you know, some of these teams passed me by.

I'm going to show them that they were wrong. I can get that feel from him, just his Aura, his Vibe, so I think it's a really very interesting tool for us, to add our other players, Alan Rob really excited, plus his skill set, are there any important characteristics what um? What do you see in him or what you have, I know you said the gym rat, but are there other characteristics that are an important part of partially making the decision? Yeah, I think when they know the superstars on their team, then they need to get guys who are. willing to be a star in the role and he does really, really important things in those aspects to help the big superstars do what they can do and I think I can see that on the court now. the way LeBron makes reads and you know Anthony Davis commands double teams and you have a shooting weapon like that on the opposite side.

I think you can already see the potential of the last two V Jim and then we'll end up with j given where he was. In mock drafts, at what point did you feel confident that we had a chance to make it? That's a good question Jim, you know it's interesting, we usually rank our board and we eliminate guys when they get drafted and like me, We said we had him ranked very high and we were all looking around the room saying that there was no way he was still there, so you know it's like they called up the 11th pick and then you're like, well, there's no way they're not going to do it.

Take it at 12 and then there's no way they're not going to take it at 13 and then the anticipation builds and of course with that comes the anxiety and then you're like holding your breath and uh when Philly made the choice. and we picked another great player we couldn't believe they didn't say his name and instead we had to say it we made our pick which is great obviously he can fill it we've all seen they see college. basketball, do you have any concerns defensively? Again I don't know, you know this kid has improved his body, he's going to live in the weight room, he's committed to getting stronger, he stays fast and, uh, I just think just because of his size he has a wingspan of over 4 I know he has good size for a shooter on many teams.

When you have a shooter, you have to hide it on the other end and that's not the case with him. He has a robust body, good size, 66, you know, plus 4 wingspans. I like yours. odds