NBA great Charles Barkley is probably somewhere smiling with a big grin that says, "I told you so."
Barkley can take a victory after Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht had a career-high 37 points in Tuesday's victory against the Utah Jazz. Before the season, it was Barkley who called Knecht the steal of the draft.
"These NBA general managers don't have any idea what they're doing," Barkley said on an episode of Inside The NBA during the preseason. "Letting the Lakers get Dalton Knecht was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. That's a bad boy right there. Dalton Knecht: remember that name, y'all."
Knecht slipped in the draft last June despite winning the SEC Player of the Year award. Many considered him a lottery pick but he dropped to the Lakers at No. 17. Knecht had nine 3-pointers in the performance to set a rookie record.
Even LeBron James gushed over Knecht, calling out the other teams who passed on him. This season Knecht is averaging 11.3 points on 52 percent shooting as a key cog for the Lakers.
"They [The Lakers front office] didn't find DK [Lakers guard Dalton Knecht]. The other 16 teams f---ed it up," James said Tuesday night. "Anybody watch him? S--t! They just didn't f--k it up. You don't 'find' a SEC player of the year."
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at [email protected]
