Dalton Knecht, Bronny James give Lakers coach JJ Redick a preview of things to come
LAS VEGAS — JJ Redick and a chunk of his new coaching staff sat baseline Thursday in Las Vegas, the Lakers’ key young pieces all flashing elements of why the team valued them.
The result — another Summer League victory and some critic silencing — was momentary. Maybe in the 93-89 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, there was something more.
From the jump, Dalton Knecht, the Lakers’ first rounder, splashed threes and attacked the rim with an athletic two-handed dunk. It all reinforced that he can score — something the team and Redick will probably try to incorporate this season.
Knecht scored 20 and grabbed seven rebounds, looking like a piece the Lakers could try to use sooner than later.
Bronny James, more of a long-term developmental project, showed the midrange and rim-attacking skills that can help offset a three-point shot that’s still under construction.
He finished with 13 points on 50% shooting.
Bronny James is being mentioned by plenty of NBA scouts and executives deconstructing his offensive struggles.
Maxwell Lewis played a more complementary game while still showing the elite tools that made the Lakers value him a season ago.
Second-year center Colin Castleton fired pretty bounce passes to cutters, a skill that could help separate him from other big men. French two-way rookie Armel Traore had his best game of the summer, using his physicality and motor to make plays at the rim on both ends. And two-way rookie Blake Hinson showed that he’s willing to try and stretch the floor with his shooting while playing with plenty of passion.
Maybe there’s something to be gained, an advantage to be mined, from what Redick and his staff were watching Thursday. In a summer where the coaches and the young players are all that’s new, the Lakers better hope there is.
As the team’s young players led a fourth-quarter comeback, their draft picks all made plays.
James scored on a sweeping left-handed hook and hit a stepback three off the dribble, maybe his biggest highlight in Vegas. And Knecht’s cutting and foul-drawing led to easy fourth-quarter points.
The Lakers finish their Summer League schedule Saturday against Chicago.
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