The NBA Draft Lottery is set: Where will Tennessee basketball star Dalton Knecht go?
Tennessee basketball superstar Dalton Knecht came to Knoxville from Northern Colorado through the transfer portal and lit college basketball on fire. He took over the SEC and led the Vols to the Elite Eight before losing to Purdue.
The 2024 NBA Draft order was set after the lottery on Sunday night. The Atlanta Hawks won the lottery, getting the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, with the worst team in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons, falling to the fifth overall pick for the second straight year.
Now that we know where each team will draft, where could Knecht be drafted? He's projected to be a lottery pick, and everything indicates he will be a top-ten pick based on recent mock drafts leading up to the draft lottery.
Knecht has been projected to be drafted around seven or eight in recent mock drafts, and now that we know the draft order for this year's draft, the NBA has released its official mock draft. NBA.com writer Ben Couch released his prediction for this year's NBA Draft, and he has Knecht being drafted No. 10 overall.
Couch has Knecht going to the Utah Jazz at No. 10, which has been a consistent spot for Knecht on NBA.com draft predictions. "Capitalized on a transfer to Tennessee, putting up 25-plus points while scoring all kinds of ways, but especially from deep," Couch wrote. "The seasoned transition could be smoother than most."
Bleacher Report also has Knecht at No. 10 to the Jazz, which drops him two spots from their April 22 mock draft. They compare Knecht to Wally Szczerbiak, who played ten NBA seasons from 1999 to 2009 for four franchises.
Szczerbiak played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Seattle Supersonics. Throughout his career, he averaged 14.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 48.5% from the field and 40.6% from three-point range.
"Later in the lottery, teams may start to value certainty over upside, Bleacher Report writer Jonathan Wasserman writes. "And Dalton Knecht is perceived as one of the surest bets on the board with 6'6" size, elite shotmaking and huge scoring outputs against quality opponents, including 37 points against Purdue, 40 against Kentucky, 39 against Auburn, 31 against South Carolina, 39 against Florida and 37 against North Carolina.
"Few players in the draft spent more time running off screens than Knecht. He has a skill and mentality that should create an easy fit and quick transition to the next level."
The Athletic has Knecht up a few spots from NBA.com and Bleacher Report. Sam Vecenie has Knecht going No. 7 overall to the Portland Trailblazers. This is where Knecht fits in with other mock drafts before the Draft Lottery.
"Knecht scored at a dizzying pace, averaging 25.5 points in 18 SEC games while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from 3," Vecenie writes. "Overall, he averaged 21.7 points per game on 46 percent from the field, but those stats are dragged down by a stretch during which he played at less than 100 percent following an ankle injury against North Carolina.
"Great college players aren't always great NBA players, but the style of Knecht's game makes him a likely lottery pick. Everything he does offensively should translate to NBA settings. Not only is he a terrific shooter, proficient in spot-up situations and off movement, but he's also a higher-end athlete than most floor spacers. He can sky in transition and finish inside with hang time. He simply has a knack for scoring.
"The draft gets a bit wild here. I'm not sure any of the remaining top prospects included in the 7-10 range in the NBA's memo outlining medical information access make a ton of sense for the Blazers. Knecht can knock down shots at a high level next to Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe long term, which would be very valuable."
ESPN has Knecht falling to No. 8 to the San Antonio Spurs. Before the draft lottery, ESPN had Knecht at No. 8 but going to the Memphis Grizzlies. Jonathan Givony of ESPN has Knecht going to the Spurs after the draft lottery and explains that his offense can help the Spurs get one step closer to another NBA Championship.
"After addressing their point guard situation with the No. 4 pick, it might make sense for the Spurs to look at adding shooting to their roster to give Victor Wembanyama ample spacing to maximize his offensive gifts," Givony writes. "The Spurs surely have eyes on being competitive sooner rather than later with Wembanyama about to become an MVP candidate in the near future, so picking a 23-year-old plug-and-play shooter/scorer such as Knecht looks like an attractive option. His defensive shortcomings can be mitigated to an extent playing behind a future Defensive Player of the Year like Wembanyama."
Now that the draft order is set, seven is probably the highest Knecht could go in this year's draft. I would even say seven is advantageous for Knecht, but when draft night comes, anything can happen.
The 2024 NBA Draft will take place on June 26 and 27, and we will see where Knecht will land in the first round. Here is the full draft order for the 2024 NBA Draft.
1. Atlanta Hawks
2. Washington Wizards
3. Houston Rockets (via Brooklyn Nets)
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Charlotte Hornets
7. Portland Trail Blazers
8. San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto Raptors)
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Utah Jazz
11. Chicago Bulls
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Houston Rockets)
13. Sacramento Kings
14. Portland Trail Blazers (via Golden State Warriors)
15. Miami Heat
16. Philadelphia 76ers
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Orlando Magic
19. Toronto Raptors (via Indiana Pacers)
20. Cleveland Cavaliers
21. New Orleans Pelicans (via Milwaukee Bucks)
22. Phoenix Suns
23. Milwaukee Bucks (via New Orleans Pelicans)
24. New York Knicks (via Dallas Mavericks)
25. New York Knicks
26. Washington Wizards (via Los Angeles Clippers)
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
28. Denver Nuggets
29. Utah Jazz (via Oklahoma City)
30. Boston Celtics