Dalton Knecht waived as Lakers bet the center spot on Kessler alone

The Lakers cut Dalton Knecht, a first-round pick, to finalize their training camp roster — and the move tells you everything about where this team's priorities landed. With Walker Kessler the only center who has logged meaningful minutes in this system, the front office decided it could not afford a roster spot on a developing wing when the paint is this bare. The depth chart at center is exactly one player deep, and that player missed significant time last season with a shoulder injury.

Knecht was a draft investment, the kind of asset a rebuilding team typically protects. Waiving him signals that the roster math forced the issue — that filling out the guard and forward depth behind Reaves and Doncic took precedence over carrying a project big. My read is that this is a short-term calculation, not an evaluation of Knecht's ceiling. But short-term calculations have a way of becoming permanent ones.

The problem I flagged when Kessler's clearance came through hasn't changed: there is no viable backup at center. If Kessler misses time again, the Lakers are improvising with forwards. That was a structural problem before Knecht was waived. It remains one now, just with one fewer option on the bench and one fewer chip to work with.