Is Dalton Knecht playing tonight against the Utah Jazz? Latest on Lakers rookie's status after Hornets-bound forward returns to LA (Feb. 10)

Dalton Knecht may have returned to the LA Lakers, but his availability for Monday's clash against the Utah Jazz remains doubtful. The forward, who along with Cam Reddish and the pick that was traded is now back to playing for the Purple and Gold after the Mark Williams trade was rescinded.

Knecht is listed as questionable (personal reasons) ahead of the clash that has all eyes on Luka Doncic who makes his Lakers debut. Should Knecht indeed suit up, there is a possibility that he will play more minutes instead of LeBron James (questionable with left ankle soreness) if he is rested for another game. The rookie has been averaging 10.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in his last five games.

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Former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley explains how Dalton Knecht may have been miffed with the organization

Speaking on his Pat Bev Podcast, former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley launched into a no-holds-barred explanation on how Dalton Knecht may have lost faith in the team that drafted him.

“You trade me, trade don’t come through, I gotta come back? If]I’m Dalton Knecht, I’m mad,’ Y’all don’t want me here. What you mean I gotta come back because this motherf***er got hurt?’ That wasn’t the original plan.

He further added:

“How does he feel? I understand it’s a business but that’s a cold game. Walking back into that locker room, ‘What’s up motherf*****s?’ Looking sideways at everybody. Can’t trust nobody. I was just killing, shooting threes. Ya’ll just traded me to Charlotte… 24 hours later, trade don’t go through no because of me because of another motherf****r. Nobody’s safe.”

It's still unclear if the Lakers might deal their rookie for center on the buyout market, but if they don't, then Knecht will finish his season as a Laker. His impact though has been positive for the side as he's shown to be a reliable scoring option coming off the bench. His best performance coincidentally came against the Utah Jazz earlier this season as he finished with 37 points on 12-of-16 shooting, including an electric 9-of-12 from beyond the arc as LA propped up a 124-118 win.

What's clear though is how LA has made it clear that they are in win-now mode and will do what's necessary to maximize their chances of winning a title in the Luka Doncic-LeBron James era. That said, the return of Dalton Knecht and how he fares going forward will be interesting to see.