The contract is worth 11 million US dollars in one year! For the Lakers, is he more worth keeping than Knecter?

Knecter took a total of 557 shots in the 24-25 season, which can be divided by time as follows:

1. 360 shots before the All-Stars, with a true shooting rate of 59.9%;

2. 197 shots after the All-Stars, with a true shooting rate of 54.6%.

Obviously, being traded to the Hornets still has an impact on "Old Ke". To be precise, it was embarrassing to return to the Lakers - "absent-minded" which directly affected the performance on the court.

In fact, Knect has been involved in trade rumors since he returned to the Purple and Gold. For example, before the NBA free agent market opened, Pelinka asked the Heat for a price. Wiggins, Kessler and the Jazz failed to reach an early contract extension, which made Knect a potential bargaining chip.

Of course, in addition to Knecter and Vincent, they have also been "popular" trading chips for the Lakers.

Just comparing the two, is Vincent more worthy of keeping for the Lakers than Knect?

I think it can be understood this way.

Irreplaceable

So far in his NBA career, Knecht has accounted for 61% of his three-point shots. Obviously, like Curry, Klay, Hield and other players, outside the three-point line is the main way to finish.

We all know that this summer Pelinka signed Jake Laravia for 2 years and $12 million. In 136 games so far in his career, he has made 51% of his three-point shots and has a three-point rate of 37.1%. In other words, when three-pointers are the main finishing method, it largely depends on Laravia's ability to replace Knecht's role on the court.

Looking back at Vincent, if he can effectively stay healthy, his ability to combine offense, defense, and coordination is rare among the Lakers' guards at this stage. Just like in the preseason game against the Warriors, when "Dong James" was absent, he scored 16 points and 5 assists. I think Vincent is more suitable for the role of the Lakers' "third point guard" than Reeves when he is effectively healthy. Looking at it this way, Vincent is more irreplaceable than Knecht. More irreplaceable, this is one of them.

Contract

Compared to Knecter, who still has a three-year rookie contract, Vincent still has a one-year, $11 million contract that expires.

The expiring contract has two advantages for the Lakers:

1. It does not affect the team's subsequent operations, or allows the management to be very flexible in handling it - renew the contract if you perform well, or give up if you perform poorly.

Speaking of this, there are rumors that Pelinka is preparing to recruit a super giant like Jokic to partner Doncic in the summer of 2026 or 27.

2. In order to get the next contract, Vincent will definitely be very focused on the game in the new season, and this has the potential to have a "BUFF" bonus.

From a contract perspective, whether at this stage or in the future, Vincent's expiring contract will be more helpful to the Lakers than Knecht. It is an expired contract, this is the second one.

To sum up, the reason why Vincent is more worth keeping for the Lakers than Knect is mainly reflected in two points:

1. Vincent is more irreplaceable;

2. Vincent has an expired contract.

Relatively speaking, I think the first point is the main reason.

First of all, if Knecter is the only reliable pitcher in the Lakers at this stage, then I firmly believe that Pelinka will not give up on him easily. But the problem is that he is neither the only nor reliable pitcher. In other words, there is little irreplaceability.

Secondly, compared to Reeves, he has better defense; compared to Smart, he has better shooting ability. It can be said that as long as he can effectively stay healthy, Vincent's immediate combat ability is still good. As mentioned just now, he is more suitable for the team's "third point guard" than Reeves.

Finally, as long as there is a potential trade, I think Pelinka will first choose to give up Knecht instead of Vincent.

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