It's unbelievable

 

Lakers talked Mavericks out of including Dalton Knecht in Luka Dončić trade

Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer, speaking on the "Bill Simmons Podcast" on Monday, revealed the Mavericks even left some assets on the table from the Lakers.
 

"One of my sources inside the Lakers was indicating that the deal was bigger and that there were two firsts, and it was Dalton Knecht, and the deal got whittled down because I think Rob Pelinka was able to convince the Dallas Mavericks that Luka is a lot of risk."

...

The Mavericks had grown unhappy with Dončić's diet and conditioning levels to begin the season. Because of those concerns, Pelinka and the Lakers were able to hold onto a couple of key assets, such as [Dalton] Knecht, the 17th pick last year in the NBA draft, and their 2031 first-round pick.