NBA Scout Says Kon Knueppel Wouldn't Be a Difference-Maker on Team Like Hornets

One NBA scout feels potential 2025 lottery pick Kon Knueppel would be a fit on a playoff contender but not a difference-maker on a rebuilding team.

An Eastern Conference scout who saw Knueppel play projected top pick Cooper Flagg in AAU basketball told The Athletic's David Aldridge he had a hard time thinking of Knueppel "as a top-10 player."

"Maybe he is, because he’s safer," the scout told Aldridge. "Is he better than Aaron Nesmith? No. And Aaron Nesmith is in the right spot (now); he wasn’t initially. You’re picking him to be a knock-down shooter, and I think he can do that.

"If you put him on the Celtics, he would fit. If he was in Charlotte, would he make a difference? No."

Knueppel averaged 14.4 points per game while playing with Flagg at Duke, shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 40.6 from deep while serving as an efficient passer for the Blue Devils.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projects Knueppel's shooting and playmaking will lead to him going to the Houston Rockets with the No. 10 pick of the upcoming draft.

Wasserman wrote that "every team figures to have some level of interest in Kon Knueppel's shotmaking, efficient scoring and easy fit."

ESPN's Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony meanwhile predicted Knueppel would go to the Hornets at No. 4 in part because he "appears to complement" Charlotte's backcourt duo of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

Woo and Givony additionally wrote that the Utah Jazz, who are set to select at No. 5, also have interest in Knueppel.

Multiple teams could be planning to trade up or down in the first round of the upcoming draft. Whether or not any current contenders move up into the top eight could ultimately determine whether Knueppel is heading to a playoff team or a rebuilding franchise next fall.