Latest NBA Draft 2025 Rumors on Kon Knueppel, Lottery Trades and Potential Picks
The 2025 NBA draft opens with the first round on Wednesday night.
Do you know who your favorite team is taking?
Probably not, unless you're a fan of the Dallas Mavericks (Cooper Flagg) or San Antonio Spurs (Dylan Harper). Luckily, the rumor mill has left a trail of tea leaves that might lead you toward the selections and moves up ahead.
Let's dig into the latest buzz, then, and see what the experts are thinking on NBA Draft Eve.
Hornets Eyeing Duke Sharpshooter at No. 4?
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If the Charlotte Hornets can't get their hands on Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, who's become a popular No. 3 pick among mock drafters recently, then the sentiment around the Association is steering them toward Duke forward Kon Knueppel.
"Charlotte will likely be choosing between trade-down scenarios or picking among Knueppel, Jeremiah Fears, [Ace] Bailey and Tre Johnson," ESPN's Jonathan Givony wrote. "... Rival teams believe the Hornets will ultimately prioritize Knueppel's strong perimeter shooting, playmaking and leadership skills, as well as his strong fit with the likes of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller."
On paper, Knueppel might be the cleanest fit of the bunch—provided Charlotte believes he has enough athletic juice to hang in this league. He's among this draft's top shooters, but he's also a clever playmaker and right-place, right-time type of smart team defender.
He also might have the safest profile of the lot, and maybe that matters after the Hornets endured plenty of growing pains this past season with talented-but-raw prospect Tidjane Salaün, who was last summer's No. 6 pick.
Pelicans Are a Trade-Up Candidate?
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The New Orleans Pelicans might be a bit of a wild card on Wednesday, as their overhauled front office could be ready to make significant changes to their roster.
With two first-round picks in hand (Nos. 7 and 23), they have clear opportunities to try expanding their young talent base, and that doesn't necessarily mean by making both picks.
"Some around the league have been curious whether New Orleans might ultimately try to trade up," per ESPN's Jeremy Woo, who added they are "thought to have interest" in Rutgers swingman Ace Bailey and Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears.
Bailey and Fears went fourth and sixth, respectively, in the latest mock from B/R's Jonathan Wasserman, so if those are the Pelicans' targets, they'll either have to move up or plan on sweating out the first six picks and hoping things break in their favor.
Spurs Not Listening to Offers for No. 2 Pick?
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While the Spurs weren't the biggest winners at the lottery, they still did well to climb up to the No. 2 spot. With Harper being perhaps universally considered as the second-best prospect in this class, and San Antonio already having some good do-everything-but-maybe-shoot guards on the roster (De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle), it felt fair to wonder whether the Spurs might consider shopping this pick.
That's seemingly not even a possibility at this point.
"Harper is all but assured to hear his name called with the No. 2 pick, with rival teams saying the Spurs have shown zero interest in engaging in trade conversations," ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported.
This is absolutely the right approach for San Antonio, even if there are some logistical questions with Harper's fit. As bright as its future appears (thanks largely to the presence of Victor Wembanyama), this team won just 34 games this past season and should still be at the roster-building point of valuing talent over everything else.
