The Kon Knueppel Thread

[Braggins]

I'm sticking with better passing Bojan Bogdanovic (UTA/BKN) as my comp. I haven't seen one that I think captures him nearly as well. I think Bane is an ok one but I think Bane is quite a bit more athletic.

[SWedd523]

Vertical is miles better than I thought. Lane agility I thought would be better.

His lane agility was as slow as the centers in this draft, Hansen Yang was faster, same time as Rocco.
Same with 3/4 sprint, he was mixed in with the centers of the draft.

Vertical was 2-3 inches better than I thought, but to me the side to side movement matters a lot more for a guy that is going to have to consistently defend in space.

Overall was much better than I anticipated if I’m being honest. Good for him.

[GoBobs]

I am in on Kon. He has really good bbiq when I watch him. I think he will be a great offensive player with the ball initiating the pick and roll. He also knows how to move without the ball. He has already shown that he can play with other great players and be super efficient which is the roll he will play with us.

[GoBobs]

Vertical is miles better than I thought. Lane agility I thought would be better.

His lane agility was as slow as the centers in this draft, Hansen Yang was faster, same time as Rocco.
Same with 3/4 sprint, he was mixed in with the centers of the draft.

Vertical was 2-3 inches better than I thought, but to me the side to side movement matters a lot more for a guy that is going to have to consistently defend in space.

Overall was much better than I anticipated if I’m being honest. Good for him.

Salaun 11.45 lane agility, 3.05 shuttle run, 3.37 three quarter quart, standing vert 27.5, max vert 32

[Liver_Pooty]

I am in on Kon. He has really good bbiq when I watch him. I think he will be a great offensive player with the ball initiating the pick and roll. He also knows how to move without the ball. He has already shown that he can play with other great players and be super efficient which is the roll he will play with us.

He’s second to VJ for me. Like I said I’m also fine with the other 2 or 3. In an ideal scenario Harper falls.

[Braggins]

Can anyone think of a player with similar length and lack of movement ability who is an above average defender in the NBA?

[Chapelchilla]

I don't think he is right pick at 4
He might be the right pick at like 7 though
This draft is gonna be interesting

[fatlever]

https://www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-news-analysis-kon-knueppel-duke-stats-highlights-interview-2025-nba-trade-rumors-mock-draft-scouting-reports/

[Liver_Pooty]

https://www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-news-analysis-kon-knueppel-duke-stats-highlights-interview-2025-nba-trade-rumors-mock-draft-scouting-reports/

Good read.

[wilson115]

Can anyone think of a player with similar length and lack of movement ability who is an above average defender in the NBA?

Andrew Nembhard's closest who comes to mind. 6'3" ht. w/o shoes, 6'5.75" wingspan.
10.46 lane agility, 3.02 shuttle run, 3.26 3/4 sprint, standing vert 26.5, max vert 35.

[Liver_Pooty]

We’ve all seen amazing athletes who are absolutely horrific defenders. Think it was fats that said half the ball with defense is want to.

[Braggins]

Can anyone think of a player with similar length and lack of movement ability who is an above average defender in the NBA?

Andrew Nembhard's closest who comes to mind. 6'3" ht. w/o shoes, 6'5.75" wingspan.
10.46 lane agility, 3.02 shuttle run, 3.26 3/4 sprint, standing vert 26.5, max vert 35.

Nembhard is obviously quick moving laterally on defense and his lane agility time was almost a 1.5 seconds better.

This comparison doesnt work at all and is exactly what I want to avoid. I'm talking about players that are actually similar to him in terms of movement ability. I'm having trouble thinking of players that size who can't move their feet that are positive defenders.

[fatlever]

None of us will know for certain whether or not he can hang defensively until we're Two to three years in. I'll say this though. This team has drafted a lot of really good athletes over the years that were absolutely **** brain dead on the defensive side of the ball. Missing rotations. Getting caught ball watching. Taking plays off. Missing assignments and switches. Not fighting over screens. not Putting a body on guys.

There is a reason older smart nba veterans are almost always better defenders than younger, often athletically more gifted players. Playing effective defense at this level is so much more than just being a good athlete. You have to be really smart and really experienced and really understand schemes. How many really good defenders exist in the nba in their 30s that now, having lost a few steps, would have pretty horrific combine numbers if they had to go through the testing that rookies do, yet are still really good team defenders because they're smart, hardworking, and physically strong in a grown man kind of way.

Ideally you would have a player who is not only athletically gifted but also mentally really understands how to play defense, both in a team setting and a one-on-one setting. The truly elite defenders in the league have both. But you can absolutely be a league average defender without being incredibly gifted athletically. And you most certainly can be athletically gifted and be **** terrible defensively.

[SWedd523]

We’ve all seen amazing athletes who are absolutely horrific defenders. Think it was fats that said half the ball with defense is want to.

What's the other half?

I want to play NBA defense. I'm not an NBA athlete.

[Braggins]

There is a difference between just not being particularly gifted athletically and being a 6'5" guy with a worse lane agility (which is glaring watching him in games) than Hansen Yang, who people are worried about having the movement skills to be a drop center. Also this is his movement ability at basically 20 years old. He will get even slower when he starts to age. The guys in the NBA his size that used to be quick but have lost a step due to age are still probably able to move laterally as good or better than current Kon in a lot of instances.

I agree that effort and the mental aspect are huge factors on defense and being athletic doesn't guarantee a player will be good on defense, but that doesn't meant that physical tools just don't matter and that anyone who is smart and tries can be a good NBA defender. We're also not simply talking about a guy who isn't as quick as youd like. He looks dreadfully slow on defense on film and now there is a glaringly bad lane agility time to go with it. I care more about how he looks functionally on the court than the actual lane agility number, but he looks really bad in both regards to me.

I don't think that he'll necessarily be so bad at defense that hes going to suck because I think he can have a pretty big offensive impact, but it is still a limiting factor on his overall profile. I'm harping on this a bit right now because I've started to see people saying more recently that they think that not only will he be decent enough on defense, but that he will actually be a good defender, which seems very unlikely to me.

[Liver_Pooty]

There is a difference between just not being particularly gifted athletically and being a 6'5" guy with a worse lane agility (which is glaring watching him in games) than Hansen Yang, who people are worried about having the movement skills to be a drop center. Also this is his movement ability at basically 20 years old. He will get even slower when he starts to age. The guys in the NBA his size that used to be quick but have lost a step due to age are still probably able to move laterally as good or better than current Kon in a lot of instances.

I agree that effort and the mental aspect are huge factors on defense and being athletic doesn't guarantee a player will be good on defense, but that doesn't meant that physical tools just don't matter and that anyone who is smart and tries can be a good NBA defender. We're also not simply talking about a guy who isn't as quick as youd like. He looks dreadfully slow on defense on film and now there is a glaringly bad lane agility time to go with it. I care more about how he looks functionally on the court than the actual lane agility number, but he looks really bad in both regards to me.

I don't think that he'll necessarily be so bad at defense that hes going to suck because I think he can have a pretty big offensive impact, but it is still a limiting factor on his overall profile. I'm harping on this a bit right now because I've started to see people saying more recently that they think that not only will he be decent enough on defense, but that he will actually be a good defender, which seems very unlikely to me.

I don’t think he will be a good defender but I think he can be average. He isn’t my top pick but I won’t be devastated if and when we pick him.

And I do think he will be the pick for the record.

[wilson115]

Can anyone think of a player with similar length and lack of movement ability who is an above average defender in the NBA?

Andrew Nembhard's closest who comes to mind. 6'3" ht. w/o shoes, 6'5.75" wingspan.
10.46 lane agility, 3.02 shuttle run, 3.26 3/4 sprint, standing vert 26.5, max vert 35.

Nembhard is obviously quick moving laterally on defense and his lane agility time was almost a 1.5 seconds better.

This comparison doesnt work at all and is exactly what I want to avoid. I'm talking about players that are actually similar to him in terms of movement ability. I'm having trouble thinking of players that size who can't move their feet that are positive defenders.

It's tough to find comparisons since guys like Luke Kennard could decline testing back when they came up. Easier to start with physical matches and see how the more familiar names hold up. Like Nembhard topped his year in agility testing so he's what an elite mover looks like.

Dillon Brooks: 6'5" w/o shoes. 6'6" wingspan. 220.2 lbs. close to Kon now.
11.14 lane, 3.24 shuttle, 3.21 sprint, standing vert 31.0, max 37.5.
Donte DiVincenzo 10.72 lane.
Ty Jerome 11.21.
Austin Reeves 10.94.
Christian Braun 11.0.

[JDR720]

I don't think he needs to be a good defender, just not bad.

However, if we pick him, we can't possibly play him Melo, Brandon, and Mark (unless he defends like his rookie year again) together.

But that's not unique for this class. Besides VJ, the other guys all imply that at some point someone else is being shipped out because of fit issues.

[Diop]

There is a difference between just not being particularly gifted athletically and being a 6'5" guy with a worse lane agility (which is glaring watching him in games) than Hansen Yang, who people are worried about having the movement skills to be a drop center. Also this is his movement ability at basically 20 years old. He will get even slower when he starts to age. The guys in the NBA his size that used to be quick but have lost a step due to age are still probably able to move laterally as good or better than current Kon in a lot of instances.

I agree that effort and the mental aspect are huge factors on defense and being athletic doesn't guarantee a player will be good on defense, but that doesn't meant that physical tools just don't matter and that anyone who is smart and tries can be a good NBA defender. We're also not simply talking about a guy who isn't as quick as youd like. He looks dreadfully slow on defense on film and now there is a glaringly bad lane agility time to go with it. I care more about how he looks functionally on the court than the actual lane agility number, but he looks really bad in both regards to me.

I don't think that he'll necessarily be so bad at defense that hes going to suck because I think he can have a pretty big offensive impact, but it is still a limiting factor on his overall profile. I'm harping on this a bit right now because I've started to see people saying more recently that they think that not only will he be decent enough on defense, but that he will actually be a good defender, which seems very unlikely to me.

I don’t think he will be a good defender but I think he can be average. He isn’t my top pick but I won’t be devastated if and when we pick him.

And I do think he will be the pick for the record.

yeah im more worried about him being too slow to be average, can't have another negative defence guard.

[JMAC3]

Kon kind of reminds me of Jabari Smith Jr as a prospect. Not in playstyle, but just how people view him.

Both were highly productive players, on winning teams and showcased really strong efficiency. However, neither really had special talents outside of being really good open shooters off the catch. Jabari lacked a handle, lacked elite burst, lacked explosive finishing around the basket was a better off ball player then on ball. However, he had a BPM of 10 so people assumed he would just be that good in the NBA.

I feel like we are doing that with Kon, for right or wrong. There is nothing special about him physically, he lacks an elite handle, he can't shoot off the dribble, he lacks elite burst or elite measurements but because he was effective in college and had a great BPM people are just trusting the numbers.

There were people who thought Jabari was going to be a star, but if you look back at his college tape there is really nothing that said he was going to be this dynamic forward in the NBA.