Kon Air: The Kon Knueppel Thread

[KembaWalker]

Seems suboptimal to be sitting b2b in mid July as a 19 year old for a sprained ankle you suffered in April but idk

Or we doing the “he would have played if it was a game that mattered” thing already

Ace and VJ haven't played all their games either. Seems like it's pretty normal for top picks to only play a couple games these days.

Cooper seemed to manage ok after his stinker. Built different I guess

[wilson115]

Finally found some tape of Kon:

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[JMAC3]

Finally found some tape of Kon:

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Hornets need to scrub this from the internet, it is sooo ugly.

[KembaWalker]

it would be worse if they put the defense clips in there. he was getting dusted on drives

[Chapelchilla]

There is also the possibility that he actually hurt his ankle and is not fully recovered.

[JMAC3]

There is also the possibility that he actually hurt his ankle and is not fully recovered.

Either he plays good today and he was healthy along and who cares because he played well today.
or
He plays bad, and we can say it is still the ankle.

No lose scenario.

[Bassman]

Tonight I’m not looking for Kon to produce a Cooper Flagg or Tre Johnson scoring burst. His game isn’t really built around being a lead scorer. I hope to see better shooting, assists, help defense that doesn’t look scary bad. Blend with the team, especially Liam, build toward the future.

[badladd22]

I don't comment a lot, but I think this is a wasted pick. He seems to be punching above his weight class. Hope I'm wrong

Sent from my SM-S911U using RealGM mobile app

[wilson115]

Finally

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[yosemiteben]

He's an elite movement shooter and C&S three point threat. We don't have close to the playmaking and ball movement on the floor to utilize that skillset.

[Chapelchilla]

He's an elite movement shooter and C&S three point threat. We don't have close to the playmaking and ball movement on the floor to utilize that skillset.

The handwringing is kinda wild. Like scoot over BMill! or TJ is totally useless and can't get better at 18. Step by step.

[EmpireFalls]

I think he’s going to make our offense much more watchable next year. He’s just so smart and will keep everything ticking and under control. Not an advantage creator, but if an advantage is created he’s going to capitalize and build off that advantage. We need players like that.

[wilson115]

Konfidence man cooking
(credit to Kalk for his screen-setting)

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[Liver_Pooty]

I’m over the Mark Williams trade but I do wish we could’ve seen what him and Kon could’ve done together at least for half a season. He gave Maluach probably 4 plus easy points a game off his passing.

[KirkHinrich12]

Looked great on those highlights tonight. He’s a nice addition offensively between LaMelo and Miller. Defense TBD

[Diop]

I’m over the Mark Williams trade but I do wish we could’ve seen what him and Kon could’ve done together at least for half a season. He gave Maluach probably 4 plus easy points a game off his passing.

i already prefer McNeely over Mark.

[Snidely FC]

from NBA.com sDay 9 tandouts:

Monday’s outing highlighted a game that contains depth beyond the obvious shooting skill: sure, there’s the 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting (3-5 3PM), but the 10 rebounds and four assists reveal the Duke product’s commitment to finding contributions. If he can serve as a connector while playing alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, Knueppel could ensure the Hornets flummox opponents on that end of the floor

To their point you have to evaluate Kon not solely on the points he's scoring but whether he is playing his Kon the Konnector role making the team better than the sum of its parts. That appeared to be the team objective in selecting him over a pure scorer like Tre, so while that objective may not suit everyone's opinion of a Top 4 pick its fair that's how he should be evaluated

[Chapelchilla]

Gettin buckets isn't the only way to help a team win. He can shoot, sure, but the rotational ball movement, spacing, dribble drives are all important too. We have lacked guys who know how to play basketball correctly for awhile now. I think they are addressing that systematically now.

[MasterIchiro]

With LaMelo & Miller in the fold, the Hornets front office has the luxury of not being forced to take a potential #1 or #2 scorer with a low floor. Instead we can focus on tertiary scoring, secondary playmaking - skills that make prospects well-rounded. Kon and Liam fit the archetype.

Liam plays like Gordon Hayward. I've seen some compare both him and Kon to Klay Thompson. Deni Avdija is another comp I've seen for Liam.

These are the types of players who may not command value in a trade reflective of their contributions all-around. These are types of players teams tend to cling to in trades because they're important making everyone better, including your top scoring options.

Wish Josh Green would just go away. If we're playing with the weakest center position in the East, might as well get Kon and Liam all the experience they can handle. Develop Salaün. Develop Kalkbrenner.

For once, for GOD sakes, stop allowing players holding no future here to steal touches from prospects in a tank season.

Yes it's a tank season.

It is.

[KembaWalker]

I’m skeptical that Kons passing is going to be super relevant in the big boy league, summer league against disorganized defenses and guys trying to market themselves with highlight plays. In the NBA guys won’t be rushing over to help Kon drives, especially when they realize he can’t shoot off the dribble. Centers will just step over off Moussa and Plumdog which is basically sacrificing nothing if Kon actually gets by a defender. Hard to imagine. Guess we’ll see.

This team simply does not have the personnel at the 5 to run a truly competent offense that makes sense. Who’s gonna get the defenses scrambling on this team? Lamelo and Brandon pulling from 28’ is fun but it’s not real offense