Kon Air: The Kon Knueppel Thread

[GiggitySmalls]

I went from thinking the pick eas underwhelming, to loving it, now im a huge kon fan. We could a lon at every position in terms of iq, and toughness. Hes the one guy on our team who i look, and say yeah hes a winner. Hes going to be the leader of this team in a few seasons. Maybe not our number 1 player but definitely our leader. Hes built like that.

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[vorbis]

not sure I see Gordon Hayward as the comp. Hayward has a couple inches on Knueppel and a little more of a natural driving rhythm. and Kon's shot is a lot more reliable and it seems he'll be a go-to shooter on the outside for his entire career.

the Klay Thompson comp is feeling more and more relevant if Kon can continue to buff his defensive skills. he's playable now, and even good at times.

the whole conversation about his physical upside leading up to the draft is something I've been thinking about off and on. yes, he doesn't have some crazy bounce or first step. and typically seeing those things pop in college or whatever can help you envision how a player will develop as a pro. and players who get by on...idk what you call it, smarts, fundamentals, doing the right thing, etc.. are seen as lower ceiling players. even though we've seen players with meh physical attributes succeed in the NBA. usually with preternatural instincts, shooting, passing vision, and whatnot.

I'm thinking maybe Kon succeeded despite his meh physical attributes in college, and instead of that limiting his upside, maybe it's a sign that he could potentially succeed in the NBA with them as well, because all of the skills that make him the player he is seem to translate pretty well to the next level. aside from a few moments on defense and struggles against bigger, physical defenders (which, how many players wouldn't struggle with that), I haven't seen too many "uh oh" moments where I feel like a regression reckoning is around the corner. just thinking out loud here.

[JMAC3]

not sure I see Gordon Hayward as the comp. Hayward has a couple inches on Knueppel and a little more of a natural driving rhythm. and Kon's shot is a lot more reliable and it seems he'll be a go-to shooter on the outside for his entire career.

the Klay Thompson comp is feeling more and more relevant if Kon can continue to buff his defensive skills. he's playable now, and even good at times.

the whole conversation about his physical upside leading up to the draft is something I've been thinking about off and on. yes, he doesn't have some crazy bounce or first step. and typically seeing those things pop in college or whatever can help you envision how a player will develop as a pro. and players who get by on...idk what you call it, smarts, fundamentals, doing the right thing, etc.. are seen as lower ceiling players. even though we've seen players with meh physical attributes succeed in the NBA. usually with preternatural instincts, shooting, passing vision, and whatnot.

I'm thinking maybe Kon succeeded despite his meh physical attributes in college, and instead of that limiting his upside, maybe it's a sign that he could potentially succeed in the NBA with them as well, because all of the skills that make him the player he is seem to translate pretty well to the next level. aside from a few moments on defense and struggles against bigger, physical defenders (which, how many players wouldn't struggle with that), I haven't seen too many "uh oh" moments where I feel like a regression reckoning is around the corner. just thinking out loud here.

He just is never going to be a playmaker on defense; he has 4 steals and 0 blocks through 8 games. He has 0 dunks through 8 games. Not that it is a must to do those things, but typically the best players are doing more there and flashing more highlight game-changing plays. Also, guys are typically their most athletic ages 20-25, so that part of Kon's game is probably only going to get worse with time.

He got swatted at the rim on a fast break by Svi Mykhailiuk the other night.

[Liver_Pooty]

lol dude is the second best rookie in the league right now other than VJ, and might be coming for that soon.

[Chapelchilla]

lol dude is the second best rookie in the league right now other than VJ, and might be coming for that soon.

Yep, dude is a very good player. It's not a fluke at this point and he was the right pick.
I'm sure he will have some mid or even bad games during his rookie year but so what, it won't change the fact that he is a good player.

[Liver_Pooty]

lol dude is the second best rookie in the league right now other than VJ, and might be coming for that soon.

Yep, dude is a very good player. It's not a fluke at this point and he was the right pick.
I'm sure he will have some mid or even bad games during his rookie year but so what, it won't change the fact that he is a good player.

Thank God we didn’t draft Corey kispert.

[EmpireFalls]

Kid has more game than I realized.

I think he’s better than Miller, honestly

[Liver_Pooty]

Kid has more game than I realized.

I think he’s better than Miller, honestly

I still think Miller has franchise type material.

Just have to be on the court. The way Kon looks even with baby fat he looks like the kind of guy that can stay healthy. Sturdy and strong.

[EmpireFalls]

Kid has more game than I realized.

I think he’s better than Miller, honestly

I still think Miller has franchise type material.

Just have to be on the court. The way Kon looks even with baby fat he looks like the kind of guy that can stay healthy. Sturdy and strong.

I don’t.

What does Miller actually do better offensively than Kon?

Not shooting. Not passing. Not decision-making. Not off-ball movement. DAMN sure not driving.

So what is it?

[Liver_Pooty]

Kid has more game than I realized.

I think he’s better than Miller, honestly

I still think Miller has franchise type material.

Just have to be on the court. The way Kon looks even with baby fat he looks like the kind of guy that can stay healthy. Sturdy and strong.

I don’t.

What does Miller actually do better offensively than Kon?

Not shooting. Not passing. Not decision-making. Not off-ball movement. DAMN sure not driving.

So what is it?

Other than length you got me. I think Brandon has a solid basketball IQ though and the ability to use his length. Just needs to get on the court.

[JustBuzzin]

Lol this kid might be a new building block.

I'm liking this pick more and more by the day.

He might mess around and win ROTY especially if Melo and Miller keep dealing with injuries.

[Liver_Pooty]

I replied to a post on the NBA page about Edgecombe and said K2 was better. Guy immediately replies and says only in my white world. We may disagree on a lot of stuff on here but at least you guys haven’t said stupid **** like that before.

Edit: yeah I may have dabbled in some trolling.

[Chapelchilla]

I replied to a post on the NBA page about Edgecombe and said K2 was better. Guy immediately replies and says only in my white world. We may disagree on a lot of stuff on here but at least you guys haven’t said stupid **** like that before.

Edit: yeah I may have dabbled in some trolling.

VJ started strongly but Kon has actually put up better numbers than VJ since Melo went out and his role/PT went up. In the real world, lol.

[KingCat]

Alright VJ shot back down to earth, Flagg is in a mess of a situation and Harper is out with a injury. Might as well dedicate this doomed season to getting Country Luka a RoYT reward.

[Bassman]

What’s funny is Kon showed so much of this at Duke, but it was challenging to know if it would translate at NBA level athleticism. He still gets a bit turnstiled trying to defend guys off the dribble, and I don’t know how much he can improve that over time. But his shooting, IQ, positioning, play creation and solid defense make for a quality player.

[JMAC3]

Kid has more game than I realized.

I think he’s better than Miller, honestly

I still think Miller has franchise type material.

Just have to be on the court. The way Kon looks even with baby fat he looks like the kind of guy that can stay healthy. Sturdy and strong.

I don’t.

What does Miller actually do better offensively than Kon?

Not shooting. Not passing. Not decision-making. Not off-ball movement. DAMN sure not driving.

So what is it?

Ehh I think Miller has shown he is a better scorer.
Miller also gives us more defensively as a rim protector, and his length.
Passing, I would say they are pretty equal.
Miller is much better in transition and playing above the rim.

Miller had 25 pts, 7 assists and 10 FTA in game 1 this year. That is more assists and FTA in any of the 9 games played by Kon so far.
Multiple game winners and clutch shots.

I would probably give Kon shooting, especially on open looks. I still think Miller is a better tough shot maker out of the two though.

We can like both, so this doesn't have to be one or the other, but it feels like we are getting quick to dismiss Brandon, who has played 103 games for the team vs Kon, who has played 9.

[Chapelchilla]

Healthy Miller is a heckuva good player. He can get up there and has a multi-faceted game.
It's a shame he is so skinny and that has led to some weird injuries. Hopefully he is ok soon and gets stronger.
Kon and Miller would be great together.

[fatlever]

Read on Twitter

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[Chapelchilla]

Read on Twitter

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And just put up 19/10/9 on 55% shooting
Dude may actually be the best player in his draft, lol

[Liver_Pooty]

Kon is a no nonsense kind of guy. He’s not going to deal with this losing **** well.