Duke's Kon Knueppel Predicted to Land With $195 Million Star in NBA Draft
Cooper Flagg is the obvious first name that comes to mind when talking about Duke Blue Devils players in the 2025 NBA draft. However, Kon Knueppel is another name that could be called within the top five picks.
Both Duke stars lived up to the hype of being five-star recruits during their freshman years. They were able to help lead the Blue Devils all the way to the Final four.
Advertisement
Knueppel put together a strong season and showed off his elite 3-point shooting ability. He averaged 14.4 points, four rebounds, 2.7 assists, and a steal per game, while shooting 47.9% from the floor and 40.6% from 3-point distance in 39 games.
Looking ahead to the upcoming draft, there are a lot of questions about where Knueppel might land.
CBS Sports analyst Cameron Salerno has made a new prediction for Knueppel's potential landing spot. He believes the Duke standout will be headed to the Utah Jazz to join forces with Lauri Markkanen.
"After missing out on the Flagg sweepstakes, Utah selects the teammate of the future No. 1 overall pick out of Duke," he wrote. "Knueppel is a sharpshooter who would be an immediate contributor for the Jazz from Day 1. If this is how the board shakes out, I could see Utah deciding between Knueppel and Johnson."
Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7).Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
Throughout the course of the 2024-25 NBA season, the Jazz compiled a 17-65 record. They need help in many different areas.
Advertisement
As a team, Utah shot 35% from the 3-point line. Adding Knueppel would help increase that number long-term and would bring in an elite floor spacing wing to open up the paint.
Fans won't have to wait too much longer to find out Knueppel's destination. The NBA draft will be held on June 25.
Related: Fans Buzzing Over Coach K's Strong Cooper Flagg Message
Related: Insider Turns Heads With Bold Bronny James Prediction
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Cavaliers' Darius Garland has surgery on the injured left big toe that hampered him during playoffs
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Cavaliers guard Darius Garland had surgery Monday on the injured left big toe that hampered him during Cleveland's exit from the playoffs. The Cavaliers said the procedure was performed by Dr. Nicholas Strasser at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, in consultation with team physician Dr. James Rosneck and Dr. Bob Anderson. The All-Star guard missed the final two games of the regular season and four games during the playoffs with the injury, which was described as a sprain. 'Definitely wasn't myself. It was pretty uncomfortable but trying to do everything to win the game. It was frustrating because I wasn't 100 percent,' Garland said after the Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Garland is expected to send 4 to 5 months going through a progression of treatment and rehabilitation before resuming basketball activities by the start of training camp. Garland averaged 20.6 points and 6.7 assists during the regular season to help the Cavs finish atop the Eastern Conference. ___ AP NBA:
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Darius Garland to miss 4-5 months after toe surgery
After appearing in a career-high 75 regular-season games, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland is not guaranteed to be available for the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Monday afternoon, the Cavaliers announced that the team's starting point guard will be out for 4-5 months after undergoing surgery on his left great toe. While the expectation is that Garland will be good to go by the start of training camp, that does not precisely align with the timeline provided by the team. Having averaged at least 20.6 points per game in three of the last four seasons, Garland earned his second All-Star Game appearance and helped lead the Cavaliers to 64 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. In addition to the 20.6 points, he averaged 2.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.8 three-pointers in 30.7 minutes. Advertisement In his first season playing for Kenny Atkinson, Garland's efficiency improved. At the same time, his playing time decreased slightly, with the first-year head coach being willing to go deep into his bench throughout the regular season. Garland shot 47.2 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from three and 87.8 percent from the foul line while averaging 2.5 turnovers per game, his lowest average since his rookie season (2019-20). Unfortunately for Garland and the Cavaliers, a left great toe injury sidelined him for four games, including the first two games of the team's second-round series against the Pacers. Cleveland would lose both of those games, falling into a hole that proved too deep to crawl out of. And in the aftermath of the second-round elimination, Garland and center Jarrett Allen have been mentioned in some trade rumors. On a potential connection with Orlando, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on June 8 that there have been no 'substantive conversations' between the two franchises regarding a deal involving Garland. One would assume that uncertainty regarding Garland's health would take any potential deals off the table if Cleveland were interested in breaking up its "core four." Also, Garland's surgery may impact the front office's approach to Ty Jerome, who will be an unrestricted free agent next month. Coming off the best season of his NBA career, Jerome may be in line for a significant payday. However, his importance to the Cavaliers cannot be understated, especially if Garland is not guaranteed to be healthy when training camp begins.

NBC Sports
39 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Darius Garland to miss 4-5 months after toe surgery
After appearing in a career-high 75 regular-season games, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland is not guaranteed to be available for the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Monday afternoon, the Cavaliers announced that the team's starting point guard will be out for 4-5 months after undergoing surgery on his left great toe. While the expectation is that Garland will be good to go by the start of training camp, that does not precisely align with the timeline provided by the team. Having averaged at least 20.6 points per game in three of the last four seasons, Garland earned his second All-Star Game appearance and helped lead the Cavaliers to 64 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. In addition to the 20.6 points, he averaged 2.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.8 three-pointers in 30.7 minutes. In his first season playing for Kenny Atkinson, Garland's efficiency improved. At the same time, his playing time decreased slightly, with the first-year head coach being willing to go deep into his bench throughout the regular season. Garland shot 47.2 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from three and 87.8 percent from the foul line while averaging 2.5 turnovers per game, his lowest average since his rookie season (2019-20). Unfortunately for Garland and the Cavaliers, a left great toe injury sidelined him for four games, including the first two games of the team's second-round series against the Pacers. Cleveland would lose both of those games, falling into a hole that proved too deep to crawl out of. And in the aftermath of the second-round elimination, Garland and center Jarrett Allen have been mentioned in some trade rumors. On a potential connection with Orlando, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on June 8 that there have been no 'substantive conversations' between the two franchises regarding a deal involving Garland. One would assume that uncertainty regarding Garland's health would take any potential deals off the table if Cleveland were interested in breaking up its 'core four.' Also, Garland's surgery may impact the front office's approach to Ty Jerome, who will be an unrestricted free agent next month. Coming off the best season of his NBA career, Jerome may be in line for a significant payday. However, his importance to the Cavaliers cannot be understated, especially if Garland is not guaranteed to be healthy when training camp begins.