02-18-2026, 05:54 PM
(02-18-2026, 04:43 PM)Winter Wrote: There was recently an analyst from San Antonio who was on a podcast who was wishing they had drafted Kon. Looking at San Antonio guards, it's easy to see why. Neither Castle or Harper are they kind of perimeter threats they really need. Fox is a better driver than a perimeter player. So their guard play is maybe less than optimal for the team who has Wemby. Harper and Castle may have enough skill to offset it, but you can see why the Spurs might wish for Kon's ability.
Fortunately for the Spurs, they have guys in the rotation who have really stepped up like Champagnie and H. Barnes who can play 27-28 minutes a game. We have no one like that - Klay being the closest (and really not that close).
We need to make opponents less willing to sink off their man to help inside when Flagg turns the corner. It just makes Flagg so much more deadly when the opponents are uncertain. Kyrie will certainly do that next season and Christie will have another season under his belt. But we really need at least two other players who can help open up the offense. I would love for at least one to be starter material.
It's hard to know if that will be an opportunity in the draft. I think our first pick is simply the best available, but I hope one or both players in that first round can add support to a more open offense.
This is a good example of why I don't think "best player available" is always the best policy. I'd rather have Dylan Harper than Kon Knueppel in a vaccum (I think), but on a team that already has Fox AND Castle...not so much. And now, folks are probably questioning which was actually the better player, Kneuppel or Harper, when in reality one of them just had a clearer path to providing an impact.