Kon Knueppel Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Sign Kon Knueppel, Three Other Draft Picks

July 3rd, 2025 at 9:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have signed all four of the prospects they selected in the 2025 NBA draft, the team announced today in a press release.

That group is headlined by Kon Knueppel, the No. 4 overall pick out of Duke, who was one of the best outside shooters in college basketball in 2024/25, knocking down 2.2 three-pointers per game at an elite rate of 40.6% as a freshman. He was a member of the All-ACC second team and was named this year’s ACC Tournament MVP.

Assuming Knueppel receives the maximum allowable 120% of his rookie scale amount, which is a virtual lock, his four-year deal will be worth $45.49MM. The first two years are guaranteed, with team options on years three and four.

The Hornets’ other first-round pick was UConn’s Liam McNeeley, who was drafted using the No. 29 overall pick that Charlotte acquired from Phoenix as part of the Mark Williams trade. 120% of McNeeley’s rookie scale slot works out to a four-year, $14.19MM deal.

McNeeley, 19, averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 32.1 minutes per game for UConn in 27 outings (26 starts) as a freshman. He made just 38.1% of his field goal attempts and 31.7% of his three-pointers, though those struggles can be attributed in part to the Huskies playing without a traditional point guard.

The Hornets also had two of the top four picks in the second round, using No. 33 on Knueppel’s Blue Devils teammate Sion James and No. 34 on Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner.

James, who spent four years at Tulane before playing his super-senior season at Duke, was a member of the ACC’s All-Defensive team this season and made a career-high 41.3% of his three-point shots, albeit on a relatively small sample (31-of-75). He received a four-year, $9.97MM contract worth the maximum amount of the second-round pick exception, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). That deal will be fully guaranteed for the first two seasons.

As for Kalkbrenner, details of his contract aren’t yet known, but it sounds like he signed a standard deal using the second-round exception too. There could be a path to playing time for the last of Charlotte’s four draft picks, given that the team doesn’t have much frontcourt depth at the moment, with Mason Plumlee and Moussa Diabate the only real options at center. That could change between now and the start of the regular season, however.

Kalkbrenner, who spent five years at Creighton, won four Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards and was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year for all of college basketball in 2025.

The Hornets will have a roster crunch to deal with at some point before the season begins. Once they complete all their reported transactions – including re-signing Tre Mann, acquiring Pat Connaughton, and adding Plumlee and Spencer Dinwiddie – they’ll have 16 players on guaranteed contracts and three more (including Diabate) on non-guaranteed deals.

Draft Notes: Second-Round Mocks, Round-One Winners, Trades

June 26th, 2025 at 7:32am CST by Luke Adams

With round one of the 2025 NBA draft in the books, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo look ahead to what to expect on day two on Thursday, sharing an updated 29-pick mock draft covering the second round.

ESPN’s duo is projecting the Timberwolves to kick off the evening by nabbing Saint Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming at No. 31, with Stanford big man Maxime Raynaud going to the Celtics at No. 32, and the Hornets drafting Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and French forward Noah Penda with their picks at No. 33 and No. 34.

Still, Givony and Woo acknowledge that we’ll likely see plenty of draft-pick movement on Thursday, potentially involving one or more of those first few selections — Givony singles out the Hornets as a team to watch, noting that the club already added a pair of rookies on Wednesday (Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley) and may not want to add two more to their roster at the start of the second round.

Addressing their favorite under-the-radar prospects to keep an eye on during the second round, Givony mentions Penda as an ideal draft-and-stash target for a playoff team drafting in the 30s, though the 20-year-old would likely prefer to come stateside right away. Woo, meanwhile, suggests Florida State wing Jamir Watkins could be a perfect win-now fit for a team in the 30s. ESPN’s mock has him going to the Pacers at No. 38.

Here’s more on the 2025 draft as we prepare for Thursday evening’s second round:

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has also shared an updated mock draft for the second round that starts with Fleming to Minnesota and Raynaud to Boston. Vecenie has the Hornets nabbing Sion James and Kalkbrenner, with Penda going to the Nets at No. 36 and Watkins sliding to the Cavaliers at No. 49.
A panel of ESPN experts, including Givony and Woo, breaks down the biggest winners, most surprising moves, and best picks from day one of the draft. ESPN’s experts liked the Suns taking Khaman Maluach at No. 10, the Spurs getting Carter Bryant at No. 14, and the Heat nabbing Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 20, but questioned the Pelicans‘ decision to give up a valuable unprotected 2026 first-round pick to move up 10 spots to take Derik Queen at No. 13.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports isn’t as high on the Jakucionis pick for the Heat, giving them a D+, his lowest grade for any of the top 30 picks. The Grizzlies, conversely, earned an A++ grade from O’Connor for moving up to snag Washington State’s Cedric Coward at No. 11.
The price paid by teams like the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Jazz to move up a few spots outside of the top 10 on Wednesday was awfully high, observes John Hollinger of The Athletic. New Orleans and Memphis gave up unprotected future first-round picks to move up 10 and five spots, respectively, with the Grizzlies also surrendering two future second-rounders. The 2026 first-rounder sent from New Orleans to the Hawks is considered a “superfirst” because it’ll be the most favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s picks — it’s very possible one of those picks will end up being a pretty high one, Hollinger notes. Utah, meanwhile, didn’t give up a future first, but had to part with three second-round picks to move up just three spots from No. 21 to No. 18.

Hornets Draft Kon Knueppel At No. 4

June 25th, 2025 at 7:34pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets have used the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 draft to select 6’5″ wing Kon Knueppel.

Knueppel, one of three top-10 prospects (along with Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach) from a Duke team that made it to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament this spring, was one of the best outside shooters in college basketball in 2024/25, knocking down 2.2 three-pointers per game at an elite rate of 40.6% as a freshman.

A member of the All-ACC second team and this year’s ACC Tournament MVP, Knueppel has also shown promise as a passer and defender and exhibited the ability to score from inside the three-point line, so he’s not just a one-dimensional shooter, writes ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Knueppel, who turns 20 years old in August, averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steal in 39 games (30.5 minutes per contest) in his freshman season for the Blue Devils, knocking down 56.7% of his twos and 91.4% of his free throws.

Charlotte opted for a high-floor prospect in Knueppel rather than going for a riskier choice who may have more long-term upside, with Ace Bailey and Maluach among the players who would have fit that bill.

Knueppel’s skill set should theoretically fit well in any system, and the Hornets certainly have a need for his shooting prowess after ranking last in the NBA in FG% and 28th in 3PT% in ’24/25. He could immediately slide into the starting lineup alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

Draft Notes: Latest Mocks, Murray-Boyles, Jakucionis, NIL Impact, Seniors, Team Needs

June 23rd, 2025 at 5:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The latest ESPN mock draft has plenty of guards going in the lottery. Their experts, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, believe that eight guards and/or wings will come off the board within the first 13 picks.

After Cooper Flagg (Mavericks) and Dylan Harper (Spurs), ESPN’s latest mock has guards V.J. Edgecombe (Sixers), Kon Knueppel (Hornets) and Jeremiah Fears (Jazz) rounding out the top five. Ace Bailey, formerly considered a top three pick, slips to the Wizards at No. 6. The Suns, who are acquiring the No. 10 pick from the Rockets, are projected to take South Carolina big man Collin Murray-Boyles.

Here’s more draft-related info:

In his latest mock draft, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie says he thinks the Sixers trading down from the No. 3 slot remains a real possibility. The Hornets have also had discussions moving both up and down the board from the No. 4 spot, while Texas wing Tre Johnson could be a surprise selection in the top five, Vecenie writes, adding that Johnson could go as high as No. 3.
Speaking of Murray-Boyles, he worked out for the Trail Blazers over the weekend, as did Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets. ESPN ranks Murray-Boyles at No. 13 overall with Jakucionis at No. 10. Portland owns the No. 11 pick.
Just 32 non-international early entrants from colleges and other basketball teams or leagues and 14 international players remain in the draft, a dramatic drop-off from recent years. What’s the difference? NIL money has motivated most prospects to stay in college, unless they believe they’ll go in the first round, as Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports details. “If you are not a guaranteed first-round pick, top-20, top-30 guy—unless you really do not want to play college basketball anymore, we are recommending and most of them are staying in school as long as they possibly can,” Michael Raymond, president and founder of Raymond Representation, told Christovich.
The draft is usually headed by one-and-dones and other underclassmen. However, there are more seasoned college players who will come off the board this year. HoopsHype’s Cyro Asseo de Choch takes a look at the cream of the senior crop.
The Athletic’s Law Murray breaks down the biggest draft needs for each team, identifying the picks each of those clubs hold.

Draft Notes: Centers, Luis, Sleepers, Flagg, Richardson, Gonzalez

June 20th, 2025 at 3:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of next week’s draft, David Aldridge of The Athletic talked to several college coaches and NBA executives and scouts about the top big men in the 2025 draft class, including Khaman Maluach, Derik Queen, Collin Murray-Boyles, and Thomas Sorber, among others. Interestingly, one of the college head coaches who spoke to Aldridge believes Maluach has “the biggest upside of anybody” in this year’s draft.

“He’s huge. And he’s long. He’s a good athlete. And I think he has natural defensive instincts,” that coach said of the Duke center. “He shoots the ball better than I think, maybe, he was able to show this year. He’s a live body. He’s enthusiastic about playing. It seems he loves the process, is not afraid of it. He’s competitive. He’s not afraid. He’s ready to mix it up if he needs to. His length, size and athleticism, and then when you add those other things, I think the only thing that could stop him is injury.”

Meanwhile, multiple college assistant coaches questioned what sort of players Queen will match up with defensively at the NBA level.

“I don’t worry about him at all on offense. But I don’t think he can guard fives. I don’t think he’s great in pick-and-roll defense, and I don’t think he can move well enough laterally to guard Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and Michael Porter Jr., these scorers,” one of those assistants said. “Can he guard (Mikal) Bridges? Can he guard Josh Hart? Can he guard Stew (Isaiah Stewart), the next tier of guys who aren’t the primary offensive option, but they know how to cut, how to go to the glass?”

We have more on the 2025 NBA draft:

Speaking to Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype, St. John’s standout RJ Luis Jr. – a second-team All-American in 2025 – discusses his breakout junior year, what he can bring to an NBA team, and why he believes he can be “even better” in the NBA than he was at the college level.
CJ Moore of The Athletic surveyed college basketball coaches to get their thoughts on some of this year’s second-round prospects and to have them identify some deeper sleepers who might find their way onto NBA rosters as undrafted free agents. Houston guard LJ Cryer, St. John’s wing Aaron Scott, Butler wing Jahmyl Telfort, Missouri guard Caleb Grill, and San Francisco guard Marcus Williams earned mentions as sleepers.
Applying his stats-based model to some of this year’s top prospects, Kevin Pelton of ESPN finds that Kon Knueppel (No. 2) and Noa Essengue (No. 5) are among the players whom that model likes a little more than draft experts do, while Ace Bailey (No. 22) and Tre Johnson (No. 24) are among those who don’t fare nearly as well. Interestingly, Pelton notes that his projection for Cooper Flagg is the third-best in his overall database, which dates back to 2005, behind only Zion Williamson and Luka Doncic.
With green room invitations sent out to a total of 24 prospects for next week’s draft, the only players in ESPN’s top 25 who didn’t get invites are Jase Richardson (No. 18) and Hugo Gonzalez (No. 22), notes Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Gonzalez is still playing in the Spanish League postseason.

Latest On Ace Bailey

June 20th, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

Having canceled his pre-draft workout with the Sixers this week, Rutgers forward Ace Bailey still hasn’t visited any teams ahead of next Wednesday’s first round. While his unorthodox pre-draft process has fueled speculation that Bailey – long considered a top-three or top-four prospect in this year’s class – may drop further than expected next week, he’s unlikely to slide too far, Jake Fischer writes for The Stein Line (Substack link).

“He’s not falling into the 20s like Cam Whitmore,” a longtime scout told Fischer.

Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer has heard from multiple league sources that Omar Cooper, one of Bailey’s representatives, wanted the Sixers to commit to drafting him at No. 3 prior to Friday’s scheduled workout. However, Fischer cites a source briefed on the process who says Bailey’s camp didn’t insist on an “iron-clad promise” from Philadelphia.

Pompey has also heard from a league executive that Bailey’s reps may want him to play on the East Coast, somewhere between Atlanta and New York. When ESPN had Bailey going to Washington at No. 6 in its latest mock draft, Jonathan Givony suggested that “geography” was one factor worth considering.

According to Fischer, there hasn’t been much chatter connecting Bailey to the Hornets, who hold the No. 4 overall pick. Lottery teams believe the Jazz at No. 5 could be a potential landing spot for the 18-year-old, but Utah is also thought to be high on Duke’s Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel, Fischer notes.

The Wizards hold the No. 6 pick and their front office has spoken repeatedly in the past about building around high-character players. While there are no apprehensions about Bailey’s character specifically – one NBA scout described him to Fischer as a “sweetheart” – there are some concerns about his focus, his approach to the game, and his maturity, per Fischer and Pompey.

“He’s not immature like a [butthead]. … He’s goofy,” a scout told Pompey. “Dancing in line. You are doing drills, he’s dancing. ‘Oh, that’s my song.’ … He’s playful, which is age-appropriate.”

The Pelicans (No. 7), meanwhile, have been reported to have interest in Bailey, but league sources tell Fischer’s Substack teammate Marc Stein that New Orleans’ interest has been overstated.

As Fischer writes, with no sense that any specific team in that 3-7 range is locked in on Bailey, there have been teams wondering if he might make it all the way to the Nets at No. 8. As Fischer and Stein previously observed, a number of evaluators and scouts believe there’s a drop-off after the top eight prospects in the 2025 draft class.

Here are a few more Bailey-related notes:

According to Fischer, NBA teams believe that one reason why Bailey’s pre-draft approach has been so unconventional is that it’s being coordinated largely by Cooper, who is the father of former NBA guard Sharife Cooper and isn’t certified as an NBA agent. While Adie Von Gontard and Daniel Green are officially listed as Bailey’s agents, Cooper is the one believed to be running point during the pre-draft process, Fischer explains.
Despite the questions surrounding Bailey, some sources who spoke to Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer believe the Sixers should still draft him at No. 3. “You have to take him,” one Western Conference scout said. “But you have to really know what you are getting. He has the highest upside.”
League sources confirm to Pompey that the Sixers remain interested in moving the No. 3 pick for the right deal. Pompey has also heard from sources that the Wizards, Pelicans, and Nets may also have some level of interest in moving up for the 6’8″ forward.

Draft Notes: Guards, Wings, Trades, Fears, Queen

June 19th, 2025 at 10:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Even after Duke phenom Cooper Flagg and Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, the draft’s presumed top two picks, come off the board, this year’s draft lottery is loaded with intriguing wings and guards.

David Aldridge of The Athletic consulted with anonymous league scouts and coaches about the best guard prospects in the draft, and also took a look at the best potential NBA wings.

Harper proved to be somewhat divisive. The folks Aldridge consulted were decidedly mixed on his upside, with some projecting him as an eventual All-Star and others believing he could be a longtime pro but may not have a high ceiling.

“He has a professionalism about him that’s really uncommon,” one college assistant coach said of Harper. “He knows the game. He plays the right way. He guards. He tries defensively.”

Arizona wing Carter Bryant may lack a great handle, but an Eastern Conference scout appreciates the rest of his offensive makeup. He’s projected to be the No. 10 pick in the latest ESPN mock.

“His shot’s fluid, especially in spot-up situations,” the scout said. “He’s not somebody who’ll create his own shots, at least his first few years in the league. He’s good at relocating to open space. His shot comes out of his hand really well, and the defense is high-level.”

There’s more intel ahead of the draft:

In a fairly deep draft year, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports identifies several prospects he believes could be worth trading down out of the top three to acquire for the Spurs and Sixers. O’Connor evaluates the shooting promise of Duke guard Kon Knueppel and Texas guard Tre Johnson, the motor of Baylor wing V.J. Edgecombe, and the upside of Duke center Khaman Maluach, among other lottery-level players.
Should they stay put, the Nets could still have plenty of promising possibilities to select with the eighth pick this year. An NBA scout raved to Brian Lewis of The New York Post about the upside of Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears, who could still be available in the middle of the lottery. “I’m not [drafting] in the top two or three, in terms of being able to hit a home run on a guy that could be an absolute superstar game-changer, he’d be one of the guys past [Nos.] 3 or 4 that could actually do that,” the scout said.
Under a new front office regime, the Pelicans are high on freshman Maryland big Derik Queen, a source informs Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link). New Orleans possesses the No. 7 pick this season following another injury-plagued year. The All-Big Ten center averaged 16.5 PPG and 9.0 RPG in Maryland last year.

Draft Rumors: Top Eight, Maluach, Raptors, Sixers, Hornets, More

June 17th, 2025 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

There appears to be a consensus developing among many of the teams and executives around the league about the top eight prospects in the 2025 NBA draft, Jake Fischer writes for The Stein Line (Substack link). According to Fischer, while the order after the top two remains up in the air, Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, V.J. Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach are widely viewed as the the top eight players available this year.

“If it’s not those eight (drafted in the top eight), it will be seven of those eight,” one Eastern Conference executive told Fischer.

That developing consensus may be one reason why the Raptors’ selection at No. 9 is widely viewed as the top-10 pick most likely to be traded, according to Fischer.

While league sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org that multiple members of Toronto’s front office are thought to be high on Maluach, the Duke big man seems unlikely to still be available at No. 9. He has visited the Wizards (No. 6) and Pelicans (No. 7), in addition to the Hawks (No. 13), and is also expected to meet with the Jazz (No. 5) before the draft. As such, the Raptors have been spending time evaluating centers who are little further down on draft boards, such as Danny Wolf and Asa Newell, Fischer reports.

A number of teams in the back half of the lottery, starting with the Pelicans at No. 7, have been connected to center prospects too, Fischer notes. That group includes the Bulls at No. 12 and the Hawks at No. 13 — Nikola Vucevic and Clint Capela have spent most of the last few years as those teams’ starting centers, but Vucevic is a trade candidate and Capela is entering free agency, so the Bulls and Hawks may each be looking to add a young player to their frontcourt.

Here’s more on the draft:

The Sixers (No. 3) and Hornets (No. 4) have conveyed to teams that they’re prepared to listen to trade offers for their picks until they’re on the clock next Wednesday, sources tell Fischer. The Jazz (No. 5) haven’t actively encouraged trade interest in their pick, while the Wizards (No. 6) are considered a possible trade-up candidate, Fischer adds.
The Raptors worked out guards Jase Richardson and Nolan Traore on Monday, according to Afseth. Both players are projected first-round picks, though Richardson is at No. 20 on ESPN’s big board while Traore is at No. 25. It’s unclear if Toronto is considering one or both at No. 9 or preparing for possible trade-down scenarios.
Washington State’s Cedric Coward and French center Joan Beringer are receiving legitimate lottery consideration, Afseth writes in a separate RG.org story. The Hawks (No. 13) and Spurs (No. 14) are among the teams closely monitoring Beringer, sources tell Afseth. “He hasn’t been playing the game that long, but you’d never guess it with how quickly he picks things up,” one scout said of Beringer.
Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl, who has worked out for the Warriors and Nuggets, among other teams, is having a strong pre-draft process and is considered a good candidate for a two-way contract, per Afseth.
Illinois’ Will Riley was considered a likely target for the Magic at No. 16, according to Fischer, who says it’s possible some teams in the late teens will have a shot at Riley now that Orlando has traded that pick to the Grizzlies.

Wizards Rumors: Rebuild, Young Core, Draft, Fears

June 17th, 2025 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are expected to take a patient approach to their rebuild, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who hears from a team source that the front office plans to continue evaluating its young core through at least the end of the 2027/28 season.

In addition to the current Wizards players who have one or two NBA seasons under their belts, like Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Carlton Carrington, and Kyshawn George, that young core figures to feature at least one or two rookies from the 2025 draft class (Washington controls the sixth, 18th, and 40th overall picks), as well as the player(s) the team drafts in 2026.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Washington will remain at or near the top of the draft lottery for the next three seasons. Houston is an example of a club that has taken a few years to evaluate its young core while supplementing those players on rookie scale contracts with veteran free agents and making a significant move up the standings in the process.

As Robbins explains, the Wizards simply don’t want to give up on any of their young players too early by including them in a trade for a win-now veteran before they get a better sense of what those youngsters can become. Robbins points to the Kings trading Tyrese Haliburton less than two years after drafting him or the Pelicans trading Dyson Daniels after his second season as the types of moves the Wizards will look to avoid in the coming years.

We have more out of D.C.:

Washington will send its 2026 first-round pick to New York if it lands outside the top eight. If that pick ends up in its protected range, the Knicks will instead receive the Wizards’ 2026 and 2027 second-rounders. Given how important it is to the Wizards to keep that first-rounder after having no luck in the 2025 draft lottery, Robbins says it’s “very difficult” to envision a scenario in which the club risks losing it. In other words, Washington appears likely to be one of the league’s five worst teams again in 2025/26.
Robbins wouldn’t be surprised if the Wizards look to trade up from No. 6 or No. 18 for a specific player they like. As he points out, they moved up one spot in the 2023 lottery to nab Coulibaly and two spots in 2024 to draft George.
The Wizards would like to upgrade their backcourt this summer and have done “extensive due diligence” on draft-eligible guards, sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org, who identifies Jeremiah Fears as a name to watch if the Sooner standout is available at No. 6.
A team source who spoke to Robbins believes that – with Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper virtually certain to be drafted first and second – the Wizards have six players in their next tier and will decide from among the prospects still available in that group. That tier consists of V.J. Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, Fears, Tre Johnson, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach.

Draft Rumors: Edgecombe, Bailey, Spurs, Knueppel, Fears, Hawks, More

June 17th, 2025 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

For the first time since the Sixers claimed the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft lottery, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo are projecting Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe, rather than Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, to be the pick in that spot.

As Givony explains within ESPN’s latest mock draft, Edgecombe made a strong positive impression during his visit to Philadelphia, whereas Bailey initially didn’t make plans to meet with the Sixers at all. Bailey has since changed course and will work out for the 76ers later this week, but it sounds like he may not been enthusiastic about his “pathway to development” in Philadelphia.

According to Givony, Bailey hasn’t yet conducted a known workout and has declined invitations from multiple teams in his draft range. Sources tell ESPN that his camp believes he’s a top-three player in the draft class but that they want him to end up in a situation where there’s a path to stardom. With that in mind, some teams have wondered if Bailey has received a promise from a team outside the top five that he views as more favorable in terms of both playing time and geography.

Givony and Woo have Bailey slipping to Washington at No. 6 in their latest mock, with Givony writing that the Wizards and the Pelicans (at No. 7) are both believed to be “highly intrigued” by the 18-year-old’s upside and could probably offer him more minutes right away than a team like Philadelphia could.

Here’s more from ESPN on the 2025 NBA draft:

Rival teams who have been in touch with the Spurs have come away believing that San Antonio will hang onto the No. 2 overall pick and select Dylan Harper, according to Givony, who says the Spurs are excited about adding a talent like Harper and appear willing to address potential fit issues down the road.
Although the No. 8 pick is viewed as Kon Knueppel‘s likely floor, he could end up coming off the board a few picks ahead of that. The Hornets (No. 4) and Jazz (No. 5) both appear to have interest in the Duke sharpshooter, Givony reports.
Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears looks like a relatively safe bet to be drafted between No. 5 and No. 8, writes Woo. The Jazz are viewed as the top end of Fears’ range, while the Pelicans (No. 7) and Nets (No. 8) are thought to be interested. Grant Afseth of RG.org said something similar on Monday while also identifying the Wizards at No. 6 as a possibility for Fears.
Rival teams believe the Hawks will likely be targeting a big man and a guard with their first-round picks if they hang onto both of them, says Woo. Even if the Hawks do take that route, the order in which they address those two spots will hinge in large part on who’s available after the first 12 picks. ESPN’s mock has Atlanta taking Egor Demin at No. 13 and Danny Wolf at No. 22.
Collin Murray-Boyles is considered a polarizing prospect, with some evaluators viewing the South Carolina standout as a potential “outstanding” role player while others are concerned about his shooting and his positional size, according to Woo. Murray-Boyles’ range may start around the No. 10 pick.
Arizona’s Carter Bryant has had a very good pre-draft process and looks like a strong candidate to come off the board in the 9-15 range, per Givony.