Duke Basketball Star Reveals Important Plans With 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are doing their homework on the Duke Basketball star, Kon Knueppel.

Apr 4, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) and guard Cooper Flagg (2) during a practice session for the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia 76ers won’t get Rutgers’ Ace Bailey in the building this week, but they’ll have a chance to have a discussion with Duke prospect Kon Knueppel.

Recently, the Duke sharpshooter revealed on ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast’ that he has plans to meet with the Sixers virtually at some point this week. He has not worked out for Philadelphia at this point in the pre-draft process, and it’s unclear if he will or not.

Kon Knueppel has been consistently linked to the Sixers as a potential pick in the lottery. Prior to the drawing, the Sixers had the fifth-best odds, and needed to stay within the top six. Knueppel was likely to be in that range.

Kon Knueppel said on the latest @BillSimmons podcast that he has a Zoom interview with the Sixers this week (has not worked out for them)

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) June 18, 2025

Since the Sixers landed the third-overall pick, the Knueppel hype simmered. The Sixers have been linked to Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, and even Dylan Harper more frequently. However, that hasn’t stopped the Sixers from doing their homework on Knueppel. After all, the Sixers could be candidates to move back a spot or two, which would put them in a position to take the Duke sharpshooter.

Last season, Knueppel appeared in 39 games for Duke. Seeing the court for 31 minutes per game, the standout averaged 14 points while knocking down 48 percent of his field goals and drilling 41 percent of his threes. He also averaged four rebounds, three assists, and one steal per game.

Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) grabs a rebound against Houston Cougars forward J'Wan Roberts (13) during the first half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

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What’s the Latest on Ace Bailey?

After holding a formal meeting with the Baylor standout, VJ Edgecombe, the Sixers were expected to bring in Ace Bailey for a similar outing on Friday.

As of Wednesday night, the meeting is no longer on the books. According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, the Rutgers star has canceled his workout with the Sixers. The reason behind the cancellation is unknown.

At this point, Bailey has yet to participate in any pre-draft activities with teams outside of his meetings at the NBA Draft Combine. While the report from ESPN indicated that Bailey’s decision to cancel shouldn’t have a major effect on the Sixers’ decision-making, it certainly raises a lot of question marks heading into next week.

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