Hornets' LaMelo Ball Trade Means Kon Knueppel May Never Reach His Full Potential

What's done is done. The Charlotte Hornets trading LaMelo Ball for Naz Reid, a 2033 first, and some pick swaps is done, as heartbreaking as that is. All we can do now is look at what this means for the future.

It certainly seems like the Hornets believe in Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller as the centerpiece of this new era. On its own, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Knueppel just had one of the best shooting seasons of all time, so focusing on him seems smart.

It isn't, because when you dig deeper, you realize that Knueppel did so well because he was partnered with LaMelo Ball so often. That's not the case anymore, so there's a very real chance that Knueppel never progresses. There's a possibility he never even reaches that level again.

I brought this point up months ago and I feel it’s most relevant right now

Kon doesn’t just get worse with LaMelo gone, he quite literally relies on elite playmaking to succeed.

Kon led the league in 3-point makes.

NINETY-TWO PERCENT of those 3-point makes came off of assists. https://t.co/wJgaCzJxI4 pic.twitter.com/fvZMgYfBs4
— Owen Watterson (@0wenwatterson) June 25, 2026

My colleague Owen Watterson brought this up before the trade went down, but it bears mentioning again. Knueppel does not create his own shot. 92.3% of his made threes, a total that led the entire NBA last season, were off of assists.

Let's not reduce Knueppel's stellar season to calling him a catch-and-shoot merchant, but we can at least be honest and say he benefited greatly from the spacing and playmaking Ball provided for him.

And sure, Christian Anderson is a lights-out shooter and good playmaker, too, but he's not Ball. Opposing defenses will be more than happy to shade to Knueppel and leave Anderson and others more open.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) passes between Charlotte Hornets guard Lamelo Ball (1) and guard Kon Knueppel | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Knueppel's numbers are significantly better with Ball on the court, as are everyone's on the roster. But when your game is predicated on shooting and space is crucial to that, it certainly would make sense that Knueppel will suffer the most.

Those open shots he knocked down with ease are going to be harder to come by now. The starting five of Ball, Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabaté had an offensive rating of 134.7, which is absurd.

Swapping Ball for Sion James dropped that offensive rating to 89.3, which is atrocious. The offensive rating for lineups involving the two-man combo of Ball and Knueppel was 123.9. Putting any other guard in that combo came nowhere close.

Knueppel is obviously good, and he can create and make shots without Ball on the floor. But it's a whole lot harder and a lot less efficient for him to do so, which takes away some of his allure as a player.

Everyone's going to be worse off now without Ball, even with adding Christian Anderson, who can shoot and pass pretty well. Knueppel just might not ever reach the heights he seemed destined to without Ball on the floor with him.

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