2025 NBA Draft: Nets Target Kon Knueppel in New Mock

The Duke prospect has shades of Cam Johnson to his game.

Apr 3, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) is interviewed during open locker room at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Bleacher Report’s latest 2025 NBA Draft mock features the Brooklyn Nets selecting Kon Knueppel at No. 8. 

The draft is June 25 and 26 at Barclays Center, the team’s home arena. The Nets were originally projected to select at No. 6 after the end of the regular season, only to slide down a couple of spots following the draft lottery. That took place on May 12 in Chicago, where the G League Elite Camp and the draft combine also occurred.

The Duke freshman was also mocked to the borough in ESPN’s May 12 mock draft. Knueppel is a tremendous three-point shooter who made 40.6% of his 207 attempts from downtown this season. Then, he is a crafty pick-and-roll playmaker who can pass and score after using a ball screen while overcoming his below average athleticism. In some ways, he resembles Nets wing Cam Johnson.

Knueppel’s lack of footspeed and bounce is the biggest knock on the 19-year-old prospect. He is strong and measured just about as expected at the draft combine — 6-foot-5 barefoot with a wingspan slightly over 6-foot-6 — but he will always be limited to some extent on defense and at the rim. Knueppel averaged 14.4 points, four rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 'stocks' on 47.9/40.6/91.4 shooting splits this season.

B/R’s mock has Brooklyn selecting Thomas Sorber with the No. 19 pick. The Georgetown freshman is a very smart player who fits what head coach Jordi Fernández looks for with his bigs in terms of playing out of the elbows, hand-offs, rolls and similar connective situations. Sorber keeps the ball flowing and makes smart decisions, while being a capable passer with surprising creativity and accuracy. 

The 19-year-old was a complete stud for the Hoyas in his first, and what seems like only, season of college basketball; however, Sorber’s experience at Georgetown was cut short by a season-ending left foot injury. He recently mentioned that he should be able to start playing around late July-early August, and predicted his current range to be from around the end of the lottery to the mid-20s.

Sorber’s defensive outlook is excellent. While he is slightly caught between the 4 and the 5 on offense, he can certainly act as a center on defense. The Georgetown prospect covers tons of ground, on the floor and in the air, with his length (7-foot-6 wingspan at a little over 6-foot-9) and feel. Sorber reads where plays are going before they happen, and pounces on that to accumulate ‘stocks.’ He averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 3.5 'stocks' on 53.2/16.2/72.4 splits over 24 games (or 55.3% of his team's total minutes).

Rasheer Fleming gets the Barclays crowd roaring. St. Joe’s up 50-46 with 8:23 remaining in the game pic.twitter.com/sobvIAZR83

— FLOOR and CEILING (Wilko) (@wilkomcv) November 23, 2024

Rasheer Fleming goes to the Nets at No. 26. The St. Joe’s wing was mocked to Brooklyn by ESPN on May 12, as well as by The Athletic. Fleming’s measurements were also a bright spot at the combine, since he came in at around 6-foot-8 without shoes to accompany his massive 7-foot-5¼ wingspan and 9-foot-1 standing reach.

Fleming can play the 3 and the 4 right now. He’ll finish plays and has grown as a three-point shooter, but he needs to keep adding to his ancillary skills. Fleming is a productive defender who will almost surely be tasked with difficult assignments over his NBA career. 

The 20-year-old was a 0-star recruit in high school. Now, he can be a first round pick. Fleming averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.9 'stocks' on 53.1/39.0/74.3 splits. His stats grew every season at St. Joe's.

Brooklyn’s No. 27 pick gets the team a second guard in Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford. He is a speedy, downhill guard who can also drill pull-ups off the bounce from deep. Pettiford was just over 6-feet at the combine, although his wingspan topped that of Milos Uzan, Walter Clayton Jr. or Jeremiah Fears. The Tigers freshman will look to carve out a sparkplug type of role in the NBA. 

The Nets’ last pick at No. 36 sees the team selecting yet another.guard in Kam Jones. If Pettiford is more of a 1 and Knueppel is more of a 3, then the Marquette playmaker is more of a 2. Jones is a steady presence on the floor who went from score-first combo last year to all-around facilitator this season following Tyler Kolek’s departure from college to the NBA. 

Jones had a great season statistically; however, he faces questions going forward about the predictability of his dribble-drive game, finishing package, below-the-rim athleticism and defensive output. Still, the 23-year-old could theoretically be a calming presence in a locker room replete of youngsters.

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