The Philadelphia 76ers had a disastrous season, but through countless injuries and an unabashed late-season tank job, general manager Daryl Morey and his franchise lucked into the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. And, ever since the Sixers ended up there, they’ve been looking for ways to move the pick. If they can’t, former Duke star Kon Knueppel might be their best option.
Despite finishing the 2024-25 season 24-58, Philadelphia should be on the short list of Eastern Conference contenders for next year. Achilles injuries to Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, and Tyrese Haliburton have destroyed the Bucks, Celtics, and Pacers' respective paths to the NBA Finals. So, if Joel Embiid can find a way to stay on the court, Paul George can find the fountain of youth, and Tyrese Maxey continues to ascend, the 76ers may finally get past the Eastern Conference Semifinals, something they haven’t done since 2001.
Plugging a teenager into a roster with so many veterans that could rightfully view next season as the last best chance of their careers has never made much sense from the start. Yet, draft night is approaching, and despite a flurry of trade activity across the league, Morey doesn’t appear any closer to moving off the No. 3 overall selection to add another veteran to his aging roster.
Why playing the two-timeline game rarely works in the NBA
The Golden State Warriors tried to play the two-timeline game, but it’s nearly impossible. Yes, Golden State won its fourth NBA Finals after drafting James Wiseman second overall in 2020 and Jonathan Kuminga No. 8 in 2021, but that was on the strength of its veteran core with almost no help from their teenage counterparts.
Even with Steve Kerr patrolling the sidelines, there’s just no way to give 18 and 19-year-olds enough playing time to work through their growing pains when you’re expecting to compete for a championship. The high-pressure environment often ends up stunting their growth. The same thing happened to Darko Milicic with the Pistons in 2003.
The historical precedent isn’t great, but if Morey can’t find a deal, he’ll be forced to put Nick Nurse in the same situation Kerr and Larry Brown failed to navigate. Both coaches ultimately sacrificed development of their young draft picks to win a title with veterans, a trade that Sixers fans would make in a heartbeat, but those teams were more complete than the roster in Philly. Morey needs to turn this pick into a useful player for next season in a way that Golden State and Detroit didn’t. Rock, hard place, meet Daryl Morey.
A win-now team can’t take on a long-term project
However, there is a counterargument to those examples. What if the teams just drafted better? Would LaMelo Ball, who the Warriors passed over in 2020, have fizzled out of the league like Wiseman, or would Franz Wagner have spent the 2022 NBA Finals glued to the bench like Jonathan Kuminga? Would Carmelo Anthony have been a generational bust in Detroit?
When drafting for a win-now situation, it’s not just about selecting the right player; it’s about selecting the right type of player. Milicic, Wiseman, and Kuminga were all projects with theoretical high upside. They weren’t ready to play meaningful NBA basketball in their rookie season. Philadelphia’s other options if they stick at No. 3 fit that same mold: VJ Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson; they all need time. Kon Knueppel, who is more often mocked in the pick No. 4 to 7 range, doesn’t.
Kon Knueppel is the most NBA-ready option at No. 3
Knueppel doesn’t have elite athleticism, and that may prevent him from becoming an NBA superstar, but it didn’t stop him from dominating in his freshman season at Duke because he’s such a skilled and intelligent offensive player. Knueppel is adept at running off screens, making timely cuts, and using his body to create space, either to get to his stepback or barrel his way into the paint.
Though he was also a top recruit, Knueppel has already proven that he can thrive when taking a backseat on a great team. He more than co-existed with Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Proctor, and others, and when Flagg went out in the ACC Tournament, Knueppel calmly stepped up and carried the team to the Conference Title and won Tournament MVP honors. He can be a connector, he can be a creator, he can be an elite spot-up shooter, he can be whatever you need him to be, and he’s the only prospect at the top of the draft, aside from his college teammate who will be long gone by the time Philadelphia is on the clock, that can say that.
Despite his lack of vertical pop, Knueppel shot 62 percent at the rim (per CBBanalytics.com), and he might be the most prolific catch-and-shoot threat in the draft. His movement and shot gravity will create ample space for Embiid to work on the interior or for Maxey to get downhill, and his off-ball movement won’t take the ball out of either of their hands (or Paul George’s if he returns to his all-star level).
Many of those same skills are why fellow former Blue Devil Jared McCain became so difficult to keep off the floor early last season in Philadelphia before a meniscus tear ended his rookie season in December. Plus, at 6-foot-7, with impressive position strength, Knueppel won’t be nearly the defensive liability that many players are early on. He’s not going to end up on an All-Defensive team at any point in his career, but he’ll clear the bar of defensive competency.
Throughout his career, Morey has displayed a tendency to hunt for stars. That’s how he got James Harden to Houston, and then later pried him away from Brooklyn to come to Philadelphia in exchange for Ben Simmons, and it’s why he signed an aging Paul George last offseason. That philosophy could lead him to select Edgecombe, Bailey, or Johnson if he finds himself stuck at No. 3, but instead, he should learn from past mistakes and grab the player who best fits with the other stars on his roster and take Knueppel.