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Just a day after the NBA Draft lottery incredibly sent the No. 1 overall pick to the Dallas Mavericks, all of the top prospects in this year's class are showing of their skills at the NBA Draft Combine. The Mavericks won the right to likely select Cooper Flagg at the top of the draft, but Flagg's Duke teammates Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach won't have to wait long to hear their names called.
Maluach impressed scouts and teams at the combine when he measured in taller than seven feet without shoes on. His size and length makes him a great defensive asset and an elite lob threat on offense. Knueppel also had impressive measurements, coming in at 6-foot-5 without shoes on, making him a very big guard.
Unfortunately for teams, they didn't get a chance to see the star freshman in action on Tuesday. Knueppel did not participate in athletic testing or shooting drills due to an ankle injury that he suffered weeks ago, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony.
“Kon sprained his ankle 3 weeks ago and is not all the way back yet,” Mark Bartelstein, Knueppel's agent, said, per Givony. “He’s at 85% now and we want him at 100%. He’s really close. Hopefully, he’s back by the end of the week and can participate in our Pro Day Friday.”
Missing out on the athletic testing may not be the worst thing for Knueppel's draft stock. He is one of the slower players in this class and doesn't rely on his athleticism to produce on either end of the floor. That hurts him on the defensive end, but offensively he is skilled and crafty enough to still be a very good prospect without it.
Missing out on the shooting drills is a bigger issue, though it shouldn't be that big of a deal. The Milwaukee native is arguably the best shooter in this draft class and was a spot-up sniper for Duke last season. Any team is immediately getting an elite outside threat if they draft Knueppel, so missing out on these drills shouldn't hurt his stock. However, it's a shame that he didn't get to show off those skills on Tuesday.
Knueppel will have to complete both parts of the combine at a team workout at some point during the draft process, so teams will get to see what he has in the tank at a later date.
