Is Kon Knueppel the SLEEPER Pick for Wizards at 6? | Washington Wizards Podcast

Is Kon Knueppel the SLEEPER Pick for Wizards at 6? | Washington Wizards Podcast

Is Khan the right pick at six? Is his upside hiding in plain sight? Find out next on Locked On Wizards. You are Locked On Wizards, your daily Washington Wizards podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Hello all and welcome into Lockdown Wizards where myself and Abdullah Yubie give our opinions on the Wizards pathway to contention that we’ve been doing that recently but it starts with the draft pick. We are back on the draft pick number six and today we’re going to talk about a prospect named Khan Canipple and Abdul and I have differing opinions on how he fits as a pick at number six and his upside. I’m Leaf Tulene, a credentialed NBA draft analyst, attendee of the last two NBA combines and host of Locked in NBA big board. Beside me is Abdullah Aayub, diehard Wizards fan, here to provide insights and passion for his beloved Wizards and tell us why or why not to take Coniple at 6. Thank you guys for making Locked on Wizards your first listen each and every day. And remember, Locked on Wizards is free and available on all platforms, including Locked On Wizards on YouTube, where the best way to help us grow is to comment anything below. Today’s question is, how would you feel about picking Colin Caniple at number six? Today on the show, like I said, we’re going to analyze Khan Canipple, tell you all about him, and then debate about is he a good pick for the Wizards at 6. So, let’s dive right in. Abdullah, do you want to take them through what Khan Canipple is as a prospect before we dive into our our different stances on how he fits with the Washington Wizards? Yeah. No, most definitely. Caniple is a defin, I want to say it’s an interesting last name, very unique, but that’s besides the point. I think a guy like him, wing measured at 6’5 without shoes. I think one thing that stands uh from the get-go is his ability to shoot from three. One of the most pure shooters in college basketball this past year. Uh he shot 42% from three at Duke. He can shot 88% over the uh from the free throw line. Has a quick release and deep range and is comfortable shooting uh um off off the ball um off movement, pull-ups, spot-ups. I mean, he can do it all. And a guy like that can shoot like that also comes high basketball. I think he definitely makes those smart unselfish plays and rarely for forces any ill advised turnovers. Understands spacing and timing and is excellent off ball move where he can find gaps in the defense. Also is a crafty scorer. He knows how to use his body like I mentioned at 65 frame. I think his wings spans 667. Um can finish can shield defenders and finish around the rim despite limited vertical explosiveness which we’ll talk about in a second. He uses his footwork and fakes effectively to create space. And I think also it’s underrated a part of his game is his playmaking ability. I think he’s an underrated passer and again playing in a big program like Duke playing with the likes of Cooper Flag, Tyresese Proctor, you know, a lot of the attention was on them, but he also made a name for himself and he average 3.4 assists per game. So he operates well out of pick and rolls, especially if you want to pair him up with a guy like Alex Sar who definitely is going to get better offensively in the pick and rolls with him could be explosive and he can hit the open man. So, with all that being said, I think his prospect is really, really well. And again, like I mentioned, it’s all about what you did in college basketball. And he showed up playing in a big time program at Duke. What I think he mentioned that that holds key weight is how pressure packed those Duke games were. Duke had games in which Khan Canipple took over the game. And obviously, Cooper Flag is helpful. Khan was the beneficiary of Cooper Flags gravity. Khan was the beneficiary of playing with a with excellent team that had a backbone of common model watch back there. Another top 10 likely pick Cooper Flag creates. But Coniple’s best games of the season came when Cooper Flag was hurt. So he rose to the occasion the ACC tournament and won the MVP of the ACC tournament helping Duke win that and he was the creator running pick and rolls. He a was able to score off the bounce and show he was more than just that three-point shooter that you referenced and just not just a dead eyee. Also, a lot of the recent dead eyes we’ve we’ve talked about the best shooters have been older. I mean, for instance, Washington has Cory Kiss. And Cory Kissert’s someone that Khan has compared to, but I don’t think they’re all that similar aside from size and complexion. Uh, one other take, this is just going to supplement some numbers on how elite of a shooter Khan Canipple is. He’s 98th percentile in spot-up shots. He’s 92nd percentile in catch and shoots. So, and spot up is basically when he catches, he can put the ball on the floor as well. And it’s compared to the competition in college basketball. And catch and shoot. It could be heavily contested late shot clock grenade or a wideopen one. And he’s 92% on all of those. And then also, you mentioned how he makes the right plays and he hardly, you know, you hardly make mistakes and someone with a very high basketball IQ. And he’s got a big body. That’s the other thing. He’s not a slender shooter. He’s someone who can bang a little bit, gets to the rim, he plays off two feet. I I had a funny nickname for him about Jay Wright’s uh fantasy I I should say to tone it down. Um but but playing off two feet, jump stopping like Villainova. He he was the king of doing so gets the paint, but he’s 99th percentile miscellaneous plays. And I know that’s pretty random, but my point being is he just makes the right play all the time. So, he’s someone that you may not think of as the sexy pick because maybe the upside’s not as apparent with someone with tremendous athleticism staring you in the face perhaps like common model watch, but his upside is in the fact that he can score the basketball, shoot the basketball, make the right plays, and defensively you watch his film, you think, oh, maybe he’s slow footed because he’s a he’s a white dude who shoots. But, but frankly, he stayed in front of the ball better than just about anyone in this top 10. So, I think there’s a lot to like about Con Canipple as a top 10 pick now. How does he fit with the Wizards? We’ll have some internal uh debate about that. But is there anything more you want to add to just building up? I was going to say, Leif, for me, I think it’s kind of unfair to compare him to a Cory Kissper because coming out of Gonzaga, Cory Kissper outside of shooting, there really wasn’t anything else that really stood him out uh in his draft class. And I think Canipple outside of his shooting, I mean um can definitely playmake. I think that’s one thing that’s underrated. And I think defensively a little sneaky. Definitely is probably going to have to um deal with uh the NBA experience and getting better at that. But I to compare those two, I think it’s a little a little too much because right now Cory Kisper, I think his tenure in Washington is basically one foot out the door with the emergence of Keshan George. Because again, another reason why the Wizards love Keshan George is because not only can you do what Cory Kisser does, but he can do it better, but can also do on the defensive side of the ball. Versatility, that’s the name of the game. That’s the theme of this Wizards team, the new this new regime. all about versatile players and Canipo could maybe potentially fit that realm and and I agree and I think that’s a low-end expectation and that’s no slight to Cory Kisser who’s a tremendous shooter but he was also 22 when he came out of college. Khan was is a freshman and did this on the best team in basketball and I know Duke didn’t win it but they were the best team in terms of metrics. I actually had Florida winning it. So don’t don’t get on me if you follow my Twitter because I’m not flip-flopping. I was all in on the Gators. Now, the one thing that I think we should harp on a little bit before we debate about would you like to pick him at six is when you talk about versatility, what is the versatility that Khan can bring? Because he’s not going to be your defensive stopper in the NBA. Not to say he’s horrible defensively, you just need to be competent at times, but what is the the versatility look like for him? Because you say that’s the name of the game. That’s the name of this new routine. You have all these long athletic players and some of them are incompetent shooters compared to the NBA. Khan obviously has shooting in spades. Uh does he do enough elsewhere to make him a worthwhile number six pick? Yeah, so for me, and again, I love the player and I know we’re going to talk about it soon, but I think at six is a little bit of a reach. I mean, there’s a reason why I prefer guys like Trey Johnson and Derek Queen over Kiple. I’m not saying Canipple isn’t that uh can’t be that uh a player that can just come in and contribute right away, but I just think guys like Trey Johnson, Derek Queen, like I mentioned, I think their upsides just way more than Canipple. I think also I mean going back to the whole this new regime of the Wizards, uh versatility, I think if you’re the Wizards is Canipple that guy that can really do it all. I mean, the lack of athleticism is a little bit concerning. And again, he’s not like the least athletic dude in college basketball, but it’s just something you have to and think about and also the limited star upside overlapping with the current talent of this Wizards regime. Also, you want to pick uh the guy with the most upside at pit pick six. Obviously, you’re not contending right now. So, picking that can plug and play can only do so much. Maybe it’s not worth it. But again, I think the lateral quickness and foot speed is the reason why a lot of NBA scouts and GMs are probably concerned, especially since the Wizards need a wing with to pair him up with Bula Bali. So, just something to think about. And again, I think Kipple’s game, I think he can really shoot it from three. But again, there’s only so much you can do from shooting. You got to be versatile, and that’s the name of today’s game, especially in DC. Well, Abdullah gave you his answer on if he is going to be a worthwhile pick at number six, and we can talk about some different possibilities of who’s there because I don’t think Trey Johnson will be. So, is he worthwhile if Trey Johnson is not? We got that and a little bit of a debate coming up right right ahead on Locked on Wizards. When I found out SKIMS was making underwear for men, I was intrigued. I’ve heard so much about their quality from friends, how comfy it is. I’ve heard it about it from friends, family, so I had to give it a try for myself. And let me tell you, it lives up to the hype. I’ve always had these issues with underwear because I play so many sports. Sometimes they don’t fit well enough for the sports and then this then they don’t have the good enough fabric. But these ones, it’s got fit, comfort, and just finding the right style. It fits all those boxes for me. SKIMS changed all of that and made it so simple to get all of what you want in one perfect underwear. 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And Skims is the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA, and USA basketball. Welcome back to Lockdown Wizards. I’m Lee Tulin joined by Abdullah Aubi. Coniple is the subject today. We’re talking about the sixth pick. Once again, this is an important pick though. You know, we’ve talked about it being kind of a fiveman draft where you feel like the upside begins to tail off. And Abdullah mentioned just a moment ago, he said, “You want to get upside at number six.” And I totally agree with you. You want someone who can change the franchise. We talked about that before the day of the lottery, that fateful day that had the Wizards fall six. But maybe Coniple has some hidden upside and is a star hiding in plain sight. That’s something we’ll explore. But I’ll give the pitch to you, Abdullah. You you said you’ve said you don’t want to take Khan at six. If there’s a guy like Queen or Johnson, my bet is that Johnson is not going to be there. I would be pretty darn confident in placing that bet. So, if Johnson’s not there and you’re you’re still leaning queen, which I I would too, but I think there’s a a pitch for Khan, how what what would your emotions be if you were to take Khan? Is there a like guttural, oh, I can’t take him because? And if there is, what is the because it’s tough because again I pick six um like I mentioned before upside and I think a guy like I mean you mentioned Trey Johnson’s off the board, VJ Echo’s off the board. I think a guy like Derek Queen is someone who I favor over um Canipo just because again offensively they’re really really both good but I think defensively I think Derek Queen has the edge over him and again it goes back to versatility I think for this Wizards team. You want to talk about three-point shooting. I mean, obviously, you want every team needs a three-point shooter in today’s NBA, but the emergence of Keshan George, I think Jordan P is also a three-point sniper. So, there’s really that not that much of a need in three-point shooting. Maybe a guy who can microwave, heat up, and score in and a bunch. Maybe Kenipa could be that guy. But, I think a guy like Derrick Queen um fills more needs than Canipoa just because again, Derrick Queen brings um tenacity in the paint. I mean, for so long in DC, we’ve been beaten in the paint in the last for the last couple years off the um rebounding and points in the paint. And I think you pair a front court of Sar and Derrick Queen, I think that could be really really good. And Derrick Queen showed up in the big stage of March Madness, hit that game winner um was all a lot all conference in so many ways and put up so many records in Maryland and for freshman again both um in their first year in college basketball showing up in the big stage. I think again you he checks off more boxes than Canippo. I don’t think I would be terribly upset if they drafted Canippo, but it would be a little bit questionable, especially since if uh DQ was on the board. Yeah, and that makes sense to me. I have Queen higher on my personal big board. But let me give you this pitch that I’m not even sure I it’s not that I’m selling myself because I wouldn’t take him at six. I would take queen. So, I want to be on the record about that. But let me give a pitch as to why the Wizards should take him. And I don’t and the further I prepared this, the more it made sense to me. So bear with me. So I mentioned 98th percentile spot of shooting. That’s 47% from three, not percentile, 47% from three on catch and shoots. That’s elite any way you spin it. Uh in the transition, which is usually a pretty good uh way of figuring out if the guy’s a good athlete. Like you’re not going to say, “Oh, Khan’s a great run and jump athlete.” He didn’t test the combine because he had ankle injury and a back injury. But typically when you finish well in transition, you’re a pretty decent athlete. He’s 70th percentile in transition, which is obviously pretty solid, especially in a collegiate game. Uh he’s, like I mentioned, 99th percentile miscellaneous, makes all the right plays. He’s a solid rebounder, a solid passer. That shows up in the stat sheets. But you get into the nitty-gritty here. He’s 92nd percentile in cuts. He finishes at 70th percentile at the rim, which is 62.3% at the rim. For reference, a lot of bigs don’t even get above 60, even though their shots are all near the rim. And I know he’s these are at the rim, but they’re created by him. These are off of cuts. These are off of pick and rolls. Uh when he played with Cooper Flag, he was able to be the secondary initiator and create off of screens, draw attention, lob to Malawatch. And I fully am aware that that was the super talented team. That really helps because you don’t draw as much attention if your teammates are equally as talented. but he was able to take advantage of those situations, do so well. His intangibles are off the charts. Uh he’s going to compete and sometimes at six, like we went through it a while ago, only two of those 20 guys the last 20 years have been allstars. So sometimes what you want is a plugandplay ability, but an ability to improve steadily through that plug-andplay. And I think he has both a high floor, but his ceiling’s high in the sense that you don’t expect superstar from Khan. And so if you if he hits his ceiling, it’s playing a as a third best player on a team that that’s really good and has bunch of athletes and he complements them well by providing a skill-based, tough, physical guy who knocks down open shots. And so I think you have to temper the expectation of can you get a superstar, which is why I would lean toward Derek Queen. But if you take coniple at six, I think you’re taking someone extremely projectable and minimizing the risk of a bust because there’s been a lot of six picks that that you say, “Oh, they have all these tools or athletic specimens.” And the ones that have not panned out at picks five, six, seven typically have a bunch of traits, but not refined skills. And Coniple’s got refined skills. And his size and traits and intangibles aren’t bad either. Like you’re not lacking for size with this guy. It’s not like you’re making a huge sacrifice to get a shooter that’s 6’2. Like I had huge concerns for Reed Shepard as a number three pick and many people are number one because he’s dimminionative. Khan’s a big boy and he did so as a freshman playing bully ball against older players. And I I I don’t know if I would say I see allstar upside as his upside, but I do think see a world in which he can put up 17 18 points in his fourth year and be a valuable contributor. speaking of our timeline yesterday where he is playing on a playin playoff team and is a starter putting up 17 points a game. Yeah, again I I kind of get what you’re getting at, but I think it just goes back to what the Wizards want to do here in DC. And again, I think the potential of pairing Sar and Queen, I think it’s just far more uh has far more upside than getting a guy like Keno when again but when you bring in a guy like Kenppo, you have to also realize you’re balancing. there’s only one ball, so you’re going to be balancing scoring with the likes of Jordan Pool. I mean, also Bub Carrington, his development. So, it’s a lot of things that have to you have to factor in, but I definitely see where you’re getting at. Yeah. And I I think I would take I’ve told you my philosophy, so I’m not going to hide from it. As a draft guy, I think you got to try to pick someone that is able to elevate and transcend the way your franchise is and say, you know, we’re going to tra change the franchise’s trajectory by shaking a star when picking at the top of the draft. That said, once you get to five, six, seven, it gets a little bit diceier. So, I’m a little on the fence in terms of Queen because I think there’s far more bust potential because if you look at Queen though, though I don’t think Khan is a superstar athlete in the NBA, I think Khan compares more favor favorably at his position athletically than Derrick Queen. Derek Queen’s 6’9, 250 pounds here or there with a 7 foot wingspan, which is a fine measurement, but if you look at his agility and his vertical and some of that stuff, like the athleticism is there. You have to bank on Derrick Queen becoming Alper and Shangon. And I can see that vision. That’s why I have Derk Queen higher because the best I see Khan being is Wally Zerak or I don’t I don’t even think he’s as close to the athlete that Gordon Hayward is. Like you look at all these and Gordon Hayward is a far better athlete, more dynamic with the ball in his hands. So I just think he can be maybe a a Boddon Boddonovich. Some of these type of players that are solid players, but they’re not necessarily going to change the trajectory. But at six, you look at the history and history would say compare very favorably to those players I just named. Yeah. Um, Wall, that’s that’s an interesting name you put out there. I think if you’re the Wizards again, I think just the likes of Derek Queen. I think also I mean we mentioned versatility but I think passing if you get a big like him and we compare you brought out Prince Shangon but if you can bring a big that can pass the ball and a lot of people are expecting him to be like with the likes of Alex Sar with also the young talent this team with Justin Champany Keshan George Carrington Jordan Pool and you still have pick number 18 I said pick 18 a lot of people are har I’ve been saying pick 19 but thank god it’s pick 18 but I think with all that combination I think there’s just so much confidence that even If you don’t go with whoever Canipo or Queen, even though I’m still on side of Queen, I just know Will Dawkins will figure it out in this plan that that that they’re going into this draft is going to work well because again, it all goes back to hitting on the last year’s draft in a weak draft class on all three picks and also trading for a guy like AJ Johnson. Getting a second round pick that’s producing and Tristic. Well, let me let me flip this question just a touch. No, no need to go too deep into this, but let’s say you go from Queen, who I agree I think I would take over Khan, to Common Malawatch, who I have right next to each other on my big board. Who do you favor between Khan Canipple and common Malawatch? Two Duke teammates, two Duke freshman who had variable varying roles and have different traits that make them high ceiling versus high floor guys. common model watch my pitch was essentially this is a guy who’s raw but if you were to if you were to look at what he does at the NBA he kind of has a high ceiling in the sense that look he’s going to block shots he’s going to play defense he’s going to be a high character guy and so maybe they’re both high floor but maybe the floor is immediately higher for Keniple and maybe the potential has them in a similar range as opposed to be thinking like the traditional thinking would say oh K Malich has a way higher ceiling because he’s so raw maybe Khan’s ceiling is is pretty close to what his floor is and that makes him an alluring prospect as opposed to the the vast disparity that could be there for common mile watch. Yeah, I think with model watch and again it all goes back to playing in the highest level of college basketball. I mean think about it. He’s also playing with Cooper Fly the number one overall pick presumably. You also have Kiple you Tyrese Proctor a lot of talent at Duke. So Malawatch when given the opportunities he definitely produced defensively was a a menace in the paint but I just think he’s a a little too raw for the Wizards to consider and maybe hey if you’re that much in favor of him you put him at center you Alexar at the four that also would be a decent front front court but I think offensively Queen um um is heads above Malawatch and again I think it goes back to what she did in college basketball and maybe Malawatch wasn’t given the same opportunity their queen has It makes sense they weren’t. But also, I just think if you’re the Wizards at pick six, you don’t want to get a guy who at best is only a rim protector and especially in today’s NBA, they need to play both sides of the ball. And I think Derrick Queen can be that guy. And I think Kenipo also offensively really good, but again, it just isn’t as good defensively as likes of Derrick Queen. Yeah, and that’s all fair as well. One thing that makes me evaluate differently is that the draft like process is typically during when the playoffs are. the only exception being the co draft and where you had tons of time in between. But it makes me see players differently and I see some appeal for Khan Canipple having watched the playoffs. I’m going to explain that and and discuss maybe a little debate with Abdullah if he if he disagrees with me, but why I’m a little higher on Khan having watched the playoffs recently and we can compare Kalwatch and Derek Queen as well under the scope of how they would compare to the playoffs. All that and more straight ahead on Locked on Wizards. Shopping for a car should be exciting and not exhausting. But between the confusing prices, the hidden fees, it can feel overwhelming. That’s why I love using Car Gurus. 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Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at cargurus.com. So go to cargurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal. That’s cgurus.com. cargurus.com. Alrighty, welcome back to locked on wizards leaf and Abdullah Aayubi and we’ve been talking Kanipple. We’ve we talked about potential other six picks in Derek Queen and common Malawatch and I I thought of an interesting segment and my my pitch on it is essentially what you’re picking these guys for is to hopefully make the playoffs and contend in the playoffs. In the prior two shows this week for the everyday, as you know, we talked about the timeline for the Wizards to compete. How soon can they make the playoffs? How soon can they contend in the playoffs? Those are two different things. And as the playoffs wear on, right now we’re in the conference finals. And what stands out to me is versatility. Abdullah has talked about that all the time about how versatility is the key right now. It’s in vogue. But what does versatility mean in the playoffs? It means switchability on defense. It means knocking down shots while also not being a liability on the defensive end. if you’re in for defense, can you knock down shots? And so with all that said, I wanted to bring it that scope of playing leverage minutes to the draft. When you’re drafting at six, I feel like that makes you you view Coniple more favorably. Am I crazy? Because you know what? He knocks down shots and when you often watch him play defensively, you’re going to say, “Oh, that guy’s probably not the best defender.” But then you watch the film on him and he’s rarely beaten. Yes, he had Cooper flag and calm all watch behind him. That makes it easier. But that also makes you think, hey, that guy’s going to press up higher because he has people to clean up the the dirty uh possibility of being beaten and they’re going to clean it up for him. Nope. He he doesn’t get beaten off the dribble. He knocks down open threes, plays without the ball, and when he has the ball, doesn’t make mistakes as you said in your initial overview. So, as I thought about that, he’s he’s improved stock just by watching the playoffs. Is that crazy to think about? No, you brought up you brought up some good points. I think definitely um Cano showed up when it mattered especially showing up when Koopa flag goes down your best player on the team and that’s what truly matters especially in the bright stages of the ACC tournament also March Madness but I think another reason why I prefer a guy like Derrick Queen I think because Derrick Queen was that number one option on that team all the emphasis was on him all the spotlight was on him defenses defensively if they were game planning for him I’m not saying Kiple wasn’t being uh defensive schemed against but I think when you have a guy like Cooper Flag on the team. When you have a guy like Malawash on the team, when you have Tyres Proctor, all that, it goes back to all that much talent in Duke, you’re going to have more favorable matchups. And I’m not saying that Canipple is a fraud and whatever, but I think you have that’s something you have to factor in because especially in today’s NBA where it’s the best of the best. And again, you you want to be you want to get that guy that’s number one the best player on that team and transition to the NBA. And I think Derrick Queen affects more parts of the game, scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defensively. And I think again goes back to the harder position to fill. Canipple is skilled, but in today’s league, I think you got to go with size. That’s how you win. Versatility. That key thing for the Wizards, two-way value. I think Queen just offers more than Canipple. But again, I’m not saying Canipple is going to be a bust. I just think if you’re at pick six, you got to go with Queen. I I don’t necessarily disagree, but but I will play devil’s advocate on this one because I would argue the reason to pick Queen is that his ceiling’s higher, that he has more potential to be an all-star because I don’t see that much potential for Kipple to be Devin Booker or some sort of two guard that’s an excellent shooter that transitions to having more to his game much like Booker did. But in the case of Queen, I think there’s a limited pathway for success. There have been examples, but those examples are few and far between. Those examples are Alper and Shangun, Damont Sabonis, Nicole Joic. Obviously, Joic is the best player in the world right now. And you look at Damonte Sabonis and Alpurn Shangon. And if you’re really nitpicking about getting the upper upper levels, I think neither of those players are that conducive to winning championships unless you have a beautifully structured team around them because they’re both inept defensively. So, in the case of winning basketball, playing these leverage minutes, it you need to get the home run out of Derek Queen offensively to make it worthwhile because otherwise you’re getting a guy who’s inept on one side of the floor. So, the versatility piece that you’re speaking on, I think actually favors Caniple. Though, I’m with you. I would take Queen because my draft philosophy is you try to get the best talent. But if you’re to look at the playoffs and you take away Jokic who’s out, you look at these teams and you’re not going to see too many people that resemble Derek Queen. You’re going to see more that resemble Khan Canipple. And even then, there’s not that many that shoot it as well as Khan does. But you look in the playoffs and you say, “Hey, there’s that rugged wing guy who knocks down open threes and tries his butt off defensively.” And yeah, there’s going to be some that are better on the defensive end compared to shooting, and then there’s going to be some that are better on the shooting end compared to their defense. And Khan’s probably going to be on that side always, but it’s not going to be a super vast difference like it is for maybe a Corey Kiss like it is for a guy like uh Duncan Robinson who’s a great shooter was not known to be a defender. Kyle Corvers in years past. So I think versatility and favors Khan. I just don’t think the star power favors Khan. Is that fair? Yeah. No, definitely. I see what you’re saying. I think guys like Canipple, you can find them every now and then, but I think guys like Derek Queen are really, they don’t grow on trees. And I think again, Shenun, Nicole Joic, I mean these are some of the play styles. I’m not saying he’s going to translate to be like them. And I’m hopefully if he’s at six and hopefully that his his le um his NBA career turns into those types of guys. But I think at the end of the day, Derek Queen the number one option at Maryland. I think produced showing in the big stages. I think he’s checking off all those boxes and quite frankly checking off more boxes in my opinion than Canipple. I I I don’t disagree. I have Queen higher on my board. I have Malawatch and Keniple right next to each other for very different reasons. But the more I thought about this episode in terms of placing these prospects in the mind of, hey, how would they perform if they were dropped into the playoffs? There are some guys that rise, there are some that fall. And I think the pitch for Queen is is more difficult when scoped under the playoffs because you need to hit that double triple at least. And the home run being Jokic. I mean that would that would be a grand slam maybe like four grand slams to get to Joic but you need to hit hit it out of the park to get yourself to that all-star level whereas Keniple I think there are different levels to that he can get to but his floor and ceiling aren’t too far apart and sometimes I think that’s an issue but in his case I think that’s actually a benefit because he’s so steady he’s got predictability on his side but also productivity so let us know what you guys think about this uh little internal debate about would you take Khan at six because there are some people on Jazz Twitter that really love love him at number five and then that would lead to a guy like Trey Johnson or VJ Edgecom following. I don’t think that happens, but I just want to throw that out there as a possibility. I was going to say, Leif, I remember you mentioned how you were a big fan of Bub Carrington and he’s been great so far here in Washington. So, I love your uh opinion on it, but I was also going to mention that if the Wizards love Canipple so much, who knows? Maybe they might pick 18 and maybe I mean it’s it’s going to cost a lot but maybe you trade back into that top 12 top 10 range. Who knows? I mean again Will Dawkins we’ve seen it last year. He did it with trading D Abdia. A lot of people were split on it and maybe who he wants to roll the dice again because again that that’s what separates the good GMs from the great GMs making those types of moves and maybe at pick 18 you trade you trade up. Yeah, I mean that’s a great point because if you love Khan but you want the high potential of of Derek Queen, if you can get six and pick 10, I think it’s a very very good move. It’s a shrewd move, especially if you hit on that pick. Uh we talked about that as a possibility. Perhaps we’ll explore that in the future. Let us know what you guys think about this scouting with the kind of leverage minutes, the playoff importance in mind. We’re going to keep talking about these type of things. Go a couple more prospect deep dives. Maybe dive deeper into the world of Derek Queen, who right now I would say is our consensus favorite at number six that’s probably going to be there. Maybe give some scenarios in which that Trey Johnson could fall the six, which I think is unlikely, but if it happens, man, the Wizards could be getting a steal. So stay tuned with us all week. We really appreciate you guys for listening. And also, I want to make sure you guys know to watch uh yeah, make sure to stay tuned with us all week long. We really appreciate you guys for listening. It’s going to be fun. We’ve got the NBA draft deep dive on Derek Queen, a couple more, maybe the possibility of finding Trey Johnson if if he slips. We’ll give you every scenario and keep you informed of what the Wizards can do. But also, thank you guys for making Lockown Wizards your first listen today. And for your second listen, check out Lockdown NBA game night every game, every night until an NBA champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. Find NBA game night on locked on NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. So, thank you guys for listening. We really appreciate it. Sorry, sorry life. I just wanted to plug in. We are also on X. I just got the login today. So, if you have any content ideas or just want to talk to us, talk about Wizards. I’m on there. Uh, locked on Wizards on X, so that’s sorry for the plugin. Alrighty. Well, you heard it there. We’ll be engaging there. Give us your ideas for what you want to hear about. We’ll certainly keep that in mind. And thank you for all of your support. We’ll be back with you tomorrow.

Should the Washington Wizards take Kon Knueppel in the NBA Draft?

In this episode of Locked On Wizards, guest hosts Leif Thulin and Abdullah Ayubi analyze Kon Knueppel as a potential sixth pick for the Washington Wizards in the NBA draft. They discuss Knueppel’s strengths, including his elite shooting ability, high basketball IQ, and solid defensive positioning. The hosts debate whether Knueppel’s skill set and potential fit with the Wizards’ roster and long-term goals, comparing him to other prospects like Derrick Queen. They explore the concept of drafting for immediate impact versus long-term potential, considering how recent playoff performances might influence draft strategy. The episode provides insightful analysis for Wizards fans anticipating the upcoming draft.

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