76ers pass on Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe at No. 3

With the top two picks all but set, Kon Knueppel just might be the most interesting prospect heading into Wednesday night’s NBA Draft festivities. 

The former Blue Devil is overwhelmingly likely to go in the top five in the eyes of oddsmakers (-1000, DraftKings Sportsbook), but it’s still very much up in the air which draft slot he’ll go. 

Knueppel is currently favored to go No. 4 (-145), where the Hornets hold their pick, but I think there’s a shot the 6-foot-7 wing could go one slot higher. 

The Duke product averaged 14.4 points with four rebounds and 2.7 assists per game serving as the Robin to Cooper Flagg’s Batman last season. 

He was one of the top shooters in the country, something that should translate to the NBA right away, shooting 47.9 percent overall, 40.6 percent from 3 and 91.4 percent from the free-throw line. 

After Flagg went down with an ankle sprain in the ACC Tournament, Knueppel proved he could be the hub of an offense, dropping 28 points in the game Flagg went out and averaging 17.5 over the next two tournament games. 

As one of the most well-rounded, NBA-ready players in this class, let’s bet that a team with championship aspirations such as the 76ers will use a high pick and slide Knueppel right into their rotation. 

Betting on the NBA?

VJ Edgecome is the favorite to go in Philadelphia’s current slot at No. 3 (-320), but the Knueppel prototype is right up Darryl Morey’s alley, setting up for a possible surprise. 

THE PLAY: Kon Knueppel to go No. 3 in the NBA Draft (+900, DraftKings Sportsbook).

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Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across many sports. He’s particularly knowledgeable about the big three — MLB, the NFL and the NBA.