Kon Knueppel lasted six minutes in his season debut, and Charlotte has no diagnosis yet
Knueppel left Wednesday's loss in Brooklyn with soreness in the same leg that cost him the first eight games, so here is what to do with him and who gains in Charlotte.
By James · 3 min read
Kon KnueppelGrayson AllenCoby WhitePhotos: NBAFreeKon Knueppel sat out the whole preseason and the first eight games of Charlotte's season, and on Wednesday in Brooklyn his return lasted six minutes. He appeared to be limping after a turnover with 6:09 left in the first quarter, according to Heavy's report, and he went to the locker room soon after. The Hornets ruled him out for the night with soreness in his left leg, he finished with three points, all from the foul line, and Charlotte lost 114-104 for its fifth straight defeat, as the Associated Press recap on ESPN reported.
- Kon Knueppel CHA92ndvs 63rd
- Grayson Allen CHA130thvs 163rd
- Coby White CHA142ndvs 72nd
- Brandon Miller CHA66thvs 45th
The team has given no diagnosis, and it has not said whether this is connected to the left hamstring strain that kept him out, although it is the same leg. "We'll evaluate it more when we get home from the road trip tonight," coach Charles Lee said afterward, according to BasketNews. RotoWire is treating him as questionable for Friday's home game against Boston, which is its own reading rather than a team listing, so until Charlotte says more a manager should plan for a short absence without assuming one.
What our projections say this morning
Our projections have not priced Wednesday's exit, because the morning's file carries no injury tag on him yet. They have Knueppel for 55.8 games, down from the 73 we had when he went into opening week hurt, at 32.0 minutes, 19.3 points and 3.4 threes a game. That makes him 92nd on our points board under ESPN's standard scoring, down from 85th yesterday, and 68th on our 9-cat board, where the analysts' consensus has him 63rd and 59th. If the Hornets name a hamstring problem again, expect the games to come down and the ranks with them, since a second setback in the same leg is a different forecast from a first one.
| Games played | Minutes | Points | Threes | Our points rank | Our 9-cat rank | Rostered on ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kon Knueppel | 1 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 0-of-1 | 92nd | 68th | 90% |
| Brandon Miller | 9 | 32.9 | 22.0 | 27-of-101 | 66th | 50th | 92% |
| Grayson Allen | 9 | 26.4 | 15.7 | 32-of-65 | 130th | 104th | 17% |
| Coby White | 2 | 17.0 | 5.5 | 1-of-10 | 142nd | 183rd | 65% |
Grayson Allen is the one to look at
Allen has not started a game this season and is still the Hornet who most deserves a manager's attention, since he scored 22 points in 27 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, with five threes on seven attempts. Across nine games he is making 3.6 threes a night at 49% and has hit 29 of his 31 free throws, which is why he stands 130th on our points board and 104th on our 9-cat board against a consensus of 163rd and 142nd. Both of our ranks sit inside the 156 players a 12-team league rosters, and ESPN has him on only 17% of teams. The risk is the range of his nights, which have run from 5 to 52 ESPN fantasy points in nine games, so he suits a roster that needs threes more than one that needs a steady floor.
Sion James, who started the first eight games, came off the bench on Wednesday and played a season-high 31 minutes. He is 288th on our points board, so his minutes matter to Charlotte's rotation and not to your roster.
White and Miller are not answers yet
Coby White has played two games, for 16 and 18 minutes, with seven and four points and one three on ten attempts. We found no report of a minutes limit, so we would not assume one, but our board has already dropped him from 113th to 142nd on points and from 145th to 183rd on 9-cat. Brandon Miller had the worst line of his season on Wednesday, 10 points on 2-of-15 shooting and exactly zero ESPN fantasy points, and he fell from 49th to 66th on our points board. He is shooting 36% from the field on 21.7 attempts a game, which hurts a 9-cat roster's percentages even while he keeps the shots.
What to do
Hold Knueppel. At 90% rostered and with no diagnosis, there is nothing to gain from dropping him this morning, and Lee said the team would look at him once it got home. Keep him out of your lineup until the Hornets list him as available, and read their injury report on Friday before lineups lock. If you need a replacement in a 12-team league or deeper, add Allen, and if the news on Knueppel turns out to be a long absence, Allen's case gets stronger rather than weaker.
Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
