Kon Knueppel will miss all of training camp and, very likely, the start of the season after injuring his left hamstring, the Charlotte Hornets announced. He will be reevaluated the first week of the season (the week of Oct. 19).
This is a blow to a Charlotte team that needs to use training camp to reinvent its offense without LaMelo Ball, who was traded to Minnesota during the offseason.
Knueppel’s teammate Grant Williams suffered a right hamstring injury and also will be out for the entire preseason, to be reevaluated the first week of the season.
Knueppel finished a close second in Rookie of the Year voting last season to his former college teammate Cooper Flagg. Knueppel, 21, averaged 18.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, shooting 42.5% from 3-point range, and was the first rookie in league history to lead the NBA in total 3-pointers made (273, an average of 3.4 per game). Knueppel showed last season he was more than just a shooter, he’ll have more responsibilities in the Hornets’ offense, but he won’t get as many easy-look 3-pointers as he did last season without Ball’s passing.
Williams didn’t start playing last season until January as he recovered from a torn ACL, but during the Hornets’ strong close to the season he was a regular part of the rotation. Williams averaged 7 points per game and shot 38.8% from 3-point range, which mattered because 73% of his shot attempts came from beyond the arc.
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