NBA Notes: Hornets, Kon Knueppel, Pelicans, Nets, Michael Porter Jr

Hornets

Kon Knueppel has officially entered the Rookie of the Year conversation.

As Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer noted, the former Duke standout is leading all rookies in scoring at 17.2 points a game and has already hit 41 threes.

Hornets coach Charles Lee is even running sets for him to open games.

“He comes in every day with a seriousness and an obsession to get better,” Lee said. “He’s so stable. Doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. He’s ready for every moment.”

Knueppel showed that in Milwaukee on Friday, scoring a career-high 32 and forcing overtime with a late jumper in his hometown. He cooled off in Saturday’s loss to the Thunder, but OKC coach Mark Daigneault still came away impressed.

“He brings shooting gravity,” Daigneault said. “He finds space. He plays well in the screening game.”

Meanwhile, LaMelo Ball returned Friday after a five-game absence due to a right ankle impingement. The Hornets sat him the next night as they ease him back into the lineup.

Pelicans

The Pelicans changed coaches, but the results stayed the same.

New Orleans fell to Golden State on Sunday in its first game under James Borrego, promoted after Willie Green was fired on Saturday. The Pelicans have now lost five straight and sit at 2-11.

“We have a lot to do,” Borrego said, via Les East of NOLA.com. “It doesn’t get any easier. We have another juggernaut coming in.”

That would be 13-1 Oklahoma City on Monday.

Borrego made one rotation tweak, giving rookie Derik Queen his first career start. He delivered nine points, seven rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes.

But the Pelicans committed 20 turnovers that led to 27 Warriors points.

“There were costly, careless turnovers in transition,” Borrego said. “We have to find the balance between playing fast and playing with poise.”

At any rate, league buzz suggested Green’s exit had been looming for a while, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Jordan Poole was unhappy about being removed from the starting lineup in late October. Trey Murphy III felt Green’s messaging had grown stale.

And several inside the organization believed Green did not hold Zion Williamson accountable enough.

Nets

Nets coach Jordi Fernandez wants more playmaking and more cutting from Michael Porter Jr.

On Sunday, Porter delivered 34 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a win over Washington. It was the second straight game he handed out seven dimes.

“He has a plan to get better,” Fernandez said, via Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “We want him cutting, not dancing, not overdribbling. When he does that, everybody benefits, including him.”

Porter suggested that he is still adjusting to Brooklyn’s system but likes how the Nets’ bigs reward movement.

“I’ve always been a cutter,” Porter said. “People assumed it was just (Nikola Jokic) in Denver, but it’s something I’m intentional about. Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe can really pass the ball. They found me for a lot of easy points.”