NBA Notes: Hornets, Kon Knueppel, Wizards, Heat, Tyler Herro

Hornets

Kon Knueppel is off to the kind of start that gets you noticed. The Hornets rookie wing sits atop Zach Harper’s latest ranking of the league’s top first-year players for The Athletic, edging out former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg.

Knueppel leads all rookies in scoring, has been the most reliable shooter in the class, and continues to rebound and facilitate at a steady rate. Charlotte big man Ryan Kalkbrenner also cracks Harper’s list at No. 8.

While Knueppel has outpaced 2024 lottery pick Tidjane Salaun so far, Salaun may finally be trending upward. As noted by Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer, the second-year forward spent most of November in Greensboro but returned with a noticeable shift in mindset. He scored a career-high 21 points in 22 minutes last Friday in Toronto.

“I have loved the mindset Tidjane has come back with,” head coach Charles Lee said. “He has embraced his role more and looks more comfortable after getting extended minutes.”

Wizards

Cam Whitmore’s recent DNP-CD came with mixed signals. Over the weekend, head coach Brian Keefe hinted that Whitmore fell short of internal “standards,” but the message has since been softened.

A Wizards spokesperson told Quinn Allen of RG.org that the absence was not disciplinary, and Keefe clarified Wednesday that Whitmore “didn’t do anything wrong” and the staff simply wanted to give other players a look.

Heat

Miami has dropped four straight and five of six, but the reintroduction of Tyler Herro is not the primary culprit.

As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, the early-season buzz surrounding the Heat’s uptempo identity naturally put Herro’s role under a microscope. The offense has slowed a bit since his return, yet the metrics paint a more balanced picture.

Miami owns a +3.6 net rating with Herro on the floor, including a +13.0 mark when he shares the court with Norman Powell.