Wednesday night was supposed to be a celebratory one for the Charlotte Hornets.
Kon Knueppel was returning from injury to make his season debut. He’d been sidelined to start the year, but this would be his first opportunity to build on what had been a remarkable rookie season.
Knueppel didn’t even make it to halftime, though.
When Knueppel left the game, it quickly ruined the vibes for the Hornets, who went on to lose 114-104 to the lowly Brooklyn Nets.
The timing of the injury couldn’t have been much worse.
Kon Knueppel Injury Update
The official verdict when Knueppel left the game came via an announcement from the Hornets — they called it “soreness in his left leg.”
He left the game after less than six minutes, and Charlotte officially ruled him out at halftime.
Head coach Charles Lee was asked about Knueppel after the game but said he didn’t have an update, and that Knueppel would be further evaluated when the Hornets returned to Charlotte from being on the road.
The left leg nature of the injury is the problem here.
Knueppel missed the first eight games of the regular season with a left hamstring injury. He had gotten hurt during the offseason and had to sit out all of the preseason as well as eight games to begin this campaign.
For a Hornets team that traded away LaMelo Ball, Knueppel is crucial to formulating a good future in Charlotte alongside Brandon Miller. But he was on the floor for just five minutes and 48 seconds on Wednesday night.
It wasn’t exactly clear how Knueppel got hurt, but on a play that ended with him losing the ball out of bounds while dribbling up the court, something didn’t look right, and he looked in pain after the play.
If it’s an aggravation of the same hamstring problem, that’s a bad sign not just in the short-term but also for the long-term outlook of how healthy Knueppel can, or can’t, stay.
Bad Hornets Vibes
The Hornets traded LaMelo, yes, but they got back Naz Reid and have Brandon Miller leading the way.
They also got Coby White back from his injury one game before Knueppel, and White was great down the stretch last season for the Hornets.
With some intriguing size on the interior, too, Charlotte seems like a competitive team, but so far this season, the Hornets have struggled.
Knueppel seemed likely to provide a jolt, but that chance quickly went away, and at this point, it’s not clear how long the Hornets will have to wait to get him out on the court again.
Kon Knueppel Injury Update Came With Brutal Timing For Hornets