2025 NBA mock draft: Sixers trade down to take Kon Knueppel at No. 6

The Philadelphia 76ers need some younger pieces to add to an aging roster as they move forward in the 2025 offseason. The Sixers hold the No. 3 pick heading into the 2025 NBA draft and they have some options they can turn to with that selection.

The Sixers could make a pick and add one of the top talents in this draft or they can trade down and add more draft assets as well as a win-now player. There are no shortage of teams who want to move up as the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans, and the Charlotte Hornets would all like to move up.

A mock draft performed by The Athletic has the Sixers making two trades to trade down in the draft. They have Philadelphia sending the No. 3 pick and Andre Drummond to the Hornets for the No. 4 pick and then immediately flipping that No. 4 pick, along with Eric Gordon, to the Wizards for the No. 6 and 18 pick. They then have the Sixers selecting Duke guard Kon Knueppel at No. 6:

The Sixers wheel and deal with two trades here. Philly is both bringing in top prospects for workouts and seeing what’s available on the market. The Sixers are looking to contend now, but league sources say they wish to bridge the gap between eras of players on their roster and potentially provide cheaper production. If someone comes in and blows their doors off, maybe they keep the pick. If not, they have options.

With these two trades, they end up with No. 6, No. 18, No. 33 and get off the Drummond and Gordon deals as they look to re-sign Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele. It’s not a massive haul, but it’s extremely helpful. And at No. 6, they get the guy I’d have at the top of their board at No. 3 in Knueppel, a bigger shooter who is competitive and tough. He has a case as the best shooter in the class along with (Tre) Johnson, and his overall game was more impactful this season. He also has more ball skills than you think, especially in ball screens, and was better defensively than he got credit for being. He gives them more roster flexibility and versatility off the bench, as I think he can play the two and three fairly easily.

The reason why Philadelphia makes this deal is more so to create more financial flexibility to re-sign Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele in free agency, but in terms of what Knueppel can bring to the Sixers, he is a lights out shooter at 40.6% from deep and he can put the ball on the floor and create for others. He is an underrated playmaker and the Sixers could always use another piece to this roster as somebody who can handle the ball and make plays with the basketball.

Nobody seems to have a read on what the Sixers are looking to do on June 25, but that's a good thing. It gives president Daryl Morey and Co. a lot of options and allows the front office to see what they can do in terms of building a roster that can challenge the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 2025 NBA mock draft: Sixers trade down to take Kon Knueppel at No. 6