Bouk 'Em, Danno: The James Bouknight Thread

[wilson115]

Keep thinking back to these bits from Buzz from right before the 2021 draft. Was picking Bouk really Mitch's call?

LaMelo is the latest in what's been a pretty solid run of draft picks in the three-plus seasons Mitch has been in charge. What is the reason in your mind for the increased success?

Larry Jordan is our director of player personnel, so he’s the guy in charge of it. So Larry, I’ve got to give Larry a lot of credit for staying on top of the scouts.

And then on top of that you have Mitch, who oversees the whole department of ops. He’s asking Larry a lot of questions and Larry’s got to get those questions answered from the scouts. And so those two guys, they are on top of it.

And people may think if you are No. 11 whoever pops up you get. Nah, there’s a lot of work that goes into it. A lot of preparation. Meeting after meeting. Zoom call after Zoom call. Hundreds of discussions about each player and then when it comes time to pick you feel decent about it if you’ve got everything lined up. This is the guy. We don’t wait until Thursday, 'Here’s comes the draft on the 29th.' We want to know a couple off days out before that we are prepared and we’ve got everything. If we are going to make changes after today it’s going to be a big discussion with ownership and this is why we may make a change. But those two guys are really on top of it, led by Larry.

https://www.si.com/nba/hornets/news/buzz-peterson-q-a-charlotte-hornets-assistant-gm-on-evaluating-talent

[Diop]

I think I'd like to see McGowens get minutes ahead of Bouknight at the moment.
If Bouknight is going to develop year 3 or 4, then minutes now probably wont do ****

[W_HAMILTON]

If we are going to be just throwing minutes around I'd prefer they go to young guys that work hard and behave themselves (Kai, Williams, Richards and Maledon etc). We should not be throwing the keys to rookies that chew out their coach on the sideline and who haven't worked out how to behave like an adult yet in the real world.

There is no single attribute to Bouknight's game that indicates he can forge out a role in the NBA. He's just a guy that wants slash and chuck but at this level he doesn't have the physical attributes or handle to do it successfully.

Cons - He plays small and is slightly undersized, loose handle, can't create his own shot at this level, well below average shooter, below average passer, awful defender/ball watcher, low BBIQ, character issues.

Pros - He is an OKish rebounder for a combo guard/two guard? Has burst but no handle to make use of it? The game MIGHT slow down for him at some point???

As clueless as Kai is as a basketball player, at least he has supreme athleticism, great size and the lateral quickness to defend 4-5 and possibly 3. He also appears to work hard and not be a knucklehead unlike Bouknight.

I agree you should normally give a guy a few years before coming to strong conclusions but on the odd occassion it becomes obvious much earlier when a guy is clearly way out of his depth.

If we can get pennies on the dollar for Bouknight we should take the L and cash out. I'd be ecstatic if we managed to get any second for him and get off his salary and make him someone else's problem. He fails pretty badly both on the eye test and analytically.

Yep.

I think he's soured me enough on him where I don't really even care if he goes somewhere else and ends up having a modicum of success. I still wouldn't have any regrets at letting him go. It would be one thing if he played hard and was a good kid, but he doesn't and he's not. Hell, he doesn't even come off as a likable person. I can't see why the team even keeps him around, other than maybe figuring they've invested so much in him already that it would be a complete waste to cut him loose now, but it just seems like they are throwing good money after bad at this point...

[Rays Pompadour]

I mentioned this at the end of last season - Bouknight should spend all his time dribbling. I think there's potential there. So do the Hornets. But dribbling is a translatable skill and Bouknight needs to work his hinny off until he gets it.

[Diop]

I mentioned this at the end of last season - Bouknight should spend all his time dribbling. I think there's potential there. So do the Hornets. But dribbling is a translatable skill and Bouknight needs to work his hinny off until he gets it.

make him play point guard in the g league then, tell him to concentrate on assists not scoring.

[Liver_Pooty]

His first step is his meal ticket. He can take anyone off the dribble he wants. After that he is as clueless as it gets. There's potential there, but I don't know.

[Rays Pompadour]

One thing you shouldn't do is put the ribs in the smoker when you're hungry. Good ribs take a long time to get right. I think Bouknight will be similar. It's just going to take time.

[wilson115]

Saved the optimism for last.

James Bouknight has had an ugly start; he doesn't even look like an NBA player, but it's still too early to give up on him. Fans must remember that Bouknight is only 22 years old and is in the beginning of his 2nd year in the NBA. Everyone progresses differently, and we have to recognize that. We're seeing that firsthand in Charlotte with Nick Richards, who has emerged at 24 years old in his 3rd season as a high-impact player. James Bouknight has shown impressive flashes this season that make you stop and think about the player he could become.

https://www.si.com/nba/hornets/news/analyzing-james-bouknights-sophomore-year

[JMAC3]

If we are going to be just throwing minutes around I'd prefer they go to young guys that work hard and behave themselves (Kai, Williams, Richards and Maledon etc). We should not be throwing the keys to rookies that chew out their coach on the sideline and who haven't worked out how to behave like an adult yet in the real world.

Kai, Williams and Richards all play the same position, I agree they should get minutes but Bouk is a completely different player and him playing doesn't affect their development. My guess is DSJ is also moved at some point as a defensive backup pg and that should mean Bouk gets another shot to earn his stripes.

If we can get pennies on the dollar for Bouknight we should take the L and cash out. I'd be ecstatic if we managed to get any second for him and get off his salary and make him someone else's problem. He fails pretty badly both on the eye test and analytically.

A 2nd? Just relax man. People want instant results for every single guy and some guys it just takes longer. I can list out 30 guys that took more than a year to turn out if that helps. Worst case he doesn't work out, but I would rather take a 10% chance he does over a 2nd rounder.

[JMAC3]

Still doesn't really feel like we have given Bouknight a real shot to the point where we should cut/give him away or whatever.

16 mpg and only 5 shots. I think his confidence is shot.

I legit would tell him, go get 10-15 shots tonight. Then do it again for a month straight. If his percentages still suck then sure maybe dump him. But this whole 0-5, with 4 misses from 3 and telling him he is garbage... I am just not there yet on those samples.

We suck, we know we suck, our players know we suck. No need to pretend Bouk can't play more than 15 minutes where he isn't getting more touches, more plays for him, more opportunities in pick n roll.

Hope Clifford just says F it and gives the kid a month of really good run at some point this year.

[luciano-davidwesley]

Still doesn't really feel like we have given Bouknight a real shot to the point where we should cut/give him away or whatever.

16 mpg and only 5 shots. I think his confidence is shot.

I legit would tell him, go get 10-15 shots tonight. Then do it again for a month straight. If his percentages still suck then sure maybe dump him. But this whole 0-5, with 4 misses from 3 and telling him he is garbage... I am just not there yet on those samples.

We suck, we know we suck, our players know we suck. No need to pretend Bouk can't play more than 15 minutes where he isn't getting more touches, more plays for him, more opportunities in pick n roll.

Hope Clifford just says F it and gives the kid a month of really good run at some point this year.

I think he did get a fair shot at the start of the season. He was just plain awful though.

[JMAC3]

I think he did get a fair shot at the start of the season. He was just plain awful though.

I would disagree.

Games played with over 21 minutes? 4 Total

Games played with 9+ shot attempts? 5 Total

I am not guaranteeing he will impress, just stating that I don't think he has been given a long enough leash.

We are seeing Bol Bol, Dennis Smith Jr, Hartenstein Basically do nothing for their first 3 years in league and are now all thriving in some degree.

Bouknight just hit 50 games played, 637 mpg... I think I will let the bun cook a bit longer in the oven.

[yosemiteben]

Send him to Greensboro if we're going to force feed him minutes just to see if he can learn to shoot. Kinda confused as to why we haven't already done that.

[fatlever]

if you think the only reason bouk got benched is because of his %s, then you haven't been paying attention? bryce could shoot 10% for the rest of the season and i'd still play him over bouk.

[JDR720]

I think he was given a pretty good chance. He was in the rotation even after he got arrested for being passed out drunk in a parking garage.

Sure, he's only played 50 something games, so it's possible he turns it around. But I doubt it. He isn't like Monk, who we moved on from due to personal issues, but had shown flashes of being pretty talented.

McGowans might already be better than Bou is and is 3 years younger. It doesn't make sense to not play McGowans over him at this point. Theo too, who is a year younger and better.

If he can't beat out two 2nd round picks for minutes, that's his own problem at this point.

[Robot Rock]

Send him to Greensboro if we're going to force feed him minutes just to see if he can learn to shoot. Kinda confused as to why we haven't already done that.

Because he puts forth negative amounts of effort there and doesn't get better.

[Robot Rock]

Bouknight and Kirk Haston are toss-ups for worst first-rounder in team history. George Zidek, at best, gets only the bronze. PJ Hairston's nipping at his heels.

[yosemiteben]

Send him to Greensboro if we're going to force feed him minutes just to see if he can learn to shoot. Kinda confused as to why we haven't already done that.

Because he puts forth negative amounts of effort there and doesn't get better.

Then cut him. Not sure why you would carry a guy in the main roster solely because he's so bad that he can't contribute to your G league team.

[Braggins]

Yeah, I'm in favor of a developmental approach, but at this point Bouknight is the lowest development priority of anyone on the team. Hes been by far the worst on the court of any of the recently drafted players on the team and he is also the oldest, which doesn't even get into the off court troubles.

In my ideal scenario there would be some vets traded and you could probably still find him some minutes, but Maledon and McGowens would still be prioritized over him until he shows more.

My guess is that hes either basically thrown into a trade for free at the deadline or the team cuts him this offseason.

[fatlever]

No Terry, no DSJ, no Cody, no Bryce... certainly that means Bouk will get out of the doghouse. Lol, nope.

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