Officially Waived: The Kai Jones Thread

[JDR720]

Sleepy-Eye Kai: The Kai Jones Thread

[fatlever]

lol. i love that title.

[fatlever]

i clearly need sleep today. working on 5 hrs. i'm a mess.

[Rays Pompadour]

Kai working out early isn't some alien idea. This is pretty normal for the elite basketball players in the world.

Early Morning Shooting, leave gym, come back lift, leave gym, come back for other skill/agility on court stuff.

Like I said - weird. But then I use a CPAP, so who am I to talk?

[Diop]

Kai working out early isn't some alien idea. This is pretty normal for the elite basketball players in the world.

Early Morning Shooting, leave gym, come back lift, leave gym, come back for other skill/agility on court stuff.

i get that, but my first workout would be 8 or 9am if i had no other commitments.

but thats just me

[Diop]

Maybe he's on the "nap after work for 2 hours, go to bed at 2, sleep til 7:30" schedule like I am

That's basically my schedule lol. I don't recommend it for anyone. But I'm too far down the lifelong Night Owl path of staying up till 2 a.m. to all of a sudden learn how to get up at 7:30 a.m. for work. My hours shifted about 2 years ago from starting work at 11 a.m. to now starting work at 8 a.m. I haven't been able to adjust, so now I do the worst possible thing and get 5-6 hours of sleep at night and then later 2 hours of sleep after work. Thank God I work from home.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

that was always my favourite sleep pattern. nap in the arvo, sleep 6 hours that night.

kids n wife put an end to the nap though

[vorbis]

Watch on YouTube

a rather extensive compilation of highlights to distort and drool over for the next few months

[LofJ]

The only player on the team with more talent than Kai is LaMelo. There aren't many players his size that can do the things he does in transition and off the dribble. His athleticism is eye popping too. He can be spotting up from behind the 3 point line when someone else let's a shot go and he's still able to get all the way to the rim while the shot is in the air to flush it.

[fatlever]

19 minutes? wtf? larry bird didnt even get 19 minute highlight videos for his entire career. 19 minutes? lol. did his grandmother make this video?

[MasterIchiro]

LaMelo will make sure those Swarm highlights will be NBA highlights for Kai Jones. He's going to be a jaw-dropper. Can't wait to add Eason, Bouk and Kai to LaMelo and Bridges. Hornets might be the best team in transition since the D'Antoni Suns with Nash, Amare, Marion, etc. We should be an historically fun team to watch.

[Snidely FC]

LaMelo will make sure those Swarm highlights will be NBA highlights for Kai Jones. He's going to be a jaw-dropper. Can't wait to add Eason, Bouk and Kai to LaMelo and Bridges. Hornets might be the best team in transition since the D'Antoni Suns with Nash, Amare, Marion, etc. We should be an historically fun team to watch.

Yes, add in PJ Thor and possibly Mark Williams and its off to the races
I love that Kupchak says he's building a team for the long run

BUT
That core you champion would have to outscore everybody because it would be leaky on defense
Eason would help; this team needs someone who is kind of a maniac like him, to fight and bring energy on the defensive end

STILL
18 out of the 19 minutes in that Kai highlight video show him dunking against G League competition. There is a reason Jericho Sims started over him at Texas, and Thor got PT over him here. I love his personality and energy, but is he fierce, a fighter, a winner in the post? We have no clue as we've not seen him against NBA bodies. An NBA coach is going to love him on offense but not going to play him if he can't defend pnr or drop schemes.

AND
will the team's ownership and next coach actually have confidence in its young players? At the end of this past season when it came time to play Kai and Bouk the team instead signed Trez and IT (and still missed the playoffs). The salary structure is already complicated by Rozier and Hayward

To be clear I totally share your vision, but dubious about whether Hornet team management will so thoroughly commit to the young stallions. I hope Kupchak keeps his eye on that prize!

[MasterIchiro]

LaMelo will make sure those Swarm highlights will be NBA highlights for Kai Jones. He's going to be a jaw-dropper. Can't wait to add Eason, Bouk and Kai to LaMelo and Bridges. Hornets might be the best team in transition since the D'Antoni Suns with Nash, Amare, Marion, etc. We should be an historically fun team to watch.

Yes, add in PJ Thor and possibly Mark Williams and its off to the races
I love that Kupchak says he's building a team for the long run

BUT
That core you champion would have to outscore everybody because it would be leaky on defense
Eason would help; this team needs someone who is kind of a maniac like him, to fight and bring energy on the defensive end

STILL
18 out of the 19 minutes in that Kai highlight video show him dunking against G League competition. There is a reason Jericho Sims started over him at Texas, and Thor got PT over him here. I love his personality and energy, but is he fierce, a fighter, a winner in the post? We have no clue as we've not seen him against NBA bodies. An NBA coach is going to love him on offense but not going to play him if he can't defend pnr or drop schemes.

AND
will the team's ownership and next coach actually have confidence in its young players? At the end of this past season when it came time to play Kai and Bouk the team instead signed Trez and IT (and still missed the playoffs). The salary structure is already complicated by Rozier and Hayward

To be clear I totally share your vision, but dubious about whether Hornet team management will so thoroughly commit to the young stallions. I hope Kupchak keeps his eye on that prize!

My thinking is that as long as you keep together the above core players plus Thor and PJ off the bench, it would be hard to make a mistake tinkering around the edges as Hornets wean off Hayward and Rozier as that core gains experience in the coming few years. What you don't do is empty the cupboard for Ayton or Gobert or trade pick 15 for an MLE level player. Kupchak clearly has a plan building around LaMelo. And he did stress we can't make the mistake of thinking we're better than we are. Emptying the cupboard is something you do if you think you're close, one piece away. Hornets are not that good yet. We are in no position to start leaking talent. We are 2-3 years from the luxury tax. Just don't lock up peripheral pieces who are worse than PJ like Martin and McDaniels. Don't lose them for nothing though. Trade them like you did Graham. Get something, stay lean, develop your core group internally and someone like Bouknight or Kai will reach the next level 3 years down the road like Miles did and LaMelo has done in year 2. Our drafting strategy has not changed since Miles. Our scouting department personnel has been managed by the same GM and Mitch has kept them together. The early returns are in, so we should be excited about the next few years to come. Next year is a cushion year. I think Kupchak might be okay with lateral movement. The Kai Jones pick is still protected top 16, only 2 slots down from this season. If we are 2 slots up from 13 we are in line to have pick 15 next year. So pick 15 for Graham is house money.

[Rich4114]

For Kai, if he can make the advancement Nick Richards did in terms of knowing how to be in the right spot more, be in defensive and rebounding position better and just play a little smarter, it’ll be a world of difference for someone who has his athleticism and skill sets.

[fatlever]

why do you hate paragraphs ichiro?

[Liver_Pooty]

I think he's a massive part of our future, but I think we should temper our expectations for him next season. He's only been playing organized basketball since he was 14 or so. Still has so much to learn. Year 3 is when I'll be super pumped for him.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

I think he's a massive part of our future, but I think we should temper our expectations for him next season. He's only been playing organized basketball since he was 14 or so. Still has so much to learn. Year 3 is when I'll be super pumped for him.

This. He's a year 3 breakout guy.

[HornetJail]

I think he's a massive part of our future, but I think we should temper our expectations for him next season. He's only been playing organized basketball since he was 14 or so. Still has so much to learn. Year 3 is when I'll be super pumped for him.

I think most of us just hope he plays spot minutes next year. If he shows enough to be our backup next year then great

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

I think he's a massive part of our future, but I think we should temper our expectations for him next season. He's only been playing organized basketball since he was 14 or so. Still has so much to learn. Year 3 is when I'll be super pumped for him.

I think most of us just hope he plays spot minutes next year. If he shows enough to be our backup next year then great

Depends on how the team uses G-league next year and what center looks like after draft/free agency, but honestly him getting more minutes there on a regular basis - the playing minutes on the Hornets when injures thin the roster might be the best bet for him.

[amcoolio]

He's the only rim running big we have right now so I'll bet be is used a lot more

[JMAC3]

This may be short sited, but if we don't at least view him as the backup big this year, I would be open to moving him for a future pick.

For example, if we draft a center and use MLE on a center and Kai is an afterthought then I would be fine trading him.