Officially Waived: The Kai Jones Thread

[Bassman]

I think Jones can help us. More skilled wings, if available, would be a better fit with a higher ceiling.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Kai Jones, 6-11 sophomore forward, Texas. “People have him in the lottery, but I don’t see it. I don’t think he knows how good he is. He could go to the Olympics as a track athlete. He’s shown enough flashes with his perimeter game that you feel like you could take a chance on him. You just have to be patient. You see the physical potential, but you gotta get more done, man. There’s a lot to work with there. He’s a ball of energy at both ends of the floor. He’ll thrive in transition in our league. He’s always around the ball. I don’t think he’s a great low post player because he’s too small.”

https://theathletic.com/2709333/2021/07/22/his-shooting-is-atrocious-finch-reveals-all-on-top-2021-nba-draft-prospects/

[Benjamin Linus]

You can see the path where this dude is making All-Star appearances and you can see the path where he's just out of the league in less than four years. I'm willing to take the gamble. I think he's got one of the best combos of upside and team fit at 11

I'm guessing he'll be on the Jalen McDaniels trajectory where he's probably a year and a half away from getting consistent backup minutes. All of Kupchak's first round picks have been day one contributors so I'm not sure if Kai is high up on his board

[JDR720]

Kai Jones, 6-11 sophomore forward, Texas. “People have him in the lottery, but I don’t see it. I don’t think he knows how good he is. He could go to the Olympics as a track athlete. He’s shown enough flashes with his perimeter game that you feel like you could take a chance on him. You just have to be patient. You see the physical potential, but you gotta get more done, man. There’s a lot to work with there. He’s a ball of energy at both ends of the floor. He’ll thrive in transition in our league. He’s always around the ball. I don’t think he’s a great low post player because he’s too small.”

https://theathletic.com/2709333/2021/07/22/his-shooting-is-atrocious-finch-reveals-all-on-top-2021-nba-draft-prospects/

That is a weird analysis. Saying he isn't a lottery pick, yet saying he has a lot of potential and is good. It's like saying he is good and not good at the same time.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

More Kai stuff since the team is being linked with him after having him work out twice.

https://twitter.com/BrianJDraft

Why He’ll Succeed

A pretty remarkable intersection of height, length, athleticism, ball handling and shooting touch which took some time to come together but still points to a much higher ceiling than the average Sophomore bigman.

Even compared to other Texas lottery bigs (Myles Turner, Jaxson Hayes, Jarrett Allen), Kai is an anomaly. He’s a mediocre rebounder (mostly due to positioning and strength) but a complete outlier athlete, capable of attacking in transition like a guard and doing slithery, hip shifty Shai style finishes through traffic. He can shoot off dribble, handle and has flashed some fairly advanced passes.

A true lob threat, capable of loading up off one foot in no time at all. Will be a Richaun Holmes style target in the paint when he physically matures.

Why He’ll Fail

Despite good tools and some terrific flashes, Kai is a mostly bad defensive player at this stage. Consistently out of position, overhelps and fouls a lot. Not terribly hard to see him becoming better with NBA tutelage, but certainly a level below those other Texas bigs, even current Jaxson Hayes.

His low usage can be explained away by Texas’ guard-heavy system, but he still disappears for large chunks of games on offense, and his entire appeal is based mostly on being a scorer.

If he flames out, he’ll be out of the league within three years. If he hits, he could be this class’ secret All-Star. Very volatile prospect in general.

https://deanondraft.com/

At a glance Jones has appeal as an athletic 6’11” who can finish lobs, and has a passable outside shot making 38.2% from 3 an 68.9% FT as a sophomore for Texas.

But if you give him a closer look, you run into the enigma that he doesn’t know how to play basketball and it is not clear how he fits into a NBA lineup. He has the skill level of a center but plays more like a big wing defensively, which is not ideal.

Even though he seems like a guy who can make an open shot, he has a low 3PA rate of 3.3 attempts per 100 and at 67.7% FT from his career he still projects to be more of a barely passable shooter than an actively good one. And he is a non-handler with a bad assist to turnover ratio at 0.6 vs 1.4 per game, which strongly implies that he will struggle to play the perimeter in the NBA.

Defensively he cannot really play center. His 5.3% blk rate is more like a PF than an NBA rim protector, and his 8.9%/14.4% rebound rates are more like a SF.

Even if he can make an open shot he is going to depress an NBA offense with his lack of creation. If you are hoping for the next Jerami Grant, he had a higher usage (21.6 vs 18.2) and much better assist (1.4) to turnover (1.2) as a 2 month younger sophomore. And in spite of being 3.75″ shorter, he measured with 1″ better wingspan (7’2.75″ vs 7’1.75″) and is the more explosive athlete. He made 0 three pointers as a sophomore and then developed into a solid NBA 3 point shooter and now you have a decent perimeter player. That is not a possibility for Kai.

If you are hoping for the next Christian Wood, then good luck with that.

Wood completely destroys him across the board outside of steals, while being 8 months younger and 1.5″ longer. He also had the better career NCAA FT% (74.7 vs 67.7) and 3PA rate (5.7 vs 3.3), and he somehow went undrafted.

The draft can be strange and funny how randomly guys get hyped out of nowhere. A projected lotto pick shouldn’t get crushed this hard by a past undrafted free agent, but here we are with Kai looking like a homeless man’s version of Christian Wood. And what makes it even stranger is that he didn’t even play a major role for his NCAA team, as he only started 4 of his 26 games as a sophomore.

If we are being optimistic, his steal rate is a bit of a saving grace, and maybe he can be some sort of wing stopper defensively who can squeak by as a small 5 on occasions. But his ball skills are just so so bad for a guy who is not a full time center on D, he simply does not belong in round 1.

https://nbadraft.theringer.com/

PLUSES

Lethal rim-running threat: He’s a bouncy athlete who gets above the rim with ease for lobs, and a coordinated ball handler if he needs to put it on the floor to get to the basket. If he catches the ball from a standstill, he has the patience to use pump fakes to draw defenders, then the explosive verticality to score through contact.

Excellent straight-line driver with unusually smooth moves for a player his size. Has a natural feel for shifting gears and changing directions—plus, the footwork to occasionally unleash a Euro-step.

Fluid pulling up for jumpers off the dribble. The results aren’t there yet, but bigs who can generate their own shots from the perimeter are hard to find.

Incredibly mobile defender capable of switching across positions. Stays in his stance and often deters scorers from even driving inside. Off-ball, he rotates or recovers quickly to alter shots.

MINUSES

Hesitant shooter who often pump fakes before launching or attacking off the dribble, which will often result in traveling calls due to his raw footwork.

Average pass-catching hands. Fumbles some passes.

Lacks any semblance of a post game.

Sluggish decision-maker.

Inconsistent shooting mechanics and below-average free throw percentage.

Stronger opponents plow through him, both on drives to the rim and the boards. Has the frame to add muscle, but is years from adding that weight. Retaining his quickness will be critical if he does get heavier.

Still learning the game after picking it up at age 15, so he occasionally misses off-ball rotations or finds himself in the wrong position as the help defender in the pick-and-roll. It’ll be a steep learning curve, so the team that drafts him will need to make a major investment in him.

[JMAC3]

My biggest concern with him to this point is that I keep hearing that Center might not be the best fit for him..... He is 6-11, unless your KD or Giannis you are a Center in today's NBA. Hell even those guys play minutes at Center....

If we do end up making him the pick, we would need to sign another Vet Big like Nerlens or Theis to bridge the gap until he is ready to take over. Love his fit with Melo and Miles. See no reason at all his shooting won't eventually translate even if it is a year late with how many random bigs we see each year all of sudden stretch out to the NBA line.

Rebounding probably won't ever be great, but with Melo, Miles and Gordon we should be fine as they are all good rebounders for their position.

[geraldwallace]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[Liver_Pooty]

My biggest concern with him to this point is that I keep hearing that Center might not be the best fit for him..... He is 6-11, unless your KD or Giannis you are a Center in today's NBA. Hell even those guys play minutes at Center....

If we do end up making him the pick, we would need to sign another Vet Big like Nerlens or Theis to bridge the gap until he is ready to take over. Love his fit with Melo and Miles. See no reason at all his shooting won't eventually translate even if it is a year late with how many random bigs we see each year all of sudden stretch out to the NBA line.

Rebounding probably won't ever be great, but with Melo, Miles and Gordon we should be fine as they are all good rebounders for their position.

Yeah I'd be more than okay drafting him as long as we sign a solid vet for 2 or 3 years while he continues to learn the game add muscle etc

[yosemiteben]

Read on Twitter

[JDR720]

Very happy with this.

[yosemiteben]

My god

Love

[JDR720]

I'll give Mitch credit for this one thing if nothing else:

He is a very aggressive drafter. if he wants to make a move, he'll do it.

[Liver_Pooty]

LETS GO

[yosemiteben]

Unreal

Love Mitch's night

[Liver_Pooty]

Were going for it. I love it

[BigSlam]

A

Don't like giving up a future 1st - but need to know more about the pick (year and/if protected) because I don't expect us to be picking in the lottery again for a long time.

[geraldwallace]

Waiting to see what the trade is but like him at 19

[JDR720]

I didn't want him at 11th, but I'm happy with this.

Depending on the 1st we traded for him. Either an A or B.

[SWedd523]

Don't think anyone can accuse me of being a homer, but this draft has left me very excited for the short and long term potential of Charlotte's roster. My goodness what a difference a few years makes.

Kai will now be able to develop with minimal pressure while Mason is around to provide a vet presence, and should be growing into his full potential around the time Hayward's contract is up and Melo and crew are looking to add a high level FA to compete for real.

Melo, Bouk, Miles, PJ, Kai is one of the most exciting young groups in the league

[Snidely FC]

Such a bonus surprise YEEESSSS!