Officially Waived: The Kai Jones Thread

[BigSlam]

Yeah but that would be at the expense of another future first or good player. Kai Jones better pan out but I have my doubts.

In a perfect, PERFECT, world: Boog shows enough to show he belongs and TRo is traded prior the deadline for a 1st round pick.

[LofJ]

If they work, we significantly increased our ceiling.

If not....we drafted Monk and Vonleh all over again.

Vonleh never struck me as the brightest crayon in the box, Kai seems like a much smarter kid.

We'll see on Bouknight, but I trust Mitch, if he says he was high on his board I believe him.

[JDR720]

From ESPN

Strengths
- Incredibly agile for a 6-foot-10 big. Track and field background, and it shows with his feet. Gets up and down the floor as well as any other big in the draft. Scores 1.29 points per possession in transition. Footwork shows on the defensive end. Very comfortable switching onto guards and wings. Projects as an asset in switch situations. Can play above the rim in space.
- Plays with great energy more often than not. Very active. Crashes the offensive glass: 3.4 offensive boards per 40 minutes. Will fly around for steals and blocks.
- Shows glimpses of skill on the offensive end. Shot 38% from 3 as a sophomore. Will attack a closeout into a finish, drop off or kick out. Has potential as a shooter, passer and ball handler as the game slows down for him.

Improvement areas
- Doesn't have a lot of high-level experience yet. Late to the game growing up in the Bahamas, which shows in some of his decision-making and sped-up nature on both ends of the floor. 26 assists to 59 turnovers during his collegiate career. Foul-prone. Still learning the nuances of team defense.
- Body is still developing -- was just 169 pounds as a 16-year-old at Basketball Without Borders Americas. Not a great defensive rebounder at this stage -- 5.0 per 40 minutes last season. Can improve his ability to play through contact offensively and battle on the interior defensively.
- Blank canvas of sorts. Does a little bit of everything but what is his elite, NBA-caliber skill? How quickly will he be able to play consistent minutes?

Projected role: Energy big with modern traits

--Mike Schmitz

Post-Draft Analysis
The Hornets traded into No. 19 to select Kai Jones here.

This pick originally belonged to the New York Knicks, who traded it to Charlotte for a future first-round pick, per Adrian Wojnarowski, much to the chagrin of the local crowd at the Barclays Center.

The Hornets selected Kai Jones, who possesses significant potential defensively with his excellent size, huge standing reach, and outstanding energy he plays with. His offense is a major work in progress, but he's on a different trajectory than most players his age having picked up the game late. Jones will provide for an outstanding lob target for LaMelo Ball while benefiting from the spacing that No. 11 pick James Bouknight allows with his shooting. --Jonathan Givony

[luciano-davidwesley]

So we took a prospect I was pretty low on and then traded a future 1st for my least favorite prospect in the draft. Ya'll better hope I completely misread this draft.

I agree I'm not super high on who we drafted. A one way undersized scorer with passing and shooting question marks and an athlete that barely knows how to play.

I don't like taking extreme stances on drafts because we all know so little and its very hard to predict how any of these guys will really pan out, but my gut reaction is to literally grade this draft a D or F.

Seems like a decent chance we just downgraded going from Monk to Bouknight and then threw a future 1st in the trash.

Yeah I'm more in the C or D territory but let it all sink in before we overreact.

There's definitely massive potential upside to these picks and I respect Mitch for flopping out big brass balls tonight. I just really have my doubts they will reach their potential.

I am glad we didn't settle for a Kispert with 0 ceiling but this is definitely a boom or bust draft for us.

[yosemiteben]

A big, long 5 with elite leaping ability that can shoot some, has excellent lateral mobility to switch and guard perimeter, and good motor.

I mean... That's what you want in a modern 5. Can he develop?

[Braggins]

Nothing from Kai's game translated well enough for him to make an impact or even start on his NCAA team as a 20 year old*. He wasn't even good at any of the things we are drafting him for in college (defense, rim protection, rebounding). The last workout video ppl posted on here and were buzzing about showed running in a straight line and dunking on an empty court and then horribly bricking 9 straight spot up corner 3s.

edit: correction on his age

[geraldwallace]

If they work, we significantly increased our ceiling.

If not....we drafted Monk and Vonleh all over again.

Even if Bouknight is Monk 2.0 we have him significantly cheaper then if we resigned Monk

[SWedd523]

I am glad we didn't settle for a Kispert with 0 ceiling but this is definitely a boom or bust draft for us.

For better or worse, it's kind of what they needed to do.

We're on the LaMelo Ball timeline. If the Hornets are a competitor by the time he's up for his next contract, you better believe the pressure from the media, fans, etc. is going to be for him to leave for a big market.

The race is on to surround him with star power and give him a reason to stay.

Melo doesn't stick around for the Senguns and Kisperts of the world. That just doesn't get it done.

[LofJ]

We've all doubted Mitch at one point or another but the man hasn't let us down yet with 1st round picks. He drafted this season's Most Improved Player, 6th man of the Year, and Rookie of the Year.

He knows more about the game than anyone else on the board, he's earned the benefit of the doubt.

[yosemiteben]

Nothing from Kai's game translated well enough for him to make an impact or even start on his NCAA team as a 21 year old.

Getting a little over the top negative now. He's not even 21 yet. Dude started playing organized basketball 4 years ago, his age doesn't really represent the state of his development.

He won 6th MOY in the Big 12 last season, can't really say he didn't have any impact.

https://ca.nba.com/news/kai-jones-from-basketball-without-borders-to-the-brink-of-the-nba/

[amcoolio]

Kai is a project, in the mold of Giannis. He needs a lot of development. The best we can hope for next season is he comes in and makes some nice lob plays and defensive plays for a bursts of the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He needs a lot of patience and understanding

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Kai is likely to spend a lot of time in the G league next year, IMHO. He needs to be playing as much as possible.

Still, drafting him is a vote of confidence by the FO in the team's ability to develop young guys.

[yosemiteben]

Read on Twitter

[euphorbus]

Read on Twitter

And he almost fell over in the process. You guys sure he is really an athlete?

[Braggins]

Wait, the grading scale is A-B-C-D-E? Is this some kind of Aussie thing?

[yosemiteben]

https://streamable.com/lkr2kj

That's Kai switching on to Cade on the perimeter and shutting down his drive.

[SWedd523]

https://streamable.com/lkr2kj

That's Kai switching on to Cade on the perimeter and shutting down his drive.

Holy travel Batman to start that clip lmfaoooo

[luciano-davidwesley]

Wait, the grading scale is A-B-C-D-E? Is this some kind of Aussie thing?

As an Aussie there was no E grade when I went to school. Only ABCD and F.
Good question why isn't there an E?

[Braggins]

Wait, the grading scale is A-B-C-D-E? Is this some kind of Aussie thing?

As an Aussie there was no E grade when I went to school. Only ABCD and F.
Good question why isn't there an E?

Holy crap, you are an Aussie too?

[luciano-davidwesley]

Wait, the grading scale is A-B-C-D-E? Is this some kind of Aussie thing?

As an Aussie there was no E grade when I went to school. Only ABCD and F.
Good question why isn't there an E?

Holy crap, you are an Aussie too?

Being an Aussie kid in the 90's the hornets were the buzz!