Officially Waived: The Kai Jones Thread

[MasterIchiro]

Did we not watch the Borrego interview after his extension? JB said he can see Kai at the 5 pairing with either Miles or PJ.

[SWedd523]

As someone else mentioned, if the Hornets were looking for that long power forward type to develop, wouldn't they have gone after Jalen Johnson? It seems to me that they viewJones as more of a Clint capela type but with more offensive potential. And I really feel like that's where his value is in the future. Of course it would be great to have our very own Giannis at the four, with tons of offensive game. But even giannis needed stretch five like Brook Lopez next to him to really get the best out of his game.

Regardless, it will be very interesting to see how the Hornets handle his development next year. Do they believe he's better served with more game time and sending him to Greensboro? Or do they think he's better served being around veterans and Coach Borrego even if he's not playing much.

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The guy who quit on his team, and fell on draft boards across the league due to maturity and personality concerns?

With the type of "family" culture it appears they're trying to build, i can see why they'd pass on him.

[JDR720]

Kai's best position, considering our other players, is a C. I don't think he'd be a good SF.

His offensive game needs to be PnR and putbacks. Maybe spot up threes if he can do it. He'll be great for fast breaks too.

His defense is pretty poor because he isn't aware and lacks strength. Weight room and film room is where he needs to be this year, regardless of whether he is at the Swarm or here.

The best comparison I can think of is Noah Vonleh. They're very similar. Vonleh is a better rebounder. Jones is a better athlete. Besides that, they're almost identical. Hopefully Noah can learn how to play basketball outside of being athletic. Vonleh could never learn to be anything more than a rebounder.

[BigSlam]

He's nothing like Vonleh at all and certainly not close to identical IMO.

Vonleh was stiff. Kai is fluid.
Vonleh plodded. Kai glides.
Vonleh looked confused when he had the ball. Kai initiates the break.
Vonleh had 4 assists his entire rookie season. Kai has already shown a willingness and ability to see and make passes.
Vonleh has not shown an ability to hit jump shots. Kai shows promise as a jump shooter.
Vonleh dribbles, but only out of his mouth when he sleeps. Kai can handle the ball and has already shown to have an advanced Euro.
Vonleh was filled out as a rookie. Kai needs time putting on bulk.
Vonleh had the personality of a house brick. Kai is engaging.

[yosemiteben]

My god this kid has his head on right, what an encouraging interview...

Read on Twitter

[JDR720]

He's nothing like Vonleh at all and certainly not close to identical IMO.

Vonleh was stiff. Kai is fluid.
Vonleh plodded. Kai glides.
Vonleh looked confused when he had the ball. Kai initiates the break.
Vonleh had 4 assists his entire rookie season. Kai has already shown a willingness and ability to see and make passes.
Vonleh has not shown an ability to hit jump shots. Kai shows promise as a jump shooter.
Vonleh dribbles, but only out of his mouth when he sleeps. Kai can handle the ball and has already shown to have an advanced Euro.
Vonleh was filled out as a rookie. Kai needs time putting on bulk.
Vonleh had the personality of a house brick. Kai is engaging.

Almost all of those are athletic differences.

Vonleh could shoot though. He shot 48% from 3pt at Indiana on the same number of attempts Kai took at Texas, where he shot 38%. He also shot better at the line on more attempts. Vonleh shot 38% his rookie year, on a small number of attempts.

Let's not try to reinvent history and say Vonleh wasn't a highly valued prospect at the time. A few of us viewed him as the perfect modern big in the making, a center who can shoot and defend the rim. Remember the Randle vs Vonleh debates? I think BrotherDave (wherever did he go off to?) was the only one who preferred Randle. Unfortunately, Vonleh was dumb as a rock.

Kai appears to be a better passer, but Vonleh was better in the post. Likely due to being more physically able.

[fatlever]

Obviously the impossible part a player evaluations as a fan, is the off-court, metal, work ethic part of things. This is the part that gives me high hopes for him, compared to some of the other players of similar styles. He seems very mature, and a very dedicated hard worker.

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[yosemiteben]

An interesting tidbit in that article is that Miles and Kai have the same agent

[luciano-davidwesley]

As someone else mentioned, if the Hornets were looking for that long power forward type to develop, wouldn't they have gone after Jalen Johnson? It seems to me that they viewJones as more of a Clint capela type but with more offensive potential. And I really feel like that's where his value is in the future. Of course it would be great to have our very own Giannis at the four, with tons of offensive game. But even giannis needed stretch five like Brook Lopez next to him to really get the best out of his game.

Regardless, it will be very interesting to see how the Hornets handle his development next year. Do they believe he's better served with more game time and sending him to Greensboro? Or do they think he's better served being around veterans and Coach Borrego even if he's not playing much.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

The guy who quit on his team, and fell on draft boards across the league due to maturity and personality concerns?

With the type of "family" culture it appears they're trying to build, i can see why they'd pass on him.

At least Jalen Johnson has tangible basketball skills and we don't know the whole story on the "quitting" allegations. I think the team envisions Kai as more of a 4 that can play some 5 anyway.

[luciano-davidwesley]

Did you have a chance to speak with LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Terry Rozier or any of the guys who were in Las Vegas?

"Melo spoke to my agent a little bit because my agent is also Miles Bridges’ agent."

Great we have to deal with the a-holes at Klutch with another player.

[JMAC3]

He is a center who hopefully turns into Jarrett Allen with a catch and shoot 3. If he does that then we have a really really good player.

All this talk about him playing the 3 or the 4 is old school basketball. If we try to develop him into that he will surely fail.

Keep things simple for him this year, pick and roll lobs, contest shots, shoot open threes off the catch and make the occasional crazy highlight.

[MasterIchiro]

My god this kid has his head on right, what an encouraging interview...

Read on Twitter

Required reading for the skeptics. Sports are definitely mental. The physical gifts are there.

[Chapelchilla]

My god this kid has his head on right, what an encouraging interview...

Read on Twitter

Required reading for the skeptics. Sports are definitely mental. The physical gifts are there.

This is why I like him so much. He seems to be really focused, smart, hard working and willing to pay his dues. I hope he can get bigger, develop his game and really max out his potential to become a star. I wouldn't rule it out.

[MPM]

Love Kai. If you're not terminally glass-half-empty, it's hard not to (at the moment) - he's a 99% potential highlight reel. But the knock-kneed thing spooks me a little bit. Anyone else notice this? Always looks like his legs are going to just collapse inward. I'm going with optical illusion for now. Definitely optical illusion. Definitely.

[MasterIchiro]

He is a center who hopefully turns into Jarrett Allen with a catch and shoot 3. If he does that then we have a really really good player.

Hell of a player if that happens. I would add that Kai looks to become a greater threat in transition. Allen can't handle the ball on a break. Kai is much more suited to play up tempo than Allen. And Allen got 20 million. Valuable.

The promise lies in the fact Allen is not some crazy skilled player that someone even as raw as Kai can't approximate. They do have the same standing reach and natural athleticism and leaping ability. Kai is quite frankly faster, a better ball handler and could become a better shooter.

[fatlever]

everyone talking offense... its the defensive awareness, reading game, staying out of foul trouble, def reb etc... that will determine his pt. what will get on offense beyond lobs is a bonus.
90% of his focus next 2 seasons should be on things i mentioned, plus weights/muscle.

[MasterIchiro]

What makes Kai intriguing is his agility and footwork enabling him to guard out to the perimeter. The tape showed him shutting down Cade Cunningham multiple possessions so there's potential for Kai to guard 1-5. That will be key to unlocking his upside. Kai is high IQ as a scholar if we go by GPA so I have faith his mindset will translate on the floor. He wants to learn how to make reads. He's said in today's NBA you have to become a 2-way player (I've likely watched too many interviews and videos of him these past few months).

As far as bulk, in his pre-draft Hornets interview he said he used to wear ankle weights to school in middle school when they told him he didn't have the body to play the game. He's gonna be a gym rat like Biz.

With Plumlee as a placeholder on a 2-year contract that gives Kai a sufficient window to bulk up and learn to read NBA offense as a defender. JB has said you can't teach NBA length and athleticism but you can add skill. I'm a skill-first prognosticator but when it comes to the 5, that is the one position where teams get away with lower levels of skill and you extract more value from length and athleticism.

This is a young man they brought back multiple times for workouts and interviews who is now revealing his mindset towards improving his overall game on both sides of the ball. What he's saying now confirms what they saw in him when they did their research.

Kupchak literally hunted down this guy and was ready to take him at 11 before Bouknight fell. Kupchak said they started thinking about trading back into the first round for him at pick 16 but it sounds like Presti did the deal with the Rockets after likely failing to bundle 16 + 18 for Bouknight. Kupchak confirmed a bidding war over 11 for presumably Bouknight.

[MasterIchiro]

No historical revision allowed.

[CuseMayne]

What makes Kai intriguing is his agility and footwork enabling him to guard out to the perimeter. The tape showed him shutting down Cade Cunningham multiple possessions so there's potential for Kai to guard 1-5. That will be key to unlocking his upside. Kai is high IQ as a scholar if we go by GPA so I have faith his mindset will translate on the floor. He wants to learn how to make reads. He's said in today's NBA you have to become a 2-way player (I've likely watched too many interviews and videos of him these past few months).

As far as bulk, in his pre-draft Hornets interview he said he used to wear ankle weights to school in middle school when they told him he didn't have the body to play the game. He's gonna be a gym rat like Biz.

With Plumlee as a placeholder on a 2-year contract that gives Kai a sufficient window to bulk up and learn to read NBA offense as a defender. JB has said you can't teach NBA length and athleticism but you can add skill. I'm a skill-first prognosticator but when it comes to the 5, that is the one position where teams get away with lower levels of skill and you extract more value from length and athleticism.

This is a young man they brought back multiple times for workouts and interviews who is now revealing his mindset towards improving his overall game on both sides of the ball. What he's saying now confirms what they saw in him when they did their research.

Kupchak literally hunted down this guy and was ready to take him at 11 before Bouknight fell. Kupchak said they started thinking about trading back into the first round for him at pick 16 but it sounds like Presti did the deal with the Rockets after likely failing to bundle 16 + 18 for Bouknight. Kupchak confirmed a bidding war over 11 for presumably Bouknight.

Love the write-up buddy. I'm definitely optimistic as well when it comes to Jones. With his work ethic and general intelligence, he can AT THE VERY LEAST play a specific role that Borrego and the assistant coaches want to map out for him (he seems VERY coachable). I think that that should be established first, and then add everything else piece by piece once he's shown he can do what is asked of him. Fellas, he's only 20 years old and has an INSANE body, background and God-given tools. I'm personally going the route of giving him plenty of time, dreaming big, and hoping that the future is super bright with the kid.

Cheers brothers.

[MasterIchiro]

What makes Kai intriguing is his agility and footwork enabling him to guard out to the perimeter. The tape showed him shutting down Cade Cunningham multiple possessions so there's potential for Kai to guard 1-5. That will be key to unlocking his upside. Kai is high IQ as a scholar if we go by GPA so I have faith his mindset will translate on the floor. He wants to learn how to make reads. He's said in today's NBA you have to become a 2-way player (I've likely watched too many interviews and videos of him these past few months).

As far as bulk, in his pre-draft Hornets interview he said he used to wear ankle weights to school in middle school when they told him he didn't have the body to play the game. He's gonna be a gym rat like Biz.

With Plumlee as a placeholder on a 2-year contract that gives Kai a sufficient window to bulk up and learn to read NBA offense as a defender. JB has said you can't teach NBA length and athleticism but you can add skill. I'm a skill-first prognosticator but when it comes to the 5, that is the one position where teams get away with lower levels of skill and you extract more value from length and athleticism.

This is a young man they brought back multiple times for workouts and interviews who is now revealing his mindset towards improving his overall game on both sides of the ball. What he's saying now confirms what they saw in him when they did their research.

Kupchak literally hunted down this guy and was ready to take him at 11 before Bouknight fell. Kupchak said they started thinking about trading back into the first round for him at pick 16 but it sounds like Presti did the deal with the Rockets after likely failing to bundle 16 + 18 for Bouknight. Kupchak confirmed a bidding war over 11 for presumably Bouknight.

Love the write-up buddy. I'm definitely optimistic as well when it comes to Jones. With his work ethic and general intelligence, he can AT THE VERY LEAST play a specific role that Borrego and the assistant coaches want to map out for him (he seems VERY coachable). I think that that should be established first, and then add everything else piece by piece once he's shown he can do what is asked of him. Fellas, he's only 20 years old and has an INSANE body, background and God-given tools. I'm personally going the route of giving him plenty of time, dreaming big, and hoping that the future is super bright with the kid.

Cheers brothers.

Honestly in just happy he's a Hornet. And according to Bahamian draft party coverage with the Jones family, Kai's dad acknowledged hoping months prior to the draft the Hornets would select his son. Charlotte was the family dream destination. It really sounds like it. Obviously they're huge MJ fans given Kai chose number 23. You couldn't ask for a better pick at 19. It's a serious steal at this part of the draft to grab a lottery level talent with so much upside.