Charlotte Hornets NBA Draft Profile: Kai Jones (Post-NCAA Tournament)

The Charlotte Hornets own their own first-round pick (11) and are owed second-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets (57) and the Los Angeles Clippers (56). Over the next couple of months, leading up to the 2021 NBA Draft, Swarm & Sting will take a look at prospects hoping to hear their name called on draft night.

Texas big man Kai Jones is falling all up and down boards and is very well someone the Hornets could be taking a strong look at it with the 11th overall pick. Let’s take a look at what he could bring to the Charlotte squad.

Age: 20

Height: 6’11

Weight: 220

College Stats/Awards

Jones enters the NBA Draft after two seasons at Texas where he’s shown enough to convince scouts that there’s a lot of potential waiting to be unlocked at the next level. Jones started just 4 of his 26 games but was awarded the 2020-21 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year award after averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Primary Strengths

Jones made his money as a lethal rim-running threat. Jones is an explosive athlete who knows how to run the court and play above the rim. At the very least on the offensive end, Jones will be a good lob threat for the team that selects him. Jones is a raw prospect but I find him to be unusually fluid in the ways he can get to the rim and finish. He’s got a secret bag of tricks that spark a lot of interest when they’re working.

Jones still has a ton of work to do here until they’re true strengths but the upside is there. Jones shot 38.2% from three on 1.3 attempts per game which isn’t too bad for a big man, but you would like to see him be more consistent with his form where he needs fine-tuning, but the shot and confidence are there.

On the defensive end, there’s a lot of tools and potential here. Jones has quick feet and fluid hips that allow him to turn and recover when guarding quicker players, he has legit potential to be able to switch and effectively guard all positions. Although he has the tools and athleticism, I wouldn’t call him a rim protector just yet, but the upside is there. He only averaged 0.9 blocks per game but his highlights on this end on the court will impress you.

Primary Weaknesses

Jones’ weaknesses are those that you would expect from a prospect as raw as him. Overall awareness isn’t quite there. Defensively, he gets lost often and just doesn’t have the awareness yet as a help defender and rim protector which led to easy chances for the other team. This is why his blocks per game (0.9) are lower than you would expect for someone as athletic as him. His athleticism also doesn’t transition in the post. He lacks strength here, and against stronger more traditional bigs he can get pushed around down low.

Offensively, he can be out of control which forces him to make bad decisions that led to turnovers, he averaged 1.4 per game in 2020-21.

Jones shot 68.9% from the free-throw line which is worrisome. His free throw form doesn’t look natural, so projecting him to be more consistent from three is tough although he does have upside there. It’s going to take a lot of work and might be a couple of years before he can truly stretch the floor and be a consistent shooter from the line.

Draft Projection

Jones is very raw but there’s no denying that he has the athleticism and tools that bring a lot of upside to his game. For this alone, I’d expect him to go right outside the lottery. I don’t think he has all-star potential but he could very well develop into a good, rim-protecting, starting center.

As it relates to the Hornets, I think drafting him at 11 would be considered a reach, especially when looking at who else might be on the board. He does fill a major position of need and would be a great lob threat with LaMelo Ball running the show, but I think you need to aim higher than that with a lottery pick.

The 2021 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, July 29 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft will be televised on ABC (first-round only) and ESPN.