The Charlotte Hornets have traded up in the draft securing the draft rights to the New York Knicks 19th overall pick to select Texas center, Kai Jones. Jones is a young, explosive athlete who possesses the raw skillsets in a big man that the Hornets should have been looking for to add to their young core.
Coming into Charlotte Jones should be an immediate lob threat when paired with LaMelo Ball. Jones is a lethal rim-runner who gets up and down the court quickly and makes plays in transitions. He’s very raw in pretty much all facets of his game that don’t involve his elite athleticism, but he shows unique flashes of fluidity in his offensive game that gives you hope that there might be a great offensive player hiding in there. If he can grasp some consistently on the offensive end, then he could turn into a very solid starting center for the Hornets in the future.
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. He didn’t shoot well from the free-throw line, hitting just 68.9% of his shots from the line so his shooting projection is very questionable. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done here until the shooting is a true strength of his but there’s potential here and the Hornets development team is likely very excited to get started on his project.
On the defensive end, there’s a lot of tools and potential here. He moves very well and 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, 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 are lower than you would expect for someone as athletic as him.
Jones should be a great project for a Charlotte staff that prides itself on player development. Patience will be needed as it shouldn’t be expected that he will get in and immediately be the dominant defensive center that Hornets fans have always wanted but the potential is there if everything works out in his favor.