NBA Draft: How James Bouknight will impact the Charlotte Hornets

Bouknight has the size and the versatility but will need to improve his defensive skills to stay on the court for Charlotte

With Bouknight’s defensive impact it is important to note that Charlotte should not expect much from him as a defender, especially in the first few years of his NBA career. The Hornets did not select him at 11 to solve their defensive problems. The goal for a player like him on the defensive end is to be able to stay on the court without hurting his team.

His frame is intriguing and consistent with the averages of his position, and his 6’8 wingspan will help on this end of the court. With Rozier and Graham playing most of the minutes in the backcourt, the Hornets suffered due to their lack of size and length. Having versatile and long athletes will help team defense as soon as Bouknight understands how to position and move in an NBA scheme.

Charlotte should keep on with the one through five switching scheme used by head coach James Borrego and Bouknight fits this pretty well. As Kupchak stated during the post-draft press conference, the front office believes he can cover at least three positions situationally in the NBA. Do not expect this type of consistency during his first years in the NBA as it is very hard for rookies to adjust to the intricacies of pro-level defensive schemes.

From a positional standpoint, there are not a lot of question marks about his defense. He is a smart player that can read opposing offenses quite well. What he needs to improve on is effort, consistency, and technique while sliding his feet to contain dribble penetrations. He was often caught ball watching and this is probably due to the offensive load he had to carry on that end of the court.

Bouknight’s reads were on point the majority of the time, and that allowed him to get a good amount of steals. Charlotte was ranked tenth in the league last year in total steals as they were very aggressive and disruptive when the opposite team tried to attack the basket. Bouknight’s length and active hands fit very well with the system organized by the Hornets staff and this should be a point of emphasis for him when entering the league.