Charlotte Hornets: Development timelines for each rookie
Kai Jones will likely spend most of his rookie season on the Greensboro Swarm and should be looking to contribute to the Hornets in year two.
The upside of Kai Jones has a lot of fans feeling very hopeful about his future. Very rarely do you see big men who are willing to handle the ball in the open court and possess the level of athleticism that he does. While the flashes are exciting, Jones needs to figure out his game before fans start claiming that Charlotte has drafted the next Giannis Antetokounmpo.
During his upcoming rookie season, Jones will likely spend a majority of his time with the Greensboro Swarm. Expect PJ Washington and Mason Plumlee to take up most of the center minutes as Charlotte continues to develop their young guys.
Jones’ athleticism can only take him so far in the NBA. To be a starting-caliber center, Jones has a lot of work to do in terms of his defensive awareness and rim-protecting abilities. Jones only averaged 1 block per game in college, Charlotte needs to see improvement in this area before they even think about playing him at the center position. His time with the Swarm will be critical in learning how to properly anchor a defense.
The silver lining for Jones this season is that Charlotte desperately needs to find production at the center position. The staff could try to expedite this process but throwing Jones into the fire. The more likely scenario is Jones being on the same Swarm schedule that Vernon Carey Jr. and Nick Richards were on last season.
Charlotte should expect Jones to be able to fully join the Hornets roster next season and compete for a starting spot at the center position. Even if he’s a rotation player next year, Charlotte can view that as a successful development year for Jones.
Learning how to be a proper NBA big man is priority number one for Jones, and this could potentially take two years or more for him. If he develops any sort of consistency as a three-point shooter and actually learns how to dribble, then that’s the cherry on top for the Hornets. However, Jones is a massive project and it could very well take him four to five years before he’s ready to fully introduce himself to the NBA.