Swarm and Sting
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James Bouknight and Kai Jones impress in G-League debut

By Dylan Jackson

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 22: Lamar Stevens #8 of the Cleveland Cavaliers brings the ball down court chased by James Bouknight #5 of the Charlotte Hornets and Kai Jones #23 of the Charlotte Hornets in the second half at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on October 22, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rick Osentoski/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 22: Lamar Stevens #8 of the Cleveland Cavaliers brings the ball down court chased by James Bouknight #5 of the Charlotte Hornets and Kai Jones #23 of the Charlotte Hornets in the second half at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on October 22, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rick Osentoski/Getty Images) /
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The Charlotte Hornets didn’t have a game tonight – but Kai Jones and James Bouknight made their Greensboro Swarm debuts on Saturday – and both impressed in varying ways.

James Bouknight and Kai Jones impressed in their G-League debut with the Greensboro Swarm

The Greensboro Swarm took on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Saturday, losing by a score of 111-104. The team as a whole drops to 0-4 on the season, but for the Hornets sake – you can consider the game a win based on how the team’s two first-round picks performed.

Beginning with Kai Jones – he looked every bit of a upside big man that he was labeled going into the draft. He had some weird moments – losing the ball a few times while dribbling and sub-par defense in a lot of areas – but overall fared better than expected.

Kai Jones had several highlights tonight including several blocks, a few dunks, a full-court transition score, and even a step-back 3-pointer. Jones is far from a finished product – and I will emphasize that patience is needed in order for him to succeed – but things are looking up – and you can see why Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak decided to trade away a future first-round pick in order to select Jones.

Kai Jones finished with 15 points on 6-9 shooting (nice), seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and five (yes, five) blocks. He totaled 34 minutes – and likely will play several more games with the Swarm this season. Jones is not ready for full-time NBA action, so having him develop could in Greensboro could be advantageous towards the Hornets.

Next is James Bouknight, who was the Swarm’s leading scorer Saturday against the Vipers, with 33 points. Bouknight, similar to Jones, didn’t have a perfect game, but did relatively well – and looked every bit of an NBA player.

James Bouknight was doing everything offensively for the Swarm – and played in a perimeter-centric guard role that saw him settle for a lot of deeper 3-pointers. Bouknight was hitting them, though (5-12 from 3-point range), and displayed a strong ability to get to the basket in the second half. He also had a nice steal early on, leading to an easy dunk.

Bouknight finished the game with 33 points on 9-22 shooting, with seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Bouknight has yet to get real NBA run – though he’s gotten like two minutes of garbage time action. Similar to Jones, playing occasional games in the G-League could help with his development.

Next. Hornets: 2 trades to acquire Ben Simmons. dark

Whether Jones and Bouknight will be back with the Hornets for their game on Sunday against the Warriors in unknown.

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