James Bouknight arrested on suspicion of DUI
The offseason hit a new low for the Charlotte Hornets on Monday when news broke that second-year guard James Bouknight had been arrested for suspicion of driving while impaired.
Bouknight, who was found unconscious in a parking deck with a firearm, was taken into custody by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was later released on bond and was present at Hornets practice on Monday.
This is not Bouknight’s first driving-related incident, as he reportedly had been cited on numerous occasions before.
According to the Meck County Sheriff's Office, James Bouknight was also CITED on Oct. 10, Feb. 23, and Nov. 11, 2021 for reckless driving.
— Jason Huber (@_JasonHuber) October 17, 2022
That means this was his second offense in the past seven days. https://t.co/Vfwt0S2TBc
Bouknight also had a similar incident during his time at UConn which occurred in October of 2019, during his freshman season with the Huskies.
#UConn announces Crown Heights native James Bouknight has been charged w/ “evading responsibility, interfering with a police officer, traveling too fast for conditions & operation of a motor vehicle without a license.” The team is handling it internally & he’ll be in court 10/29
— Greg Thompson (@gregthompson27) October 22, 2019
Hornets head coach Steve Clifford did confirm that Bouknight was present at practice today, as the team sits just two days away from their first regular season contest.
Hornets 2021 first-round draft pick James Bouknight was arrested Sunday for driving while impaired. He was at practice on Monday.
— Steve Reed (@SteveReedAP) October 17, 2022
The Hornets’ public relations department issued the following statement.
The Charlotte Hornets have released the following statement:
— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) October 17, 2022
“We are aware of the incident involving James Bouknight and are in the process of gathering additional information. We will have no further comment at this time.”
This becomes the latest in a series of negative developments for the Hornets this offseason.
April 13th – Hornets lose 132-103 to the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament
April 22nd – Hornets fire head coach James Borrego
June 10th – Hornets hire Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson to become their new head coach
June 18th – Kenny Atkinson backs out of the Hornets job
June 24th – Hornets hire Steve Clifford, who they fired in 2018
June 29th – Miles Bridges arrested
October 10th – LaMelo Ball suffers grade 2 ankle sprain, will miss time to begin the regular season
October 16th – James Bouknight arrested
This is also the latest chapter in what has undoubtedly been an inauspicious start to Bouknight’s professional career. After being selected by the Hornets with the 11th pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Bouknight played in just 31 games during his rookie season, averaging 4.6 points per night.
He also got into a verbal altercation with Borrego during a game, resulting in Bouknight being ushered to the locker room.
Dunno what was said but here’s video of the incident between James Bouknight and Hornets HC James Borrego. https://t.co/QiECLLLjPq pic.twitter.com/uyGiYz2JK9
— Doug Branson - Subscribe to Every Hornets Boxscore (@DougBransonLOH) February 6, 2022
To make matters worse, Bouknight also missed all of Summer League due to an injury to his shooting hand.
What does James Bouknight’s arrest mean for the Charlotte Hornets?
While both James Bouknight and the Charlotte Hornets would love nothing more than for him to blossom into a star in the NBA, there are clearly some larger issues that Bouknight needs to deal with before he returns to the court.
In the meantime, expect to see all of Terry Rozier, Cody Martin, and Dennis Smith Jr. get even more run in the event that Bouknight is forced to miss games.