3 players the Hornets need to develop, and 2 they should give up on

James Bouknight

Acknowledging that you’ve made a huge mistake is tough, particularly in an industry where it’s always more convenient (and potentially job-saving) to make excuses. But at this point, the Hornets need to face reality and acknowledge that James Bouknight is better off trying to resuscitate his career elsewhere.

The #11 pick in the 2021 draft, Bouknight was drafted ahead of many more productive players: Chris Duarte, Corey Kispert, Alperen Sengun, Trey Murphy III, Quentin Grimes, Bones Hyland, Herb Jones, and Ayo Dosunmo, to name a few. Bouknight was supposed to be an efficient combo guard who could thrive next to LaMelo Ball and carry the offense when he sat.

Instead, we’ve been treated to two years of him missing (or ignoring) wide-open teammates, clanking contested jumpers, and blowing defensive assignments.

Are there signs of life? Sure, a few. He’s a good rebounder for a guard, and he was an improved finisher at the rim in his second season. But those skills are complementary to his role, not core, especially considering the increasing frequency with which he settled for contested midrange jumpers.

Nothing we saw in Summer League makes me think he’s gotten better this offseason, either. At this point, Bouknight is mostly in the way of other, more promising young players. It wouldn’t shock me to see the Hornets play him a bunch of minutes early in the season in an attempt to recoup some value for him in an eventual trade. Still, barring a miraculous turnaround, I’d expect him out of the rotation after the first couple of months.

I never want to write someone off when they aren’t even 23 years old. But for Bouknight to succeed, he needs a change of scenery.