Charlotte Hornets decline fourth-year option for former lottery pick
The possibility of James Bouknight being in the long-term plans of the Charlotte Hornets took a massive hit Tuesday afternoon. Bouknight’s fourth-year option worth $6.1 million was declined by the Hornets, resulting in the 23-year-old guard becoming an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The Charlotte Hornets are declining the fourth-year option ($6.1 million) on 2021 No. 11 pick James Bouknight, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 31, 2023
The former 11th overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft is currently sidelined with a knee injury. Bouknight’s return timeline is not yet known, as he underwent surgery for his injury and is set to be re-evaluated in a few weeks.
Considering the way that everything has transpired over the past few weeks, there is an extremely good chance that Bouknight’s time with the Hornets will come to an end sooner rather than later. Charlotte has explored a variety of options to take a place on their bench this offseason, including Ish Smith and Frank Ntilikina, in addition to the recently waived Edmond Sumner.
At this moment in time, it simply appears that it will be an uphill battle for Bouknight to make any sort of tangible impact on the Hornets’ franchise. This is not necessarily a product of just one thing. It is the approach the decision-makers in Charlotte combined with the underwhelming production they have seen from Bouknight and his current injury.
It would be one thing if Bouknight had been able to make an impact of any kind in his brief NBA career, but that has simply not been the case. The 23-year-old UConn product has appeared in just 65 games in the NBA over his first two seasons and has failed to carve out any sort of role on this team.
Bouknight has career averages of just 5.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1 assist in an average of 12.6 minutes per game over two seasons. This comes on a field goal percentage of 35.3% and a three-point conversion rate of 31.6%, hardly acceptable numbers from a team that needs help on the offensive end of the floor.
