The Charlotte Hornets have a laundry list of draft busts over the course of their existence, but, all things considered, James Bouknight may be the worst of the bunch. The decision to draft him in 2021 was made more regrettable by the fact that Jalen Johnson was picked nine spots later.
Before the regular season began, some player rankings had the Atlanta Hawks' rising star ahead of LaMelo Ball. As it turns out, the idea might not be far-fetched. That's not to say that Johnson is more talented. However, in terms of availability and production so far into the campaign, he has the upper hand.
The forward is currently averaging 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 57.9 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three. His latest performance — 31 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists, and seven steals in the Hawks' win over the Utah Jazz — turned a lot of heads because no one else in league history has reached those numbers in a contest.
In many ways, Johnson looks like an immaculate fit alongside Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel. But without the benefit of hindsight, the Hornets thought Bouknight would be the ideal selection at No. 11 in the 2021 draft.
Hornets missed out on Jalen Johnson twice
It's hard to fault the organization for choosing the former University of Connecticut standout, especially since it was looking for its shooting guard of the future at the time. Unfortunately, he was never able to see the skills that brought him acclaim in college translated into the NBA. Compounding that was his battle with injuries and run-in with the law, and it was just a recipe for disaster for the once-promising prospect.
Bouknight appeared in just 79 games across three campaigns, recording 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest while shooting 36.3 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from 3-point range. He was unceremoniously waived by the Hornets, who likely attempted to trade him but found no takers, during the 2023-24 season, and he has been unable to return to the league since then. At least some of their other draft busts had lengthier NBA careers or even won a couple of championships, as was the case with Adam Morrison.
Charlotte's current front office is probably hoping its predecessor went with another prospect in 2021, as Alperen Sengun, Trey Murphy III, and, of course, Johnson were still available when it was on the clock. Not getting value out of its lottery pick even four years ago has continued to haunt it to this day.
Funnily enough, the Hornets had another opportunity to take Johnson during that same night. They traded for the New York Knicks' No. 19 pick, which they used on one more draft bust who was eventually waived, Kai Jones.
Looking back, the 2021 draft definitely turned out awful for Charlotte. Instead of landing game-changing talents, its haul consisted of promising players who crashed out of the franchise early.