A painful reexamination of the worst draft busts in Hornets history

The Hornets have a lot more misses than hits in the NBA Draft.

Jul 29, 2021; Brooklyn, New York, USA; James Bouknight (Connecticut) poses with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number eleven overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Every team is littered with draft busts, but the Charlotte Hornets have a pretty long list of draft-night failures. No team is perfect, and no team makes all the right choices in the draft. Everyone passes on stars and picks players who don't pan out. It's a part of sports. Unfortunately, it's a big part of Hornets history, too. Here are the most glaring examples.

1. James Bouknight and Kai Jones

Jul 5, 2023; Sacramento, CA, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Kai Jones (23) dribbles against the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

This one is a combination entry, and it might be one of the worst since they fumbled twice in one draft. They had the 11th and 19th picks (through the New York Knicks), and they messed them both up. Bouknight has played 79 games in his entire career, and Jones has has appeared in 107. The Hornets could've had Alperen Sengun, Trey Murphy, or Tre Mann at 11. At 19, they could've had Jalen Johnson, Keon Johnson, Quentin Grimes, Cam Thomas, Herb Jones, Miles McBride, Ayo Dosunmu, or Aaron Wiggins. The 2021 class was deep, and the Hornets had two chances to nail it. They didn't.

2. Noah Vonleh

Nov 17, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Noah Vonleh (11) stands on the court during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Time Warner Cable Arena. Dallas defeated Charlotte 107-80. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images | Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images

Noah Vonleh was picked ninth overall. He played 25 games for the Hornets and was on a new team the very next year. It doesn't get much worse than that, but to make it even worse, the Hornets passed on a few stars: Zach LaVine, Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Jokic, Jordan Clarkson, and Clint Capela. Even in terms of role players, the Hornets passed on Gary Harris, Kyle Anderson, Joe Harris, and Spencer Dinwiddie.

3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Dec 27, 2019; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) stands on the court prior to the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images | Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images

This draft bust is only partly on the Hornets. They did make a horrible pick, but they were robbed of the number one overall pick, Anthony Davis. Still, taking a player with perhaps the worst-looking jumper in NBA history over Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, Draymond Green, and Khris Middleton is pretty sad. MGK did carve out a decent career, though the deck was stacked against him, given how he landed in Charlotte.

4. D.J. Augustin

Dec 15, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Houston Rockets assistant coach John Lucas stands with Houston Rockets guard D.J. Augustin (14) after Augustin was ejected in the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

The Hornets picked D.J. Augustin with the ninth pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Augustin was fine, averaging double-digit points for the Hornets for four years, but it wasn't the production that a top-10 pick should have. Plus, they passed on Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Roy Hibbert, Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, DeAndre Jordan, and Goran Dragic. Those all would've been better picks ultimately.

5. Adam Morrison

Dec. 4, 2005; Seattle, WA, USA; Adam Morrison forward #3 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs prepares to shoot a free throw against the Washington Huskies in the first half at the Bank of America Arena. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images © Copyright Mark J. Rebilas | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

There's a strong argument to be made that Adam Morrison is the worst draft bust in the history of the sport. He was picked third overall, but he only played in the NBA for 161 total games. He was off the Bobcats by year two. That essentially makes him a huge bust anyway, but Charlotte passed on Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, JJ Reddick, Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry, PJ Tucker, and Paul Millsap. They missed big time with this one.

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