Hornets Want to See More From 2021 Draft Picks
It’s safe to say that all parties involved, minus the former head coach, were upset about the playing time last year’s draft picks saw during their rookie seasons. The fans, James Bouknight, Kai Jones, JT Thor, and yes, even GM Mitch Kupchak.
Slowly integrating rookies into the lineup is something James Borrego has always done. He is extremely patient, maybe sometimes a little stubborn when it comes to the development of his young talent. Even LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges received similar treatment by seeing limited minutes and mainly coming off of the bench. Ball didn’t enter the starting lineup until about the midway point of his rookie season and even then, it didn’t seem like it was a coach’s decision. Instead, injuries forced Borrego’s hand.
Each of the 2021 draft picks showed flashes of what they were capable of when they got an opportunity. In a game where Ball was unable to play due to being placed in COVID-19 protocol, Bouknight led the Hornets to a 124-123 win and finished the game with a team-high 24 points. Not too long after, he was back in the G-League playing with the Swarm alongside Kai Jones.
Later in the year, Bouknight was visibly frustrated and confronted Borrego as they were getting blown out by the Miami Heat. Bouknight played the final minute of the third quarter but was told he was not starting the fourth quarter in a game that had already been decided.
Fast-forward to the final two months of the season when JT Thor was starting to make a big impact off the bench with his length and activity on the defensive end. He strung together a few solid games and appeared as if he would end up becoming a mainstay in the rotation. That was not the case.
I won’t go as far as to saying that playing the young guys more would have saved Borrego’s job, but it’s clear that Kupchak wanted to see them on the floor more often.
"Nobody really knows that much about the three players that we drafted last year and I remain very high on them. I was hopeful that they would play a little bit more than they did. Coach's decision. I always let the coach decide who plays and who does not play. This was not a 'development year'. This was a year that when we started the season, we had a goal of making the playoffs, and along with that comes some pressure to play veterans and maybe not play the young kids as much. Maybe I shouldn't have said that at the beginning of the year, but I didn't think not saying it would mean much either because I think it was just implied that we made enough progress to contend for the playoffs. That does put pressure on a coaching staff, but they didn't play nearly as much as I'd hoped they would and we don't have the answers that we hoped that maybe we would have had after a year. I remain on all three players. Kai and Thor spent a lot of time in the G-League. In fact, that's where they wanted to be. They did not want to sit the bench in Charlotte and watch the Hornets play. They wanted to go down there and play. Even James Bouknight, our highest pick in the draft last year, spent some time down there, but not as much as the other two. So, the jury is still out. The offseason is important for them, especially with the new coach. It's important for them to get to know the new coach and the new system and they all are expected to play in Summer League."
The 2022 NBA Summer League begins on July 7th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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