Should Spurs Trade For Hornets Guard James Bouknight?
The San Antonio Spurs need a few lucky breaks.
The team is taking chances on a lot of young, promising players ... but these prospects are like lottery tickets. The Spurs make the investment and hope it pays off. But in a rebuilding situation, you can never have too many of these players, which builds the argument for why San Antonio should trade for Charlotte Hornets guard James Bouknight.
Bouknight, the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, had a high ceiling coming out of Connecticut as a scorer but is roadblocked in Charlotte behind LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier in the backcourt. In his rookie season, Bouknight played in just 31 games for the Hornets and averaged 4.6 points per game.
And in his second preseason, Bouknight is still struggling to find his footing. He's averaging just 5.4 points per game while shooting 25 percent from the field. So far, he's got bust written all over him ... which is exactly why the Spurs should try and revive his career.
His trade value is super low, but if the Spurs develop him and offer consistent playing time, Bouknight could play more like his UConn self that made him a lottery pick.
The cost for Bouknight would probably end up being pretty low. It would only cost a mid-level salary like Zach Collins to get the deal done. The team could also open it to a larger deal and include other players to entice the Hornets a little more.
There are reasons for the Spurs to not consider trading for Bouknight. While Bouknight would represent a potential heavy-scoring option for the Spurs, it could take away playing time from rookies Blake Wesley and Malaki Branham. However, if the Spurs can find the opportunity to play Bouknight while not sacrificing the other young players they want to develop, there's no reason the deal shouldn't be made.
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