Tag: james bouknight

Hornets waive Ish Smith, Frank Ntilikina, James Bouknight

Charlotte Hornets have waived guard James Bouknight, guard Frank Ntilikina and guard Ish Smith.

Bouknight appeared in 79 games in three seasons with the Hornets, averaging 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per contest. He posted 3.6 points in 5.8 minutes per game across 14 appearances this season. The Hornets originally selected Bouknight in the first round (11th overall) of the 2021 NBA Draft.

Ntilikina has recorded 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game across 321 appearances (65 starts) in his seven-year NBA career. He suited up for five contests with the Hornets this season, logging 8.6 minutes per game. Ntilikina, who was originally selected by the New York Knicks with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, signed with the Hornets as a free agent on Aug. 5, 2023.

Smith, a 14-year veteran who has played for an NBA-record 13 teams, holds career averages of 7.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 805 appearances (172 starts). He notched 3.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 43 games (five starts) for the Hornets this season. A native of Concord, N.C., Smith signed with the Hornets as a free agent on Oct. 24, 2023.

Charlotte Hornets sign rookies James Bouknight and Kai Jones

Charlotte Hornets have signed rookie guard James Bouknight and rookie forward/center Kai Jones.

A 6-5 guard out of Connecticut, Bouknight was selected 11th overall by Charlotte at the 2021 NBA Draft after he averaged 18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 31.7 minutes per game in 15 games during the 2020-21 season. For his performance, Bouknight was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team as well as NABC District I Player of the Year as a sophomore. Over his two seasons with the Huskies, Bouknight made 43 appearances and averaged 15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.9 minutes per game.

Selected with the 19th overall pick out of Texas in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jones averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game, appearing in 26 games during the 2020-21 season. Jones went on to being named 2020-21 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year and was an All-Big 12 honorable mention. A native of the Bahamas, Jones averaged 6.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 19.8 minutes per game in 53 career games over his two-year collegiate career. The former Longhorn was acquired by the Hornets via a draft night trade with the New York Knicks as he became just the fifth Bahamian player to be selected in the NBA Draft.