After some strange behavior that included asking for trade via social media, center Kai Jones has been waived by the Charlotte Hornets.
The former first round pick wasn’t at training camp, citing personal reasons, and has been posting some interesting content on X.
It is not too surprising that Charlotte have waived Jones to allow him to become a free agent.
This was his reaction to the news on X.
I used to pray for times like dis #GOATLIFE
— Kai Jones (@242_jones) October 11, 2023
The 22-year-old has been extremely active on social media over the summer break.
The first post that raised alarm bells was an Instagram live where he was behaving strangely and sweating a lot. He had to clarify after the fact that he wasn’t on drugs.
Then came posts about how he was a GOAT NBA player that is better than LaMelo Ball and 2023 overall number two draft pick Brandon Miller.
He also claimed he could beat LeBron and prime Shaq 1-on-1.
Jones averaged 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season in 12 minutes, so it’s hard to see him beating two Lakers legends.
The posts didn’t stop there though, as Jones went on to criticize the Hornets starting center, Mark Williams.
His teammates didn’t hesitate to unfollow him and “people inside the Hornets organization were reportedly worried about Jones’ well-being when he first took a step back”, according to Yahoo Sports.
It is unclear whether another NBA team would to even sign the young center, considering the attitude he had towards the Hornets organization.
If Jones is struggling with his well-being, hopefully he can get back on track and sign with another NBA team in the future.
He was the 19th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and was dealt to Charlotte in a draft-night trade with the New York Knicks.
Charlotte went 27-55 last season, under head coach Steve Clifford for the first time, and missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.