Hornets center sparks concern with bizarre Instagram Live video
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-USA TODAY Sports
A video broadcast by Charlotte Hornets center Kai Jones is sparking some concern this week.
Jones went live on his Instagram page on Thursday and broadcast himself speaking erratically and unintelligibly. He was also dancing along to music playing in the background and bursting out into sudden fits of laughter. At one point, Jones appeared to say that he didn’t think the Hornets would be trading him any time soon.
Here is a screen capture of the video (with the names of the commenters on Jones’ broadcast edited out).
The 22-year-old Jones was the No. 19 overall pick in 2021 and had his rights acquired by the Hornets on draft night. In his first two seasons, Jones had only put up a combined 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds a game off the bench. But he has shown really good burst and energy on both ends of the floor.
Kai making MOVES 😮💨@Jones242 | @HornetsOnBally pic.twitter.com/PDjMfKyvm6
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) February 28, 2023
A Kai block ➡️ Svi for 3️⃣@242_jones x @Sviat_10 | @HornetsOnBally pic.twitter.com/B7FvgyhfCd
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 2, 2023
Kai doing his thing 👊 @242_jones | @drpepper | @HornetsOnBally pic.twitter.com/eIOsMCnZyH
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 1, 2023
Charlotte already exercised their $3 million team option on Jones for the 2023-24 season, but they still have until Oct. 31 to decide on Jones’ $4.7 million team option for 2024-25. The ex-University of Texas star Jones has not displayed any real character issues in the past, so hopefully this week’s scenes were an isolated incident.
