Infamous former 1st-round pick to work out for 76ers
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
Kai Jones may be getting his lifeline back into the NBA.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Friday that the Philadelphia 76ers are planning to work out and meet with former Charlotte Hornets big man Jones in the coming days. Charania notes that the 76ers have an open roster spot to work with. Jones would also be eligible for the playoffs.
Jones, 23, was a first-round pick by the Hornets in 2021 (No. 19 overall) and flashed some upside as a two-way energy big in his first two career seasons. But he was waived by Charlotte in October after his troubling behavior over the offseason. Jones acted erratically in a number of social media videos and later publicly demanded for a trade from the Hornets. Charlotte announced at the end of September that Jones would not be participating in training camp and then finally released him several days later.
That said, Jones appears to have turned a corner since then and recently played for the Bahamas at the FIBA AmeriCup qualifying tournament last month. The 76ers need more depth in their frontcourt with Joel Embiid still injured. While Paul Reed has been a serviceable fill-in, KJ Martin and Mo Bamba are not inspiring much confidence behind him, so the 76ers could end up giving Jones a spin.
