I feel so bad for James. Came back after the surgery when he didn't have to. Put in the extra work since the season ended (arguably one of those that helped himself the best since the NCAAB season ended). All the hype (an unfortunate machine) had him going easily into the Top 10 at a team that would properly develop him. All of that to end up in an absolutely terrible situation. Terrible luck for the kid.
Absolutely terrible fit for James. We already saw how Charlotte ruined Kemba's prime, not looking forward to seeing James waste away in this miserable organization/city. For how good MJ was as a player is how bad he is as an exec. Bouk will not only be fighting for minutes with the likes of Melo Ball, Terry Rozier, Devonate Graham, Malik Monk and Gordon Heyward, how will he get shots up? Especially with notable ball hogs Ball and Rozier.
Other than ending up in a place like Cleveland or Sacramento, this is the absolutely worst case scenario for James. He would have been better off even going to the Spurs next or even Pacers at 13 or would have struck gold with the Warriors at 14 (who I think will regret passing him up at 7).
Charlotte is where your NBA career dies sadly, and for James it might be over before it even starts. Before you call me dramatic, look at the the Hornets first round draft picks over time and tell me one player you feel like benefited from being in that terrible organization:
- 2004: Okafor -- while he had his back injuries, got to be the first pick for an expansion team which means you're destined for failure right awy
- 2005: Ray Felton -- had his best years in the NBA years later as a Knick of all places
- 2005: Sean May -- out of the NBA after only 119 games
- 2006: Adam Morrison -- one of the best college scorers of all time became an instant bust playing for them
- 2007: Jared Dudley -- left the Hornets after 94 games luckily for him as he was able to carve out a nice NBA career away from them
- 2008: DJ Augustin -- starting point guard on a team that won 7 games
- 2008: Alex Ajinca -- Lasted 34 games in Charlotte. As a first round pick.
- 2009: Gerald Henderson -- The leading scorer on a 7 win team!
- 2011: Kemba -- Wasted his early years on abysmal teams, willed the miserable franchise to the playoffs as he became an All-Star. By the time he made it out of the dump his age sadly caught up to him with injuries
- 2012: MKG -- Mega bust after missing out on AD
- 2013: Cody Zeller -- Has averaged 8.7 ppg over EIGHT seasons as the NUMBER FOUR overall pick
- 2014: Noah Vonleh -- Lasted 25 games in Charlotte before being traded
- 2015: Frank Kaminsky -- Another top-10 pick that has averaged under 10 ppg through his career
- 2017: Malik Monk -- A scoring guard that hasn't scored in four seasons. Averaging 9.1 ppg on 40% shooting
- 2018*: Miles Bridges -- I didn't include him at first b/c he was a trade, but fine I'll include him. 10.8 PPG over his first 3 seasons shooting 46%. There is some hope with him (and PJ/Melo). Only took 14 years other than Kemba to have someone that was halfway decent.
- 2019: PJ Washington -- The #12 overall pick is averaging 12.6 & 6 over his two first seasons. Other than Kemba and Lamelo Ball he's 3rd in ppg among this list...
- 2020: Melo Ball -- Eyyyyy a Rookie of the Year. But essentially the same type of player as Bouk. So the Hornets have arguably two successful draft picks (and saying Melo is a success after ONE season is pushing it) with Melo and Kemba in 15+ years.
So yeah, sorry I'm negative, but this franchise's track record speaks for itself. A terrible spot for Bouk and I hope he gets out ASAP. No offense to any of its residents but Charlotte is the most average city I've ever been too. Sure its not a bad place to live but it ain't special either. Everything about it is average. The food. The buildings. The weather. The people. Just average. Better than being a dump I suppose. If only the Hornets were average back...
