Hornets decline Bouknight's fourth-year option

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I know people with ADHD and none of them have gotten drunk, fallen asleep with their car running while holding a hand gun and then pausing to eat a sandwich before accidentally crashing into the cops who have been trying to wake them for an hour. That’s not ADHD.

He needs to not be an idiot. Time has probably run out for that, but here’s hoping someone decides he’s worth a shot and that he makes good.

A big part of my job is determining if a kid with a disability should get expelled or was their behavior a manifestation of their disability. I do my best to use a broad scope of the characteristics to keep the kid in school.

One thing that is impossible justify is bringing drugs to school.

I wouldn’t be able to keep the kid in the league.

 

[alphasigko]

He was never ready (read mature enough)... At least one more year could have made a difference, but probably not given the dumb things he has done while in NC.

 

[UCan3]

if anything, I thought he could use a little more time at UConn. there is no reason I can think of to get on his case. Wish him the best.

 

[HooperScooper]

Once he went to the NBA, how is there any blame on Hurley? I'm sure Hurley stayed in touch but Hurley has his own program and players to worry about, not a dude making millions on an NBA roster.

I remember Hurley mentioning he and all the coaches at UConn spoke to Bouknight his first year in the NBA and told him to stop moping about being in the G League and put his head down and work hard. Bouknight obviously didn't listen.

 

[87Xfer]

I know people with ADHD and none of them have gotten drunk, fallen asleep with their car running while holding a hand gun and then pausing to eat a sandwich before accidentally crashing into the cops who have been trying to wake them for an hour. That’s not ADHD.

He needs to not be an idiot. Time has probably run out for that, but here’s hoping someone decides he’s worth a shot and that he makes good.

sadly, this pretty much captures it

 

[Fan1978]

No surprise, he’s a scorer that can’t score and doesn’t do much of anything else.

 

[McLovin]

I'm assuming you're replying to someone who has me on ignore so I can't even see the context. But it's pretty hard to say Hurley did nothing for Bouknight. Relative to everything that's happened since he left UConn it seems that Hurley did a good job keeping him in check while at UConn.

He was presumably just as immature then as he is now, if not more, and he really only had the one incident when he first got to campus with the car. At least that got out publicly, I'm sure there were others

Yeah they said Hurley did nothing at all to help Bouk - I think Hurley did his best and any issues Bouk has had are not because Hurley hasn’t tried to help…

 

[auror]

Yeah they said Hurley did nothing at all to help Bouk - I think Hurley did his best and any issues Bouk has had are not because Hurley hasn’t tried to help…

Bouk took on Tripp Doherty as his manager. Tripp is a Hurley guy going back to Rhode Island. I don't know the genesis of where that idea came from, but it's clear Bouk wanted someone he could trust and he got the trust from within the UConn program/Hurley. So Hurley/UConn were still looking out for him in the league.

But Tripp was no longer his manager as of earlier this year, for whatever that means. But no one can say that Hurley wasn't looking out for him or doing anything to help him.

 

[uconngb]

It's too bad but not really a surprise.

ya think??

 

[uconngb]

I know people with ADHD and none of them have gotten drunk, fallen asleep with their car running while holding a hand gun and then pausing to eat a sandwich before accidentally crashing into the cops who have been trying to wake them for an hour. That’s not ADHD.

He needs to not be an idiot. Time has probably run out for that, but here’s hoping someone decides he’s worth a shot and that he makes good.

not a chance that's going to happen. He's proven what he is. It's up to him to disprove it. Not up to someone else to do it.

 

[HooperScooper]

Those who follow me closely will know I have long been a Bouknight skeptic. His body language and maturity stuck out to me early as not only immature, but outright disinterested. His lack of attention to detail on the court and decision making often left me shaking my head. However, this isn't the victory lap I ever wanted to run.

https://www.si.com/nba/hornets/news/the-idea-of-james-bouknight-that-never-was

 

[Punkbo]

I loved Bouk at UConn, but the kid doesn’t work hard enough to be an NBA player. He has enough talent to earn some money overseas. I wish him well.

 

[PNolanFan]

I suspect he will get one more chance in the NBA, I feel like generally when a lottery pick flames out in epic fashion like this some other team will take a flier to see if he can be fixed. He will probably be on last chance now though

 

[FlakeyFoont]

Remember what he wore the night he was back at Gampel? Black hoody, gold bling, tinted glasses. No UConn blue, no Husky logo, no indication he cared about his former school one bit. He had to know the TV cameras would be drawn to him and apparently he wanted that moment, or those moments, to be all about him and him alone. I had little affection for him prior to that night and zero afterward.

 

[Dezoworld]

It's crazy how people talk down switch up on you when your at your lowest. I said it before that je should of stayed an extra year or 2 but some of you guys bashed me for saying that. Hopefully he gets another opportunity somewhere and the 41 point 11 3s in the G league is a start. I'm rooting for JB because most of the Boneyard gave up on him which he doesn't need.

 

[auror]

I suspect he will get one more chance in the NBA, I feel like generally when a lottery pick flames out in epic fashion like this some other team will take a flier to see if he can be fixed. He will probably be on last chance now though

If it was just on court stuff, maybe, but the combo of on and off court might be too much.

 

[Hunt for 7]

He is only 23 years old. He can recover from this. He has the size and talent to play a wing position. Not sure how bad the meniscus repair was but now that they are repairing rather than shaving long term better but recovery can easily be four months. He is getting paid this year $4.5 M. If he can get the right people around him and just focus on getting better physically and mentally he will get a chance. And even if he does not make an NBA team again he will make millions overseas. He has that kind of talent and even if he does not get completely right he will still have enough game to make good money playing BB. Not sure how his deal was structured on guaranteed money but he made over $4m a year. So he should be good financially. But young men can spend money. I hope it works out for him and he figures it out. We hope it’s just maturity and he will grow out of it but we know so much more now on mental health. Giving a 23-24 year old guy a second chance is the right thing to do.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Hornets was the worst possible place for him. Maybe he should go to Utah.

Or ANYWHERE with solid veteran presence. Which actually seems to be an issue overall in today’s NBA.

 

[nycscooby]

And he just had meniscus surgery two weeks ago to boot.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Weird he’s still featured on their socials.

 

[husky429]

Remember what he wore the night he was back at Gampel? Black hoody, gold bling, tinted glasses. No UConn blue, no Husky logo, no indication he cared about his former school one bit. He had to know the TV cameras would be drawn to him and apparently he wanted that moment, or those moments, to be all about him and him alone. I had little affection for him prior to that night and zero afterward.

I was going to say the Hornets probably didn't cut Bouk because of dubious outfit choices. But tbh it's the Hornets, so I can't guarantee that.

 

[auror]

Weird he’s still featured on their socials.

He's still on the team for this year, he just doesn't have a contract for next year guaranteed.

 

[willie99]

Something has to be a wake-up call. He has to hit rock bottom. He's still pretty young

 

[RJScootin]

He seems unwilling to put in the effort and discipline needed to make it to the big show. He got paid, so If he's smart, he should be financially set for the rest of his life without worrying about work. So, it's not exactly a tragic ending. But it doesn't reflect well on Dan Hurley or the school.

I'd be shocked if this was the case.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

It's crazy how people talk down switch up on you when your at your lowest. I said it before that je should of stayed an extra year or 2 but some of you guys bashed me for saying that. Hopefully he gets another opportunity somewhere and the 41 point 11 3s in the G league is a start. I'm rooting for JB because most of the Boneyard gave up on him which he doesn't need.

That sounds like a toxic approach that perpetuates and enables bad behavior. Respect is earned, not given. He's had more than enough chances to grow up.

 

[Palatine]

He has made a lot of money and returned very little value. Now he either contributes or he is gone.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

He's not cut, he's getting paid this season. He's got to get his s*** together.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Hornets was the worst possible place for him. Maybe he should go to Utah.

Or ANYWHERE with solid veteran presence. Which actually seems to be an issue overall in today’s NBA.

Not likely to happen, but Miami would be perfect. A no-nonsense team on the floor to get his on-court focus right. And Caron Butler as a mentor for him on the coaching staff.

Doubt Miami would be interested, but that would be perfect for Bouk.

Although on second thought, maybe the Miami nightlife temptations wouldn't be ideal.

 

[Dezoworld]

That sounds like a toxic approach that perpetuates and enables bad behavior. Respect is earned, not given. He's had more than enough chances to grow up.

He's still young 22 years old is far from being mature. I know he'll be a better person people can change in 1 minute a day month. It's just taken him a little longer

 

[Scrutineer]

Those who follow me closely will know I have long been a Bouknight skeptic. His body language and maturity stuck out to me early as not only immature, but outright disinterested. His lack of attention to detail on the court and decision making often left me shaking my head. However, this isn't the victory lap I ever wanted to run.

https://www.si.com/nba/hornets/news/the-idea-of-james-bouknight-that-never-was

They're cutting their losses because they didn't see any progress and it appears his attitude was his biggest problem.

The following quote points to the team's "historically" bad decisions in the 2021 draft:
"Before 2023 the Hornets had never turned down a 4th year team option for a lottery pick, after waiving Kai Jones in September they have now (essentially) done it twice. The curse of the first round of the 2021 draft will go down in Hornets folklore. The haunting continues to weigh down Charlotte's future with a lottery protected 1st round pick still owed from the Kai Jones trade."

Is it possible we only got him because of his attitude and other schools chose not to take a chance on him?