Jul 29, 2021; Brooklyn, New York, USA; James Bouknight (Connecticut) poses with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number eleven overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

A painful reexamination of the worst draft busts in Hornets history

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated May 8, 2025 8:26 PM ET

Every team is littered with draft busts, but the Charlotte Hornets have a pretty long list of draft-night failures. No team is perfect, and no team makes all the right choices in the draft. Everyone passes on stars and picks players who don't pan out. It's a part of sports. Unfortunately, it's a big part of Hornets history, too. Here are the most glaring examples.

1. James Bouknight and Kai Jones

This one is a combination entry, and it might be one of the worst since they fumbled twice in one draft. They had the 11th and 19th picks (through the New York Knicks), and they messed them both up. Bouknight has played 79 games in his entire career, and Jones has has appeared in 107. The Hornets could've had Alperen Sengun, Trey Murphy, or Tre Mann at 11. At 19, they could've had Jalen Johnson, Keon Johnson, Quentin Grimes, Cam Thomas, Herb Jones, Miles McBride, Ayo Dosunmu, or Aaron Wiggins. The 2021 class was deep, and the Hornets had two chances to nail it. They didn't.

2. Noah Vonleh

Noah Vonleh was picked ninth overall. He played 25 games for the Hornets and was on a new team the very next year. It doesn't get much worse than that, but to make it even worse, the Hornets passed on a few stars: Zach LaVine, Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Jokic, Jordan Clarkson, and Clint Capela. Even in terms of role players, the Hornets passed on Gary Harris, Kyle Anderson, Joe Harris, and Spencer Dinwiddie.

3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

This draft bust is only partly on the Hornets. They did make a horrible pick, but they were robbed of the number one overall pick, Anthony Davis. Still, taking a player with perhaps the worst-looking jumper in NBA history over Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, Draymond Green, and Khris Middleton is pretty sad. MGK did carve out a decent career, though the deck was stacked against him, given how he landed in Charlotte.

4. D.J. Augustin

The Hornets picked D.J. Augustin with the ninth pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Augustin was fine, averaging double-digit points for the Hornets for four years, but it wasn't the production that a top-10 pick should have. Plus, they passed on Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Roy Hibbert, Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, DeAndre Jordan, and Goran Dragic. Those all would've been better picks ultimately.

5. Adam Morrison

There's a strong argument to be made that Adam Morrison is the worst draft bust in the history of the sport. He was picked third overall, but he only played in the NBA for 161 total games. He was off the Bobcats by year two. That essentially makes him a huge bust anyway, but Charlotte passed on Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, JJ Reddick, Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry, PJ Tucker, and Paul Millsap. They missed big time with this one.