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Former Hornet James Bouknight signs Exhibit-10 deal with Portland Trail Blazers

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Austin Leake | Last updated Oct 15, 2024 2:17 PM ET

After eight months of being without a job, former Charlotte Hornet James Bouknight gets a second opportunity. Bouknight was the Hornets' first-round selection in the 2021 NBA Draft when they selected him with the 11th overall pick.

: Trail Blazers Sign James Bouknight To An Exhibit-10 Contract. pic.twitter.com/ZaBkfzsvta
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 15, 2024

Bouknight will be waived from the Portland Trail Blazers, which will ultimately indicate that he will play with their G-League affiliate team, the Rip City Remix. This move reunites him with another former Hornets player Bryce McGowens, who signed a two-way contract with the Blazers in the summer, which means he will also spend time with the Remix.

To put it bluntly, Bouknight's time with the Charlotte Hornets was not what the team expected when he was drafted. Bouknight spent most of his time either with the Swarm in Greensboro or sitting on the bench. He was officially waived on February 8th earlier in the year.

In his three seasons with the team, he didn't surpass over five points per game, as his best season was in the 2022-2023 campaign, where he averaged just 5.6 points per game on 35.8% from the field. Those numbers to put it frankly are not anywhere near what you'd expect from a first-round pick, especially a lottery selection.

Bouknight didn't receive consistent minutes with the team in his three seasons, as he appeared in just 79 games in his time with the team. It never felt like the 24-year-old was going to ever receive those consistent minutes he was looking for. Also, the Hornets seemed to make it pretty clear last season that he wasn't a part of the future when he didn't receive minutes despite all of the injuries that the team suffered. Bouknight was the last player on the bench every night before the Hornets finally decided to let him go.

This new opportunity with the Portland Trail Blazers could help get Bouknight's career back on the right track with a fresh start. The issue with Bouknight was never a talent issue, it was more of an attitude and confidence problem as he dealt with a few off-the-court issues.

Another former Hornet, Kai Jones was cut by the team in October of last year and is now on a contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. Jones has played pretty well in the preseason so far with the Clippers, as he's averaging 8.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks. He has in some shape or form resurrected his career, which is exactly what Bouknight is looking to do in Portland, similar to Jones this could be an opportunity to get his career headed in the right direction.