The Hornets 2021 failed draft set the franchise back significantly

Bouknight was initially viewed as a steal at the time as most mock drafts and analysts had him going in the top eight or nine before ultimately falling to Charlotte at 11.

However, his falling as far as he did may have been a sign to avoid drafting him at all. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and the end result was far from successful.

Bouknight never really fit well with the Hornets or got the best opportunities to receive rotational minutes consistently. With Terry Rozier, Cody Martin, and others higher in the rotation, Bouknight was never able to carve out a role.

In his three seasons with the Hornets, he didn't have a single season where he played more than 35 games, which is shocking for someone who was once a lottery pick. He also only appeared in 14 games before being waived by the team in the 2023-2024 season.

Now, Bouknight finds himself without a contract in the NBA. He spent the last season in the G-League with the Portland Trail Blazers G-League team, the Rip City Remix.

Looking back, Bouknight seemed to be the best player on the board at the time, but other players in the mid-to-late first round panned out much better. A couple players to list were Alperen Sengun, Trey Murphy, Jalen Johnson, and Cam Thomas.

Can you imagine if the Hornets had selected one of those players instead? To make it worse, they ended up trading a future protected first-round pick to take Kai Jones at pick 19 in the draft. Once again, at the time, it felt like a low-risk, high-reward opportunity, but it sure wasn't.

Jones showed some promise at some points in his time with the Hornets, but the off-court drama proved to be too much to handle for the team due to the personal issues that Jones was dealing with.

The 24-year-old played two seasons in Charlotte and didn't average more than 12 minutes in a game in those years. Jones, who was known for his athleticism, struggled to find ways to use it effectively.

Although it didn't work in Charlotte, Jones may have found a home in Dallas, as he averaged over 11 points per game in 12 contests with the team. Next season will be a test for him to see if he can continue his level of play or be buried on the bench again with a healthy Anthony Davis and the potential addition of Cooper Flagg.

The Hornets' other two picks in the second round can't be judged too harshly since they were later in the draft, but they still proved to be picks that the Hornets most likely regret.

The team traded up to get JT Thor at pick 37 in the draft, which ironically was the best pick for the Hornets in this draft.

Thor had two seasons where he played over 60 games for the Hornets, but he never was able to stand out or develop like the Hornets wanted, which led to his departure. His highest points per game in a season for Charlotte was just under four points in his sophomore campaign.

The frustrating part about it was the other players who were drafted near Thor that panned out quite nicely. Herbert Jones (pick 35), Miles McBride (pick 36), and Ayo Dosunmu (pick 38) all were picked in the same range and have proved to be solid role players.

Thor started the 2024-2025 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the remainder of the season with the Washington Wizards.

The Hornets' last selection in the draft was Scottie Lewis at pick 56, which shouldn't be judged too harshly, but Aaron Wiggins was the pick before him at 55, which just encapsulates the failed 2021 draft for the Charlotte Hornets.

If there's one thing the Hornets are hoping for, it's to make sure the 2025 draft for the team goes much better than the 2021 draft did.

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