August 3, 2021 – Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Mitch Kupchak announced today that the team has signed guard James Bouknight and forward-center Kai Jones. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
A 6-5 guard out of Connecticut, Bouknight was selected 11th overall by Charlotte at the 2021 NBA Draft after he averaged 18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 31.7 minutes per game in 15 games during the 2020-21 season. For his performance, Bouknight was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team as well as NABC District I Player of the Year as a sophomore. Over his two seasons with the Huskies, Bouknight made 43 appearances and averaged 15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.9 minutes per game.