Charlotte Hornets third-year big man Kai Jones posted a video of himself dancing barefoot in a parking garage to Quavo and Future’s “Turn Yo Clic Up” next to his Lamborghini Urus.
Former NBA player Sam Dekker commented on Instagram that “Pat Bev and Ariza wouldn’t have let me in the arena if I did this.” Is this just these new kids, doing their thing or should we be worried about Jones?
Dekker was talking about current Philadelphia 76ers guard Patrick Beverley and former NBA player Trevor Ariza. Beverley reposted Dekker on X, with the caption, “No lies detected.”
Is Jones Just A Gen Z Dude?
Jones is 22 and was drafted in 2021. He is in many ways a typical Generation Z person. They are digital natives and the first generation to grow up with the internet as a part of daily life. Recording yourself doing mundane, wild or crazy stuff is just part and parcel of this demographic.
But some of the recent videos and social media posts have caused concern.
On an Instagram live earlier this month, he was seen in his house slurring his words and rambling incoherently, leading to speculation of drug and/or alcohol abuse.
Jones denied doing anything wrong and said he was just having fun at home.
“I was not on drugs or intoxicated I was enjoying my night in my crib y’all bugging💯💕🦋🐐 #GOATLIFE” Kai Jones wrote on Twitter.
On X, he went back and forth with users, debating his greatness. Jones alleged he would “cook” prime Shaquille O’Neal and that he’s better than teammates LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.
“I’ll cook prime diesel in here,” Jones posted.
“I’ve had a higher fg% than those guys since I came out the womb and none of them can guard me so know your ball before you talk to the one in here MF,” posted Jones about Ball and Miller.
Hornets Have A Lot Of Young Players That Have Made Poor Life Decisions
This is all likely just a case of a young online individual doing too much. But this is something the Hornets need to be aware of as an organization. They have a roster with a lot of young talented players who have already started their careers making dumb at best, and horrible at worst, life decisions.
Between Jones, Ball, Miller, Amari Bailey, Nick Smith Jr. and Mark Williams; this team is very young. There are varying degrees of talent in this group obviously, but if the team wants to know what they have, they need to establish some culture and an environment for these young men to thrive.
Miller was adjacent to a murder as a member of the Alabama men’s basketball team earlier this year. Another Hornets teammate, Miles Bridges, missed all of last season after being convicted of assaulting the mother of his children in the presence of minors. And yet another teammate, James Bouknight, was arrested on DWI charges, and possessing a firearm.
If the environment where they will spend a lot of their time this season would promote good decision making and foster an environment of trust and safety, the players and the team would benefit in more ways than one.
