NBA big man Kai Jones abruptly ended the relationship between himself and the Charlotte Hornets earlier this season. For those, who may not remember Jones called out teammates publicly on X (formerly known as Twitter).
He recently went on the Vizion podcast to discuss the ending with the Hornets. During the show, he explained that he loved the situation but felt a fresh start was best at the same time. Of course, there are certain things in a persons life that throw them off or make them feel depressed. Kai Jones was in the midst of that. The 22-year-old said that he was “going through some things” off the court, including the death of his great-grandmother.
He was asked by the Hornets to see a therapist and declined:
“At this time, I’m stubborn, I’m like, ‘Bro, I do not want to see a therapist. I just want to meditate and clear my head and use my intuition to figure out my own issues,’” Jones said. “They’re like, ‘No, you should go to a therapist.’”
The 22-year-old eventually went and saw a therapist, but it wasn’t helping. At, that point the days with the Hornets organization were numbered and he requested a trade.
“(Hornets general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) tells me I’m not allowed to do training camp,” Jones said. “When he tells me that, that was when I was like, ‘Yo, I’m off of this team.’ How can I play here? They’re not letting me do training camp. They’re not allowing me to try out for my position, right? So I’m upset, I’m like, ‘Yo, I just wanna leave now. I’m gonna leave.’”
According to Jones, when he asked for a change of scenery, the Hornets front office said there wasn’t any real trade value. He disagreed and was released from his contract. Now that he’s an unrestricted free agent, he’s apparently been talking to many teams.
“Right now I’m just meeting with teams, they’re trying to get to know me better, kind of analyzing my character,” Jones said. “I think the biggest thing for me is if I want to take it somewhere else in life and be more successful than I ever have been, I’ve gotta work harder than I ever have, be more detailed than I ever have, be more consistent than I ever have, and be stronger in my will, in my head space, and (physically) than I ever have.”
Jones didn’t go into any of the specificsof which teams have been in contact, but a report last week stated that the Clippers brought him in for a visit.
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