The bizarre summer saga of Kai Jones seems to have come to an unfortunate conclusion for the 22-year-old NBA star. The two-year veteran requested a trade on social media earlier this week and was promptly released by the Hornets.
He’s been acting bizarre on social media all summer long and is seemingly continuing that, being spotted dancing alone on the field at a soccer game.
Kai Jones just vibing out at his girlfriends soccer game @242_jones pic.twitter.com/EYdSnBHuWW
— Jack Settleman (@jacksettleman) October 12, 2023
Jones ended up resharing the post with another odd caption, bragging about the money he has.
Yuh yuh yuh yuh yuh I got infinity money https://t.co/bMzP5U6Sj6
— Kai Jones (@242_jones) October 12, 2023
Jones was scheduled to make $3.04 million this season from his NBA contract. By being waived, Jones will collect most of that guaranteed money without having to play on the court this season. But wanting out of the Hornets is not the same as wanting your NBA career to be over.
It’ll be challenging for the big man, who averaged 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 67 regular-season games for his career, to find a team that’ll take a chance on him after his actions on social media this summer, including the intentional alienation of his teammates.
Kai Jones Social Media This Summer Has Been Concerning
It’s unclear whether Kai Jones needs professional help or has been spending his summer trolling everyone for the fun of it. If it was as simple as just being an internet troll for laughs, he would’ve stopped after people got legitimately concerned about his health. Jones was mocking people expressing concern for him, as he did with Terrence Ross the other day. Throwing your NBA career away for jokes on the internet is just not a logical thought process.
It all started with an Instagram live with Kai going viral where people were concerned about him possibly being on drugs. Jones went on to make claims about being untradeable on the Hornets, which also upset his teammates. He followed this up with shots at his teammates Nick Richards and Mark Williams, but many thought the comments were just jokes between teammates.
Jones kept taking this bit further by openly stating he would beat LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal in a one-on-one. At this point, it looks like Jones is genuinely just trolling on social media and doesn’t actually believe what he’s saying. When he kept doubling down on it and suddenly asked to be traded on X, people like Ross got legitimately concerned.
There was no other destination but being released for Jones with his actions. Either he needs to get the help he needs or needs to stop trying to get a reaction from people on the internet. He should’ve gotten the message when the team suspended him, so it’s clear this is a problem that goes much deeper than what we see on the surface.
There isn’t any obvious team that would take a chance on him as a rehabilitation project, given his NBA career has been decidedly below-average through his first two seasons, and because of these off-court concerns which could impact a locker room.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
