2021 NBA Draft Profile: Kai Jones

One of the more intriguing players in the draft, Kai Jones has the physical tools to do whatever he wants at basically any level of basketball. But will he harness those gifts properly in the NBA?

Position: Big, Texas(but if you ask him, even a 3)

Age: 20.5 (1/18/2001)

Height: 7 ft

Wingspan: 7 ft 2 in 

Weight: 221 lbs.

The Sales Pitch: A modern NBA center fever dream if the flashes can be molded into constant, ever-burning flames. Not a single player in the draft has jaw-dropping moments of skill and power that Kai has. As a legitimate 7-footer with an NBA body, a 40-inch vert, and the movement skills of a gazelle, he is a golden canvas on which Kenny Payne can paint a masterpiece. He didn’t shoot many threes, but the form looks solid both from three and the line, and there’s real stretch 5 potential there. He didn’t always drive with a plan, but there’s moments of ball handling that resemble what wings do more than what big men do. He could give the Knicks a level of dynamism from the center spot that they lack, even with wonderful Mitchell Robinson. 

Elite Traits/Skills: If Kevin Durant is the bar from elite movement as a 7-footer, and Mitch and Deandre Ayton are the bar for elite athleticism as a 7-footer, Kai is probably a notch below KD and a notch above 90% of centers in terms of movement, and a notch below Mitch in terms of athleticism

The Devil’s Advocate argument: Everything about him is theoretical, and he’s not coming into the NBA as an 18-year-old. He’s almost 21. Sure, he has flashes, but the reality is in two years he didn’t clear 70% from the line or take many threes, relied more on athleticism than feel on defense, and acted without a plan quite often on offense despite the constraints of coach Shaka Smart’s offense. He was also an astonishingly mediocre rebounder even for a power forward, and hardly ever passed the ball.

The Misconceptions: The Flamin’ Bahamian’s position-ality is a bit of a weird topic. Texas is very rigid with their big men roles, and they also featured an even larger and even more athletic 5 in Jericho Sims in addition to Greg Brown on the wing, who gobbled rebounds like a 5. So Kai actually got some run at the 4 and on the perimeter, but in the NBA he is almost certainly a 5. He may play some 4 if his first coach is willing to play multiple bigs as part of bench lineups, but his destiny is as an athletic center.

Important numbers:

• 75%: His FG% at the rim

• 58%: The percentage of his shots at the rim, a low-ish number for a big

• 58/38/69: His exceptional slash line

• 34: Total number of threes he took as a sophomore

• 5, 2: His career average BLK% and STL%

• 11.8: His total rebound percentage... a horrible number

• .52: His free throw rate — a solid number

• 4.5%: His body fat percentage at the Combine

• 9 ft 2.5 inches: His standing reach at the Combine, fourth-highest (the other three ahead of him are all 7-footers who weigh 20-plus more lbs.)

Knicks Fit: interesting? He would not help the Knicks much in the short term, nor would he play much. He’d be an upside play and likely their second or third center, depending on how quickly the staff can get him to intuit NBA defensive schemes. He’d likely begin his stint as an energy big off the bench, and if things go well he would evolve, like Charmeleon into Charizard, into a stretch 5, rim-running, euro-stepping, posterizing hybrid who gives the Knicks flexibility from a roster construction perspective.