What are Kai Jones' contract details with the Hornets? Salary, duration and more

Charlotte Hornets big man Kai Jones went viral recently after going on Instagram Live and seemingly looked like he was high on something. Jones is entering his third season with the Hornets, so here's a look at the details of his contract including salary, duration and more.

Jones was the No. 19 pick of the 2021 NBA Draft out of Texas. He signed a four-year, $13,421,215 contract with the Hornets. He had a salary of $2,770,560 as a rookie and $2,909,040 last season.

Charlotte later exercised their two-year option for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, which means he will be a restricted free agent in 2025. He will earn $3,047,880 this upcoming season and $4,693,735 in the final year of his contract.

The Charlotte Hornets traded into the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft, and many fans were ecstatic when they picked up Jones. The Hornets were missing an inside presence, and there was hope that Jones could develop into a good big man.

However, he has failed to live up to the expectations heading into his third season in the league. He spent most of his rookie season in the NBA G League but got some chances last season, averaging 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 46 games.

Jones played for the Hornets' Summer League but failed to make an impact. His most noteworthy highlight was a poster dunk on Victor Wembanyama that went viral.

It should also be noted that Jones was not called up by the Bahamas for the 2024 FIBA Men's Pre-Qualifying Olympic tournament last month.

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Kai Jones goes viral on social media

Kai Jones of the Charlotte Hornets

Kai Jones went on Instagram Live recently, and fans speculated that he was high on something.

There were concerns that Jones was not in the right frame of mind during the live stream, as he would laugh randomly before saying that the Charlotte Hornets were not trading him:

"If I get that call on my phone, I will have my bye, but I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon," Jones said.

Jones was confident enough to say that he won't be traded, but Charlotte's depth doesn't favor him. The Hornets recently got Miles Bridges back and re-signed P.J. Washington to a new contract.

Furthermore, Mark Williams arguably played better than him last season while James Nnaji has a lot of potential. Nick Richards could be the backup center next season, so Jones will likely have to battle with J.T. Thor for minutes.

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