"I'll cook prime diesel" - Kai Jones preposterously declares he'd beat Shaquille O'Neal in 1 v 1 matchup
Charlotte Hornets Kai Jones has recently made headlines after some comments he made about LA Lakers and NBA legends Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James.
Jones recently took to social media and made some controversial statements, which were proof of his overconfidence. He replied to fans and tweeted that he would beat LeBron James in a 1 vs 1 matchup and also wrote that he would dominate Shaquille O'Neal one-on-one.
"I’ll cook prime diesel in here," Kai Jones tweted. "Yes 100%," he replied to a fan asking him if he would beat LeBron James one-on-one.
Of course, this would be highly unlikely to happen, given that James and O'Neal are two of the most dominant players of all time in the NBA. The "King", in his 21st season in the league, has career averages of 27.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 7.3 apg. Meanwhile, Shaquille O'Neal finished his career with 23.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg and 2.5 apg.
Kai Jones' future with Hornets in jeopardy after struggling 2022/23 season
Kai Jones joined the Charlotte Hornets in 2021 with the No.19 pick in the draft. Charlotte saw some potential in him to bolster their frontline, but he has played way below the expectations that the team had for him.
The young big man has appeared in only 67 games over the past two seasons, averaging 2.7 ppg and 2.0 rpg. Last year, he played in 46 games and had averages of 3.4 ppg and 2.7 rpg on just 12.0 minutes on the floor.
His limited role and the Hornets' intention to give more minutes to Mark Williams put Jones' future with the team in jeopardy. Kai Jones has two years and $7.6 million left on his current deal and is set to earn $3.0 million this year and $4.6 million in the 2024/25 season.
Despite Jones' potential, the team may decide to move on from him, especially if he doesn't have a breakout year. At the same time, the front office seems to be upset after Jones' recent social media activities, where he called out some of his Charlotte Hornets teammates and claimed that he is better than them.
Heading into the start of training camp in early October, this incident may not sit well with the front office, which could see him as a distraction in the locker room.
Charlotte has entered a new era after the end of Michael Jordan's tenure as the majority owner and aim to become a playoff contender with a core of young and talented players like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.
It looks like Jones may get another chance to show his potential, but if he is limited to a bench role for another season, then his future may be away from Charlotte.