After being told to step away from the team going forward, Kai Jones has requested a trade.
Jones made the announcement on his Twitter account on Monday.
"I have officially requested to be traded from the Charlotte Hornets. #GOATLIFE," he tweeted.
To be quite honest, the player seems to be suffering from personal issues. As any other human does, Jones deserves some respect and privacy when it comes to this issue.
With that in mind, it's not fair to speculate what is exactly going on here when it comes to the young player. He has been erratic on social media and worried his team enough for them to keep him away from training camp. That's all we know.
The former G-Leaguer hasn't played a lot during his two seasons with the Hornets, only appearing in 67 games. During those games, he has averaged around nine minutes.
Jones has a team option for next season and is then a free agent after that season.
As noted by Brian Goins, Jones could be fined up to $150,000 dollars for making a trade request publicly.
Kai Jones trade value: What could the Hornets get on the open market?
To be perfectly clear, Jones's mental health is the most important thing to be addressed in this situation.
With that out of the way, Jones' trade value will not be very high.
If he is able to get himself right and ready to play, teams may look to trade one or two second-round picks for the player. He does not have a lot of controllable rookie contract years left and is not a player who will not command a lot in free agency.
However, he did have enough potential for the Hornets to use the No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft on him.
