OCEANSIDE – Kai Jones answers each question with unfailing politeness, leaning forward so each word can be heard from 7 feet above.
Yet, beneath the powdery soft yes ma’ams and no sirs is 220 pounds of power and velocity waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting teams. It’s a statement Jones is looking to make this season as he rebuilds his career.
Jones was selected by the New York Knicks with the 19th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and immediately was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. That’s when his burgeoning career slowed.
One month after signing with the Hornets, the team announced that Jones would not be in training camp after the player displayed unusual behavior on social media. He criticized his teammates, posted messages in incoherent speech and declared he was the greatest basketball player of all time. He eventually requested a trade on X and on Oct. 9, 2023, the Hornets obliged by waiving him, making him a free agent that no one wanted.
It was no secret that Jones was suffering from some sort of mental struggle and unspoken challenges. In a candid interview with The Athletic, Jones talked about his great-grandparents’ passing in May and July that year left him in a rough mental space. And out of the league.
“For me, it was just kind of pushing everybody away, so anybody who I felt like didn’t understand me, I was just pushing them all away. So, it made me feel really isolated,” Jones told Shams Charania, then of The Athletic.
“In that isolation, you’re just dealing with the voices in your head, and you have to learn how to navigate those voices and calm yourself.”
In the interview, Jones said that his relatives’ deaths created a lot of confusion in him, and he pushed people away. Through therapy and counseling, Jones managed to get himself back on track.
Last March, Jones signed a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, but his progress stalled in the G League until the Clippers signed him for the rest of the season. Jones re-signed with the Clippers in July.
“T (Coach Tyronn Lue) told me when I got here, that everything that I did in the past (I needed to) forgive myself, you know, just learn from it, grow from it and just be better,” Jones said.
Even at halftime of the Clippers’ second preseason game, Lue pulled Jones aside and told him not to worry about mistakes on the court.
“(He said) just keep going, moving forward and make the next best play and play hard, play faster,” Jones said. “So, he was just kind of telling me to increase my motor.”
Jones took that advice and gave the Clippers a glimpse of the athleticism that made him a first-round pick. He hustled for rebounds, scored 13 points, blocked shots, ran the floor and in the third quarter, he took over.
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The Clippers saw their 18-point lead disappear against the Brooklyn Nets. That’s when Jones went to work, posting five of his six dunks in the third quarter to give the team the needed lift. And vice versa.
“I feel like out of the gate it could have been better, like a couple of finishes around the rim,” Jones said. “The first finish, I feel like I could have dunked that, and the next one, I tried to dunk it, but I ended up just laying it in.
Turns out Jones just needed a couple of warm-up tries.
“I think I should err on the side of dunking,” he said, with a half-smile
Jones said it was important for him to show that he is in a good place now – maybe the right place.