Hornets summer league grades: Sion James – At The Hive

Everyone expected the Charlotte Hornets to lean into drafting a center after they traded Mark Williams for the 29th pick in this draft (that became Liam McNeeley) and a future first. Sion James marked the third non-center drafted by the Hornets, which had fans in a tizzy about the plan for the team. The front office eventually landed a center with the next pick, which eased a lot of concerns. It also meant that the selection of James has been somewhat overlooked relative to his draftmates.

James was brought into be a defensive dawg and an offensive connector. That’s what he did at Duke, and that’s always going to be his role in the pros. However, it’s hard to stand out in that kind of role in the chaos that is summer league. I thought there were a few times where his defensive grit were noticeable on the ball, but that didn’t translate into much in the way of steals and blocks. Offensively, he struggled to score outside of a handful of well designed out of bounds plays in the summer league opener, and he didn’t make any of his six 3-point attempts. He did dole out three assists in both games though, and I liked how aggressive he was spotting up.

It was always going to be hard for James to put on a standout performance in Las Vegas without him turning into a completely different basketball player than he was in college. He mostly did well at the things he’s supposed to do well at, but nothing jumped off the page. I would’ve liked to see a little bit more box score impact on defense, and you’ve gotta make at least one three.

He only played in two games, which could make this grade an incomplete, but that’s boring.

Final Grade: C-