Kai Jones lands workout with Eastern Conference contender

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Friday that the Philadelphia 76ers plan to work out and meet with former Charlotte Hornets center Kai Jones in the coming days. 

Charania notes that the 76ers have an open roster spot to work with. Jones would also be eligible for the playoffs.

Jones, 23, was the Hornets' first-round pick in 2021 (No. 19 overall) and flashed some upside as a two-way energy big man in his first two career seasons. But Charlotte waived him in October after his troubling behavior over the offseason. Jones acted erratically in several social media videos and later publicly demanded a trade from the Hornets. 

Charlotte announced at the end of September that Jones would not participate in training camp and finally released him several days later.

That said, Jones appears to have turned a corner since then and recently played for the Bahamas at the FIBA AmeriCup qualifying tournament last month. 

The 76ers need more depth in their frontcourt, with Joel Embiid still out. While Paul Reed has been a serviceable fill-in, KJ Martin and Mo Bamba are not inspiring much confidence behind him, so the 76ers could end up giving Jones a spin.