Kai Jones' tumultuous couple of months could be set to continue, with the Hornets' big man potentially set to be fined or suspended after publicly announcing his own trade request. Jones first made headlines after an Instagram live appearance in which he appeared to be under the influence of something, though he later claimed that he was intoxicated, not drug-affected.

On Monday, he again attracted attention when he posted that he has “officially requested to be traded from the Charlotte Hornets.” Unfortunately for Jones, Section 18 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that “Any player who publicly expresses a desire to be traded to another Team shall be subject to a fine and/or a suspension. The maximum fine…shall be $150,000.”

The specifics which surround the NBA's decision on when and how to implement those penalties is less clear, however, and whether Jones' recent penchant for rogue online posts will have any bearing either way remains to be seen. The 19th pick from the 2021 draft has repeatedly referred to himself as the Greatest of All Time – there may be some tongue in cheek involved in those claims, and given he has played 67 NBA games for averages of 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds, one would certainly hope so.

Jones, who stands a tick under 7'0″, will have his work cut out getting minutes for the Hornets if he were to stick around this season. Nick Richards and Mark Williams will be sharing the load at the five, while the forward positions are already set for plenty of competition between the newly drafted Brandon Miller, PJ Washington, Gordon Hayward and the returning Miles Bridges. A trade may well be the best outcome for both team and player in this situation, but that's not likely to play into the NBA's calculations when determining if Kai Jones will be fined, and the severity of that fine.