Despite being available off the bench in Friday night's victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist did not see the floor for the Charlotte Hornets.
This marked the first such occasion in which Kidd-Gilchrist was fully-healthy but did not receive any minutes.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer explained that while Gilchrist has moved into a bench role after spending his first six seasons in the NBA as a starter, his minutes have continued to dwindle as of late.
The former No. 2 overall pick seemed to accept new head coach James Borrego's decision to have him run with the second unit. But Kidd-Gilchrist has only reached 20 minutes of playing time in six games, according to Bonnell.
Kidd-Gilchrist was part of the Kentucky team that won a national title in 2012, then watched as Anthony Davis and MKG went no. 1 and no. 2 in the draft, respectively. This was the first time in NBA history that college teammates would go on to be selected with the top two picks.
But for all the promise he showed at Kentucky, Kidd-Gilchrist has failed to live up to the billing in the NBA. He simply does not shoot the ball from the perimeter, and last season marked the first time in his career that his Effective Field Goal Percentage was above 50 percent.
Kidd-Gilchrist also has had an unfortunate injury history, including multiple shoulder injuries that caused him to miss all but seven games in the 2015-16 season.
In addition to Kidd-Gilchrist, second-year player and fellow Kentucky alum Malik Monk recorded a DNP as Borrego experimented with a new second unit.
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