Derrick Jones Jr. was a late addition to the Dallas Mavericks, not signing a contract until more than a month after free agency began. The NBA's official announcement also referred to him as a former NBA slam dunk champion, briefly mentioned his statistics, and ignored his contract. He shouldn't have been a contributor.
Since signing a one-year minimum contract with Dallas, all he has done is continue to exceed expectations, which has been a theme of his career thus far.
“I went undrafted. I put myself in a situation where I shouldn't have been on the roster and shouldn't have played,” Jones said after Game 5 on Wednesday night. “I fought to earn a spot on the roster, I fought to get into the rotation. I'm going to keep fighting until the day I die. That's who I am. I'll always fight and I'll never give up.”
Jones had a great performance for the Mavericks in Game 5, a 123-93 loss to the Clippers, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 from three. As he has all season, he made his biggest impact defensively. According to NBA.com, he blocked three shots, held the players he was guarding to 1-of-7 shooting from the floor and forced two turnovers. He is Paul George's primary defender, and while George has had his opportunities, like in Game 4, Jones has made life difficult for him.
Read more: Luka Doncic leads Dallas Mavericks to Game 5 win over Clippers, leading series 3-2
The Mavericks welcomed him with open arms. Luka Doncic enjoys having Derrick Jones Jr. on the team, and it helps that Jones averaged a career-high 8.6 ppg this season and shot 34.3 percent from 3-point range. Add to that his tremendous defensive effort and high-flying athleticism, and the Mavericks have a player who will significantly outperform his contract.
Jones' NBA career hasn't been easy. As he mentioned, he went undrafted after one year at UNLV, competed in the G League and Phoenix Suns, and earned his first rotation spot with the Miami Heat in 2018-19. His two-way versatility led him to sign a two-year, $18.96 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2020 offseason, but he was traded to the Chicago Bulls in a three-team trade for Lauri Markkanen. did.
Jones signed a two-year, $6.56 million contract to remain with the Bulls in the 2022 offseason, but declined his player option to become a free agent in 2023. He signed with the Dallas Mavericks for less money, became extremely valuable and is now a part of the organization. They hope they can keep him long-term this offseason.
“When I signed here,'' Jones also said in his post-Game 5 press conference, “the conversation that I had with Coach Kidd was that I had to try to do everything I could, and I wanted to help Kidd.'' I told my coach that’s not going to happen.’ To drag me down. ”
He's used to scraping and scraping everything he's got, and if the Mavericks want to end this series, he'll have to continue to battle Paul George at defensive end.
Dallas' first chance to close out this series will be Friday at 8:30 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Read more: Dallas Mavericks win crucial Game 5 against Clippers: 3 game-changing plays
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