Derrick Jones Jr. agrees to a one-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are continuing to reinforce their roster around stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, free agent forward Derrick Jones Jr. has agreed to a one-year fully guaranteed deal with the Mavs.
Free agent F/C Derrick Jones Jr. has agreed to a one-year fully guaranteed deal with the Dallas Mavericks, his agent Aaron Turner of @VerusTeam told @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/z2hPxLDIEn
Since going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Jones has played for four different teams over seven seasons, including the last two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. He declined his $3.36 million player option with the Bulls in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The 26-year-old was later viewed as one of the best available remaining free agents after going unsigned over the past five-plus weeks.
Jones now joins a Mavericks team that has been making moves to improve upon their defense, rebounding and depth following a disappointing 2022-23 season. Despite having two of the top offensive stars in the league in Doncic and Irving, Dallas finished just 38-44 (11th in the Western Conference).
The team ranked just 25th in team defensive rating (116.1) and 30th in rebounding (38.8 rpg).
At the very least, Jones should be able to provide the Mavericks with some extra athleticism and defense in their frontcourt at a discount. The 2020 Slam Dunk Contest champion should also be able to serve as a lob threat playing alongside Doncic and Irving.
He joins Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Richaun Holmes and Dereck Lively II as some of the Mavs’ most notable offseason additions.
Jones averaged 5.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.6 blocks and 0.4 3-pointers per game on 50.0% shooting over 64 games with the Bulls last season. He did so in just 14.0 minutes per game off the bench.
Derrick Jones Jr. on his passion for playing defense
During an interview with NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson in April, Derrick Jones Jr. spoke about his passion for playing defense. The Dallas Mavericks' latest addition said that his goal is to make an NBA All-Defensive team one day if given increased playing time.
“I just love guarding,” Jones said.
“That's one thing I learned in my career: Defense wins championships. I want to be All-Defensive team one day. I feel like I could do it. I just need the right opportunity and proper amount of minutes.”
This should be music to the ears of Mavericks fans, who will surely be thrilled if Jones comes anywhere close to performing at an All-Defensive level next season.