After bouncing around the NBA as a pro, going from the Phoenix Suns to the Miami Heat to the Portland Trail Blazers and then the Chicago Bulls as a UDFA out of UNLV, Derrick Jones Jr. has seemingly found a home with the Dallas Mavericks in 2023-24, where the veteran forward has become a key rotational player on an NBA Finals team.
Originally signed to a one-year, $2.7 million veteran’s minimum contract after declining his $3.36 million option with the Bulls, Jones Jr. played the biggest role of his career for Jason Kidd and Co., starting a career-high 66 games versus 76 regular-season appearances while stuffing the stat sheets with 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 rebounds per night. While his deep shooting was just below average by NBA standards, hitting 34.3 percent of his attempts per game, his production nearly doubled his previous career high, going from 1.3 attempts in 2022-23 to 3.1 for the Mavs, which, when combined with his role as Dallas’ top defensive forward, made him a fan favorite in Big D.
And yet, despite having the tools to bring back the Chester, Pa., product if they wanted to use the mid-level exception — a contract that would have paid him around three years and $27 million — Jones Jr. instead decided to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, forcing the Mavs to use their MLE on Naji Marshall, another versatile diamond in the rough who was one of the best forwards on the free-agent market after a promising career in New Orleans.
Now, if Jones Jr.’s departure was in the cards, landing Marshall as his replacement is a nice consolation prize, as the Xavier UDFA has defensive flexibility akin to a hybrid forward and is coming off his best season as a pro as a shooter, hitting 38.7 percent of his shots on 2.3 deep attempts per game, but according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, Jones Jr. was the team’s priority, and they only turned to the former Pelican as a Plan B outside of signing Klay Thompson and trading for Quinton Grimes.
Should a team that was three wins away from being an NBA champion really lose one of its best players for a million dollars in annual value, give or take? No, but maybe the decision wasn’t as simple as getting as much as possible — which, considering California taxes, might not even have happened for Jones Jr. and his team. No, maybe the decision came down to playing a bigger role for the Clippers now that Paul George is a member of the Philadelphia 76ers since, after stockpiling talent this offseason, Jones Jr. might not have been guaranteed the same role for the Mavs this fall.
Derrick Jones Jr. reveals why he left the Mavericks to go to Los Angeles
On July 14, speaking to reporters about the decision to leave the relative comfort and state-tax-free confines of Texas for the bright lights of Los Angeles in a post-PG world, The Athletic’s Law Murray asked Jones Jr. about his free agency decision and why the Clippers were the right choice for him. For Jones Jr., the decision didn’t come down to one factor, but rather an opportunity to play a major role in 2024-25.
“I talked to ownership, management and coaching staff,” Jones Jr. told Murray. “The path they were looking for was for me to come in and play that three- or four-man role, be aggressive offensively and be who I am defensively. Go out there and try to win a championship.”
When asked about his reputation as a defender and how that should translate to Los Angeles, Jones Jr. explained the mindset he had in Dallas, a mindset he plans to bring with him to Los Angeles as the Clippers’ new defensive ace.
“It means I have to go out there and be who I am,” Jones Jr. said. “Defensively, when I was with the Mavs, I was always the best defender on the ball; I was guarding the best player every night; that was something I took pride in; I always told them, ‘I want the best player. ’ Give me the best player and I want to do the best I can.”
In Dallas, Jones Jr. was routinely tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player, moving from point guard in one game to power forward in the next, and even sometimes defending the rim against centers who are much taller and heavier thanks to his powerful leaps that allow him to win dunk contests. In a world where George’s production will be replaced as a whole rather than by a single player, Jones Jr. will play a key role for the Clippers this season, though he likely could have been just as impactful for the Mavericks in a role he already shined in, rather than something entirely new.
