How is Derrick Jones JR a journeyman?

[Dirk]

This guy has been one of the more consistent and reliable players for the Mavs all season. Outside of a an injury hit period, he has been an amazing bargain.

He just averaged 29.3 minutes a game in round 1, shooting .385 from 3pt, averaging 1.5 blks and being a slithering nuisance pest with those inspector gadget arms. Per cleaning the glass, the Mavs defense was 16.1 points per 100 possesions with him on the court which is eye popping.

You know that when someone plays for your team, you actually get to know the player up close and you get confused how certain players just bounced around the league since they're so useful for you team and from the go, this guy has just been a no nonsense player who plays defense, was even to hit open 3 pointers and have the occasional drive to the basket. And of course... he can jump out of the building for some wow plays every now and then.

During the season, I looked up why the Bulls let him go and found social media posts where Bulls fans wanted to keep him. How did they not play him more/retain him? How did Miami of all teams not keep him? This can't simply be a case of being in a (much) better situation that unlocks his best talents.

[JustBuzzin]

Ain't got that DAWG in em!

[ChipotleWest]

I guess the Heat didn't have the money to keep him then he signed with Portland, and they traded him to the Bulls who have been a mess for a long time. He doesn't really help a bad team I guess, he is perfect for the Mavs.

I don't know why no team really wanted him last summer and the Mavs got him for the minimum. I cannot answer that one. But I suspect he'll need more money next season. Hopefully not too much to where Dallas can keep him.

No matter what anyone says offense is valued way more than defense in this league. If not he'd be getting a 10 figure contract.

Fun fact: He played the most games he'd ever played this season, and averaged the most ppg he ever had this season as well, at 31 on a minimum contract. He would have made the All Defensive team but he didn't average enough minutes per game.

[Nuntius]

Because he's a role player. Not all role players can play at a good level in every team. Oftentimes, they'll need a specific role or setup to thrive.

For Derrick Jones Jr, it was probably his 3-point shooting. He shot 34.3% from 3 for Dallas this season, yes, but he's a career 31.6% shooter. He did shoot 33.8% his last year in Chicago so you could probably see that he had started to find his stroke but he took less than half the attempts that he took in Dallas (1.3 in Chicago, 3.1 in Dallas). In the first 4 years of his career, he only shot better than 30% once (30.8%, to be precise). The other 3 years were below 30%.

So, I'm gonna guess that this was it. He wasn't really able to shoot the 3 early on in his career and that hurts tremendously when your projected role is to be a 3&D player. It took a while but it finally looks like he's able to fulfill the 3 part of his role in a consistent basis.

But before that? A 3&D player that can't really shoot the 3 is kinda replacable. It's probably why he spent a lot of time playing PF. Teams saw that he wasn't a reliable shooter so they tried to use his athleticism as a roll man.

[jbk1234]

Well, most teams don't have Luka and Kyrie and he plugs in perfectly alongside those two.

[Wingy]

During the season, I looked up why the Bulls let him go and found social media posts where Bulls fans wanted to keep him. How did they not play him more/retain him? How did Miami of all teams not keep him? This can't simply be a case of being in a (much) better situation that unlocks his best talents.

The vast majority of the Bulls board likes him I’d say. The village idiots in charge played him mostly as a center, or PF. Patrick Williams got tons of entitlement minutes at the 4, and then Bill D loved Javonte Green at PF…another out of position, undersized guy much like DJJ.

I was happy he left, but for his sake because I like what he brings. Just about always a solid performer in his role, yet they always jerked his minutes around.

[Dirk]

Well, most teams don't have Luka and Kyrie and he plugs in perfectly alongside those two.

Uhmm, he wasnt playing with those guys last year.

These are comments from folks who watched him:

(from June 2023)

" Djj was excellent pretty much every time he got extended run last year, I spent a lot of games wondering why he wasn't getting any run. I hope we're able to find more minutes for him next year. "

" Derrick Jones Jr is the last guy we should be dropping imo. If you're trying to win, having a bench guy who can legitimately play 2-5 is massive in terms of filling in for injuries. The dude is a Swiss Army Knife. I struggle to think of many guys better as an 8th-10th man in rotation. "

" I feel like every time this guy was on the court he was blocking a dude 6 inches taller than him then getting a put-back at the other end. I hope we find a bigger role for him fs "

" This one was bizarre to me all season. It felt like he had so much impact every single time he was on the court, but he was getting DNPs. Really felt like he had his best year when he was allowed to play. "

" Dude seemed to always make a positive impact whenever he was on the court. Many times when the momentum of a game would shift in favor of the Bulls, DJJ would be a big part of that. It made no sense how little playing time he got. At the very least, he should have always had minutes in every game he was available for. DJJ getting DNPs for no reason made no sense. "

" Please give him a bigger role. He turned 26 not too long ago and spent a good portion of the season playing the 5 at 6’6. Even if we play him at PF instead of SF which is more natural for him we could see a lot higher production "

[Potential]

He's the perfect fit for a contender. Those trash teams that let him go had no winning aspirations

[LV-Suns]

Watched this guy in college and I was excited when the Suns signed him coming into the league. He only played half season at UNLV, but dude was breathtaking. Then James Jones waived him so we could promote Mike Jones to the main roster for 2 weeks smh

[Jimmy Recard]

This off-season will no doubt be his big payday. Interesting to see what kind of offers he gets, Mavs absolutely need to make it a priority to keep him though. Unload Tim Hardaway and pay this man.

[jordanwilliams6]

I really liked him on the Bulls but he suffered having to play the PF spot next to Vuc. He did a commendable job but he also needed to be slightly better 3 point shooter to play him next to Demar.

He’s one of those guys who remarkably young considering how long he has been around (27) so he has time to find his role on one particular team and he might’ve already found it.

[picc]

Because every team doesn't have a player whose presence results in DJJ being wide open literally every possession.

[Handlez]

What a great defensive presence.

Fits perfectly.

[bwgood77]

Suns probably let him go because they had Josh Jackson.

[jbk1234]

Well, most teams don't have Luka and Kyrie and he plugs in perfectly alongside those two.

Uhmm, he wasnt playing with those guys last year.

These are comments from folks who watched him:

(from June 2023)

" Djj was excellent pretty much every time he got extended run last year, I spent a lot of games wondering why he wasn't getting any run. I hope we're able to find more minutes for him next year. "

" Derrick Jones Jr is the last guy we should be dropping imo. If you're trying to win, having a bench guy who can legitimately play 2-5 is massive in terms of filling in for injuries. The dude is a Swiss Army Knife. I struggle to think of many guys better as an 8th-10th man in rotation. "

" I feel like every time this guy was on the court he was blocking a dude 6 inches taller than him then getting a put-back at the other end. I hope we find a bigger role for him fs "

" This one was bizarre to me all season. It felt like he had so much impact every single time he was on the court, but he was getting DNPs. Really felt like he had his best year when he was allowed to play. "

" Dude seemed to always make a positive impact whenever he was on the court. Many times when the momentum of a game would shift in favor of the Bulls, DJJ would be a big part of that. It made no sense how little playing time he got. At the very least, he should have always had minutes in every game he was available for. DJJ getting DNPs for no reason made no sense. "

" Please give him a bigger role. He turned 26 not too long ago and spent a good portion of the season playing the 5 at 6’6. Even if we play him at PF instead of SF which is more natural for him we could see a lot higher production "

He's always been a good defender, but he can be difficult to work into a typical offense, and he's basically unplayable on a team that struggles to scores.

[MrGoat]

The 3 point shooting and offense in general was the big knock on him when we signed him but he was already known to be a supreme athlete and outstanding defender. On a team with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving he was definitely worth a try on a minimum deal. Having a career year from deep and just looking more confident on offense is going to make his free agency interesting, he's almost certainly worth more than a minimum on the market at this point but he only fits on certain teams

[Chuck Everett]

This guy has been one of the more consistent and reliable players for the Mavs all season. Outside of a an injury hit period, he has been an amazing bargain.

He just averaged 29.3 minutes a game in round 1, shooting .385 from 3pt, averaging 1.5 blks and being a slithering nuisance pest with those inspector gadget arms. Per cleaning the glass, the Mavs defense was 16.1 points per 100 possesions with him on the court which is eye popping.

You know that when someone plays for your team, you actually get to know the player up close and you get confused how certain players just bounced around the league since they're so useful for you team and from the go, this guy has just been a no nonsense player who plays defense, was even to hit open 3 pointers and have the occasional drive to the basket. And of course... he can jump out of the building for some wow plays every now and then.

He finally seemed to find a specific niche for him. He also has improved his 3-point shot. He's still a fantastic athlete and now he's embracing trying to be a stopper.

[Devilanche]

Role player finally getting into the right team that unlock his role.

[UcanUwill]

Being journeyman does not make you bad or unreliable. Some good guys have been journeymen.

[HomoSapien]

During the season, I looked up why the Bulls let him go and found social media posts where Bulls fans wanted to keep him. How did they not play him more/retain him? How did Miami of all teams not keep him? This can't simply be a case of being in a (much) better situation that unlocks his best talents.

The vast majority of the Bulls board likes him I’d say. The village idiots in charge played him mostly as a center, or PF. Patrick Williams got tons of entitlement minutes at the 4, and then Bill D loved Javonte Green at PF…another out of position, undersized guy much like DJJ.

I was happy he left, but for his sake because I like what he brings. Just about always a solid performer in his role, yet they always jerked his minutes around.

Him leaving was actually a surprise. It was reported that he was planning on picking up his option.