Why Tyus Jones Makes Sense For Dallas Mavericks To Draft

The Dallas Mavericks had quite an interesting season after their trade deadline deal that put Rajon Rondo in uniform for the team.

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Rondo’s impact wasn’t near as great as some thought it would be, considering he once was an All-Star caliber point guard capable of setting up his teammates with pinpoint accurate passes to go along with lockdown defense and quick instincts on both ends of the floor.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the Rondo that showed up for them this season, as he averaged near career lows in some important statistical categories, including points and assists per game as well as field goal percentage.

Things didn’t get a lot better when their other two point guards Devin Harris and J.J. Barea were in either. Both players can shoot the ball and score when needed, but neither have the kind of passing talent needed to carry an offense, and they struggle playing consistent defense on opposing point guards.

The Mavericks are loaded with players who can score and fill up the stat sheet, so I’m not sure that’s what they should be looking for out of their point guard in terms of production.

Guys like Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and potential free agent Monta Ellis all know how to score in a variety of ways, so having someone that could set them up for shots and make their lives easier would be beneficial to the team’s success moving forward, especially Nowitzki’s as he nears the end of his career.

Dallas was third in the NBA in points per game last season, so even without the best play from their point guards, they were still able to score in bunches and put pressure on opposing defenses to limit their shot opportunities and contain their pick-and-roll game with Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler.

Imagine how much better the offense would be with a more traditional point guard.

Enter Duke‘s Tyus Jones.

Jones did a fantastic job guiding the Blue Devils to a national championship this past season, as he combined a solid passing touch with an understanding and feel for the game that’s well beyond his years.

The 6-foot-1 guard may not be the most imposing physical force at his position, but that doesn’t take away from his talent as a basketball player. In his lone season at Duke, Jones averaged 11.8 points and 5.6 assists per game on 41.7 percent shooting from the floor.

Arguably the most impressive part of his game was that he only turned the ball over 1.9 times per game, as he kept the offense as well as himself under control at all times.

Jones did an excellent job controlling the tempo depending on how head coach Mike Krzyzewski wanted to play. If he wanted the team to play more in the halfcourt and focus on playing pick-and-roll with talented center Jahlil Okafor in order to take advantage of a match-up inside, Jones could do so and execute with precision.

If Duke wanted to speed the game up and run the floor, Jones could hit players accurately with transition passes, one of the better parts of his game.

Having Jones as a primary passer and ball-handler could really help the Mavericks develop more cohesiveness on the offensive end. The problem with Rondo was that he was solely a distributor and couldn’t really be counted on to score or spread the floor for the rest of the team, leaving Ellis with a lot of those duties.

Ellis can create shots for himself inside the arc, but he’s never been a good spot-up shooter in his career from deep.

Jones, on the other hand, doesn’t have that problem, as he hit some huge shots from downtown on his way to hitting 37.9 percent of his three-point attempts.

Having two capable ball-handlers in Jones and Ellis while not compromising the team’s long-range shooting and spacing could help the Mavericks with their ball movement and open up a lot of different attacking points for the other players around them.

The biggest downsides with Jones are that he’s not a great finisher inside the arc, only converting 44 percent of his two-point shots, and he doesn’t play spectacular defense because of his small wingspan and lack of elite lateral quickness and athleticism.

He was able to grab 1.5 steals per game in college, but he could really have a tough time keeping up with some of the more athletic guards in the league like Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul.

Lack of defense at the point guard position didn’t stop the Mavericks from winning 50 games in arguably one of the toughest Western Conferences ever seen in terms of overall depth, and an offense that could compete with anyone on any given night surely wouldn’t take away from that despite any holes on the other end of the floor.

Jones has been projected as a mid-to-late first-round pick because of his lack of overall upside, but that shouldn’t stop the Mavericks from targeting him with their 21st pick in the draft. Jones could be the player that Dallas needs to take their offense to a completely different level next season.

Next: Should Nowitzki Become Mavs' Sixth Man?

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