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Brooklyn Nets: Dahntay Jones Brings Experience To Suddenly Young Club

By Phil Watson

May 2, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Dahntay Jones (31) celebrates with center DeAndre Jordan (6) after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in game seven of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. Clippers won 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
May 2, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Dahntay Jones (31) celebrates with center DeAndre Jordan (6) after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in game seven of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. Clippers won 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Brooklyn Nets got young, fast.

Joe Johnson is still there and so is Jarrett Jack. Somehow Andrea Bargnani became a nine-year veteran.

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But the Nets are also going to be counting on guys who haven’t logged major minutes before to step into newer, bigger roles, which is what makes Monday’s reported signing of veteran Dahntay Jones to a non-guaranteed camp deal such a potentially interesting addition in Brooklyn.

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Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, citing his basically omnipotent “league sources,” reported Monday that the Nets had agreed to a deal with Jones, the 34-year-old who has played 11 seasons in the NBA.

Jones has some history with Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins, who was an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies when Jones was there from 2003-07.

But he’s also five years removed from the last time he was what could be considered a regular rotation player, when he averaged 24.9 minutes a game for the Indiana Pacers in 2009-10.

Jones didn’t play in 2013-14 after being cut by the Chicago Bulls early in the preseason and he played with the Los Angeles Clippers—albeit sparingly—for the final three months last season after spending 19 games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the D-League.

That came after he couldn’t make the Utah Jazz in training camp.

But where Jones’ values lies at this point in his career is in being a guy who has been around—lots of different teams, lots of different situations.

Jones has been on teams with championship aspirations—the Clippers last season being among those. He’s been on teams that are struggling to play out the string, such as the 22-60 Grizzlies of 2006-07.

That Grizzlies team from nine years ago is an interesting one to compare to the current Brooklyn squad because it was an interesting blend of young and old that never quite meshed.

Pau Gasol was “the guy,” but there were also aging veterans, former All-Star Eddie Jones and point guard Damon Stoudamire, still trying to carve out a niche in the league.

Sounds a little like Brook Lopez, Johnson and Jack, doesn’t it?

That was also a team replete with young players, rookies such as Kyle Lowry and Rudy Gay who went on to do some big things.

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    • And rookies such as Will Conroy, Alexander Johnson and Tarence Kinsey who went on to become names in the NBA’s all-time register.

    Sounds a little like what the Nets have with their four rookies currently coming to camp in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris McCullough, Ryan Boatright and Willie Reed.

    Jones even helped spice up the burgeoning rivalry between the Clippers and Golden State Warriors during his brief stint in L.A., getting fined $10,000 by the NBA for bumping Golden State’s Draymond Green during a postgame interview after a March 8 game between the teams at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

    If you’re looking for Jones to play a significant role in the Nets’ rotation, that’s unlikely—he averaged 3.7 minutes a game in 33 games for the Clippers last season and was 6-for-21 from the floor.

    But if you’re looking for someone to teach NBA 101 to a cast of rookies and second-year players that dot Brooklyn’s roster, you could do a lot worse than Dahntay Jones.

    Next: 25 Best Players to Play for the Brooklyn Nets

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