50 Greatest NBA/ABA Players Not In the Hall Of Fame
By Phil Watson
Copyright 2005 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Temple swingman Eddie Jones with the 10th overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, plugged him in at shooting guard and watched him become a star.
Jones was an All-Defensive selection in 1997-98.
Traded in March 1999 along with Elden Campbell to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Glen Rice, B.J. Armstrong and J.R. Reid, Jones earned two more All-Defensive nods and an All-NBA berth in 1999-2000, when he led the NBA in steals (192) and steals per game (2.7).
In August 2000, Jones was part of another blockbuster deal, traded along with Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis and Dale Ellis to the Miami Heat for Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown, Rodney Buford, Tim James and Otis Thorpe.
Jones was solid for five seasons with the Heat, but was part of the only five-team trade in NBA history in August 2005, going to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade that brought Miami Antoine Walker from the Boston Celtics, Roberto Duenas from the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and Jason Williams, James Posey and Andre Emmett from Memphis.
Jones was waived in January 2007 and returned to Miami as a free agent to play out the 2006-07 season.
In August 2007, he signed a free agent deal with the Dallas Mavericks, where he was a bench player, and in October 2008 was swapped with second-round picks in 2009 and 2010 to the Indiana Pacers for Shawne Williams.
Jones negotiated a buyout with the Pacers and, after not being able to swing a deal with another team, opted to retire.
In 14 seasons, Jones averaged 14.8 points, four rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 34.4 minutes per game, shooting .437/.373/.809.
He is 28th in NBA history with 1,546 3-pointers, 29th with 1,620 steals and 48th in steals per game.