Miami Heat: 3 reasons keeping Derrick Jones Jr. is a good move
By Derek Hryn
Derrick Jones Jr.’s Summer League tenure was cut short due to injury, but here’s why the Miami Heat shouldn’t be too worried.
The Miami Heat organization got a bit of a scare during NBA Summer League action on Sunday, when its freshly signed free agent wing Derrick Jones Jr. landed awkwardly on his right ankle following a block attempt.
Although the injury sidelined him for the remainder of this summer’s games, the team saw all that it needed to see.
Jones recently agreed to a two-year minimum contract, with the first year guaranteed, to remain in Miami for the immediate future. He played only 14 games with the Heat this past season, averaging a measly 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
Heat president Pat Riley obviously didn’t read much into the 21-year-old’s austere numbers when he decided to make him the lone free agent addition this summer, as he is focusing more on what is yet to come.
Riley is still looking to pick up the pieces of LeBron James‘ departure four years ago, resulting in a fragmentation of Miami’s roster. As it is too early to tell if Jones could be the Heat’s diamond in the rough, he is a perfect fit in the new systematic style that Riley has constructed.