The Dallas Mavericks’ 3 man sounds happy to stay right where he is.
Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. spoke in an interview this week with French journalist Remi Reverchon ahead of Dallas’ NBA Finals matchup against the Boston Celtics. During the interview, Jones touched on his upcoming free agency this after the season.
“I’m planning on being here,” he said of Dallas. “I don’t wanna go nowhere … I tell everybody, I love it here. As long as we can get everything situated, I’m staying. I love it in Dallas.”
Much has been made of how the Mavericks’ acquisitions of Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington (through midseason trades) and Dereck Lively (through the draft) helped springboard them to the Western Conference title. But the signing of Jones last summer on an under-the-radar one-year contract for the league minimum has arguably been just as important.
The 27-year-old Jones unlocks all different kinds of lineup combinations for the Mavericks with his ability to play both forward spots, and he regularly draws the toughest one-on-one defensive assignments with his length and physicality. Also a former Slam Dunk Contest champion, Jones gives Dallas another lob threat on offense with his cuts from the wing.
Jones has obviously played his way into a much larger contract for next season, especially having shot a career-best 34.3 percent from three this year (which is now up to 39.6 percent in the playoffs). But the Mavs are already making moves to keep their current group together and seem to have a good shot at convincing Jones to stick around for more as well.
