Well, maybe. Then again, maybe not.
When he was at Duke, Tre Jones amazed us because he could dominate a game, with his defense, despite being just 6-1. In his sophomore year, Jones was personally destroying Syracuse, in a way that sent chills down your spine, before he hurt his shoulder.
We’ve never seen anything like it. Jones was just taking Syracuse apart.
The NBA is a very different kettle of fish obviously and while he has done well with the San Antonio Spurs, he’s not an elite point guard.
Nothing wrong with that - very few players are. Being in the NBA is an immense accomplishment for anyone but a dominant point guard?
Those are rare.
Consider Michigan State’s Cassius Winston. That guy plays at an incredibly high level, much like Jones’s brother Tyus does. Absolutely one of the smartest basketball players we’ve ever seen.
It wasn’t enough to help him stick in the NBA.
This article suggests that Jones’s time in San Antonio might be limited because the Spurs drafted UConn’s Stephon Castle and signed Chris Paul. Here’s why that argument might be off a bit.
Like all young players he has work to do, but Castle is probably going to be a really good player. Our guess is that the Spurs will give him plenty of time to develop, which is the smart thing to do.
But Paul?
He has some gas left in the tank, but Paul is going to be 40 next May and that’s really pushing it for a 6-0 guard, no matter how good he is.
Last season, Paul started a career low 18 games with Golden State and also had a career low in minutes played with just 26.4. Yes he was behind Stephen Curry, but he’s had injuries in recent years too.
We could see signing Paul to mentor Castle. That makes perfect sense. But relying on a 39-year-old point guard night in and night out?
It’s a risky bet, first because of his recent injury history and second because of his age. His physical skills are going to continue to decline and that will accelerate.
He’s had an amazing career but realistically. he’s well past his prime and at this point is just hanging on. He might be ahead of Jones in the rotation at times, but Paul is in a race with time and no one wins that competition.
