Miami Heat guard Derrick Jones Jr.: Then, now and what’s to come

Miami Heat guard Derrick Jones Jr. is slowly proving himself worthy of a NBA contract.

The NBA’s one-and-done rules regarding college athletes is a gift and a curse.

On one hand, plenty of players could stand to use a year or two more of amateur experience before trying their luck in the Association. On the other, the league benefits from a variety of young prospects, showcasing their sharpshooting and elite athleticism along with a potentially bright future in the NBA.

The Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr. fits the bill of the latter.

Just 20 years old and in his second season in the NBA, Jones is gravity averse, using his levitational skills as a punctuation mark on rim assaults as often as he can.

In two seasons between two teams, Jones has been signed and waived, been a starter and come off the bench, sent to the G-League and elevated in an All-Star Weekend dunk contest. Before that, Jones was a four-star high school recruit whose brief college career was interrupted by an administrative short coming.

Jones has lived a basketball lifetime in his 20 years, yet still shows the promise his age foretells. Nestled into a contributing role on the Heat, Jones has become accustomed to his unpredictable lifestyle.

"“You just got to go through your day like you usually do. It happens,” Jones said before Miami’s February 7 game. “You get called up. You get put back down. I just think about it like it’s just me being able to come up here and learn a lot more and be able to better my game when I come up here, and when I go down there, I get to put everything to use that I learned up here.”"

But there is more to Jones’ story than connecting flights to and from Miami. Here’s a look back at Jones’ career, and what’s to come.