His pending free agency leaves Derrick Jones Jr’s future in his own hands.
While a number of guys disregard Derrick Jones Jr as a member of this Miami Heat youth, he deserves as much credit as any of the aforementioned guys. The only difference is that the 23-year old forward is headed for unrestricted free agency at the season’s end.
Either way, Jones has had a solid third year with Miami: 8.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and one steal per game in 59 appearances as a spot-starter. His threat as a lob-catcher and defense helped him serve a crucial piece on this Heat bench in the regular season.
Jones saw very little time in the eight seeding games at an average of 15 minutes per game, and that didn’t improve in Miami’s first-round matchup with the Pacers. He averaged just over 10 minutes per game and scored no more than six points in any game.
But as we saw with Nunn, place in rotation doesn’t always represent your value as a talent. Rebuilding teams with some cap space, like the Cleveland Cavaliers, have been rumored to be interested in Jones ahead of his free agency. Would he agree to a sign-and-trade?
It’s possible, though the real question you should be asking is if Pat Riley and this Miami Heat front office could find any value worth doing the deal from teams like the Cavaliers. The likelihood is slim, as well as Derrick Jones Jr’s return to South Beach for the 2020-2021 season.
It’s been a fun year for the Miami Heat as a whole, particularly for the younger personnel. But going forward, it’s almost impossible they all three remain in South Beach as Pat Riley and the front office set out to complete what has the frame of a championship roster.