The Minnesota Timberwolves traded for Tyus Jones on a draft-day deal after he was selected 24th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Draft. The Wolves have high hopes for the 19 year old but they are pretty deep at point guard this season so Jones might not get a lot of playing time at the NBA level. In order to get him minutes and not hinder his development the Timberwolves might consider having Jones spend some time in the D-League, according to Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Jones is from Minnesota so being a hometown favorite it makes sense that he ended up with the Timberwolves but their point guard depth chart is loaded. Ricky Rubio is the no doubt starter to begin the season despite being underwhelming in his NBA career so far. Behind Rubio they have veteran Andre Miller who should see some time as a backup and Zach LaVine who can play point guard although Sam Mitchell said he would like to use LaVine at shooting guard exclusively. With so many options at the point it makes sense for Minnesota to want to get Jones minutes somewhere and general manager Milt Newton reportedly is trying to figure out ways to better utilize the D-League.
While Jones may spend some time in the D-League he is already impressing his fellow teammates including the 39 year old Miller.
"Man, I think he's going to surprise a lot of people, he's a mature kid. He's way more advanced than a lot of people think and more advanced than I was at 19 years old. He's going to definitely surprise a lot of people," said Miller.
Jones entered the NBA Draft after just one season at Duke but that one season was extremely impressive. Jones was the Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four as he led Duke to the National Championship and although he won't wow you with his size or athleticism he has a great basketball IQ, sees the floor well and is as clutch as they come.
The D-League wouldn't be a bad thing for Jones at all as playing somewhere is better than sitting on the bench but he may get an opportunity at the NBA level too. Let's not forget that Rubio has played more than 57 games once in his career so if he gets hurt Jones would likely be in for some playing time as Miller is too old to be able to handle big minutes. They have high hopes for Jones in Minnesota and they will do everything they can to ensure that he is developed the right way.
