Portland Trail Blazers free agency point guard target: Tyus Jones
One of the more underrated pieces of the Memphis Grizzlies’ upstart young core is backup point guard Tyus Jones.
Jones’ importance to the team was made obvious at the end of the 2020 season when he went down with a knee injury. During his absence for Memphis’s final nine games of the season, the Grizzlies dropped seven of them including their play-in contest against the Portland Trail Blazers.
He emphasized that point when he kept the ship steady during Ja Morant’s 12-game absence this season following an ankle sprain, averaging over 10 points and six assists during Memphis’s 10-2 run.
He’s proven to be a requisite backup floor general in the NBA, who offers steady playmaking, enough self-sufficient offense to keep a team afloat, and exceptional defense at his size.
Memphis holds opponents to just 106.6 points per 100 possessions with Jones on the floor and allows over 111 when he’s resting.
Still only 25 years old, Jones could show growth with more opportunity and a different setting and could even be a part of Portland’s future post-Damian Lillard.
There’s nothing eye-popping or exhilarating about Jones’s game, but the fact that opponents don’t get overly excited when he’s checking in for Ja Morant is a testament to his abilities.
Of the three options listed in this article, he’s by far the best natural playmaker and would probably be the second-best table-setter on the Trail Blazers behind Dame. The last time Portland had a steady backup floor general was in 2018-2019 with Evan Turner — when the team made its Western Conference Finals run. Adding another natural shot creator off the bench is definitely part of the recipe that the Trail Blazers need to emulate.