Is Warriors’ Damian Jones ready to become a contributor?
INDIANAPOLIS — Late last month, after he returned to his luxury apartment in downtown Oakland from yet another G League stint, Damian Jones noticed that his home looked like it barely had been lived in.
There was a simple explanation: Over the previous five months, Jones hadn’t been in Oakland for more than a couple of days at a time. His focus was on polishing his game with the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz so that, when finally given an extended opportunity with the big club, he’d be ready.
That his chance came this week was one of Golden State’s most startling late-season developments. In the 20 months after he went No. 30 overall to the Warriors in the 2016 draft, Jones totaled 29 points in 125
total NBA minutes. In the past two games, he has reinforced why Golden State picked up his $1.5 million, third-year option in October, needing only 26 minutes to score 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting.
“It’s definitely a confidencebuilder,” Jones said. “It lets you know that you can do some things on the court, so I just try to build off of that.”
At 7 feet, 245 pounds, Jones, 22, has long been a physical specimen. Now, after two NBA seasons largely spent toiling in a lesser league, he is beginning to show flashes of his immense potential with Golden State.
It surprised many when, midway through the second quarter of a tight game Tuesday in Oklahoma City, Jones stepped to the scorer’s table and checked in. Playing the first meaningful minutes of his NBA career, Jones played solid defense on Steven Adams, ran the floor, threw down a couple dunks and blocked a Josh Huestis layup attempt.
Head coach Steve Kerr was so impressed that, with a victory hanging in the balance in a hostile road environment, he kept Jones on the floor. Three of Jones’ four field goals came in the final five minutes.
After Golden State escaped with a 111-107 win, coaches and teammates applauded when Kerr acknowledged Jones’ performance in the locker room. Two nights later at Indiana, Jones was the first center off the bench in the first and second halves, posting seven points on 3-for-4 shooting in 12 minutes.
It all raised an intriguing question: Is Jones ready to transition from raw prospect into reliable contributor?
He and Jordan Bell are the only centers under contract with the Warriors for next season. With David West expected to contemplate retirement this summer, and JaVale McGee and Zaza Pachulia not necessarily in the team’s longterm plans, Jones could be poised for a much-expanded role in 2018-19.
“It’s the coolest thing when you see a guy put so much work in and get an opportunity, and take advantage of it,” said point guard Quinn Cook, who spent most of the season on Santa Cruz with Jones. “He’s played his butt off, man, and he should be extremely proud of himself.”
In October, when Jones realized he would spend the majority of another season in the G League, he was disappointed. However, Kerr recognized that Jones — at the time, the team’s sixth center — would get far more out of playing extended minutes with Santa Cruz than sitting on the bench with Golden State.
In 45 games with Santa Cruz this season, Jones averaged 15 points on 69.7 percent shooting, 8.1 rebounds, 2 assists and 2.2 blocks in 30.6 minutes.
Jones got away with taking plays off during his three seasons at Vanderbilt. In the G League, against skilled players striving for long-term NBA roles, he has learned to give consistent effort, attack the glass and grasp the spacing necessary to become a reliable interior defender.
“It’s fun to see DJ now because he’s a different guy, physically, mentally,” Kerr said. “He’s confident. You can see his time in Santa Cruz did him a lot of good.”
Jones still has plenty to learn. At times, he is overly eager on defense, biting on even the slightest of pump fakes. In 14 minutes Tuesday in Oklahoma City, he had four fouls.
Against Indiana on Thursday, Jones fumbled away a pass from Klay Thompson and committed an obvious traveling violation.
To get comfortable, Jones needs more NBA minutes. Next season, instead of staying with the Santa Cruz Warriors at Beach Street Inn and Suites near the city’s famed boardwalk, he might finally start to feel at home in his Oakland apartment.
“It’s been good being able to spend real time at my place again,” Jones said. “I could get used to that, for sure.” Iguodala probable: After missing five games with left knee soreness, Warriors forward Andre Iguodala is listed as probable for Saturday night’s game against New Orleans.