Returning to a familiar role
Jones still the answer at point guard after Murray’s departure
ATLANTA — Tre Jones landed in San Antonio in the November of 2020, the cloud of COVID lingering over the start of his rookie season in the NBA.
He was 20 years old and a second-round draft pick, separated from home and family and poised to begin his professional career anchored at the end of Gregg Popovich’s bench.
Dejounte Murray was there for him.
“Dejounte was kind of like a big brother to me,” Jones said. “He was the point guard here. He had gone through the system already and knew what it was like coming in and not
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playing right away. I was able to lean on him a lot.”
Eighteen months later, Jones was with his daughter at the doctor’s office when he got the phone call that would change the trajectory of his NBA career.
Upon learning Murray had been traded to Atlanta, collateral damage to the Spurs’ continuing rebuilding project, Jones’ first reaction was one of disappointment.
Yes, Murray’s departure appeared to render the Spurs’ starting point guard job Jones’ to lose.
“It was a weird feeling because of the relationship we had and had built over those
Idara Udo grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a spinning layup with 1.9 seconds remaining in double overtime to lift UTSA to a win against the last remaining unbeaten team in the American Athletic Conference, toppling Charlotte 81-80 on Sunday at the Convocation Center.
Udo, a freshman, posted a career game with 26 points on 9of-13 shooting with nine rebounds, putting the Roadrunners back in front after the 49ers’ Jacee Busick knocked down a 3pointer for an 80-79 lead with 12.1 seconds remaining.
Freshman Aysia Proctor netted 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc with 13 rebounds for UTSA, while Kyra White posted nine points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for a near triple-double.
The Roadrunners (9-7, 3-2 AAC) picked up a third straight win, moving above the .500 mark early in their first season in the AAC.
UTSA led 60-54 with 3:30 to play in regulation, but Charlotte (11-6, 4-1) closed on an 8-2 run, knotting the score at 62 with less than a minute remaining.
Tracey Houston delivered the game-tying shot for the 49ers, moving to 4 for 4 from beyond the arc on a 3-pointer with 54 seconds to play. Hueston finished with a game-high 27 points on 10of-17 shooting despite entering the day with just three baskets from 3-point range this season.
The Roadrunners made just one of their final seven shots in regulation. UTSA had a chance to seal the win late, calling timeout to set up an inbounds play in the frontcourt with 4.8 seconds to play after Charlotte was whistled for a shot-clock violation. But Udo’s turnaround jumper from the free-throw line was off the mark at the buzzer to force overtime.
The teams combined for just three baskets in the first overtime period, but Udo converted a pair of free throws with 9.6 seconds remaining to give the Roadrunners a 68-66 lead. Charlotte’s Dazia Lawrence responded by dribbling into a free-throw line jumper at the buzzer to send the game to a second overtime period.
UTSA and Charlotte traded the lead five times in the final three minutes of double overtime. Proctor put the Roadrunners ahead 75-74 on a 3 with just less than three minutes remain
couple of years,” Jones said. “And then he wasn’t here anymore. I definitely didn’t want that.”
Murray’s departure indeed kick-started a cattle-call for the next Spurs point guard of the future, a position-in-waiting that remains vacant to this day.
Popovich’s latest choice to be the Spurs’ point guard of the present was also his first choice last season. When the Spurs face Murray and the Hawks in a Monday afternoon matinee at State Farm Arena, the ball will be in Jones’ capable hands. Finally, and again.
“It doesn’t matter if he starts or doesn’t come in until three minutes left in the game,” Popovich said. “He’s Tre. He does everything he can to win a basketball game.”
Popovich spent the first part of the season testing that theory.
Last season’s starter, Jones began his fourth NBA campaign coming off the bench. It took 33 games for Popovich to insert him into the starting lineup.
Monday will mark Jones’ sixth consecutive start since returning to the role he filled last season. Not surprisingly, the past five games have produced one of the Spurs’ most promising stretches of the 2023-24 campaign.
Jones is coming off a statement game of sorts, having poured in a career-high 30 points in Saturday’s shorthanded 122-116 loss to Chicago at the Frost Bank Center.
“Tre’s a guy who is going to get everyone organized,” reserve guard Doug Mcdermott said. “It’s been a big thing for our offense, playing a little faster right out of the gate.”
It is not as if Popovich and the Spurs coaching staff did not know what they had in Jones before now. Jones started 65 times in his 68 appearances last season — the Spurs’ first without Murray — and posted career bests in scoring (12.9 points per game), assists (6.6 per game) and steals (1.3 per game).
That familiarity with Jones is one of the reasons the Popovich opened the season exploring the unfamiliar options.
The arrival of No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama last summer sparked the Spurs to initially test the outer limits of their roster. Popovich experimented with 6-foot-8 forward Jeremy Sochan at point guard to start the season. He was a bleach-blonde fish out of water.
The Spurs tried newcomer Cedi Osman for one game in Minnesota. They switched to second-year combo guard Malaki Branham for a stretch.
With that trio learning on the job, the Spurs began the season 5-28.
“We’ve had a lot of different lineups this year, trying to mess with things, let some guys develop in certain areas,” Mcdermott said. “(The coaches) are going to do what’s best for the organization and best for guys moving forward in their careers.”
Having spent the early part of the season on standby, Jones understood better than most what coaches meant to accomplish with the point guard carousel.
“Everyone needed to settle into their role,” Jones said. “That’s what we were trying to do. And we’re still trying to figure that out. We’re really young. We’ve got a ways to go until we crack into the playoffs and start to win a lot more. We’re all trying to figure this thing every single day.”
At 6-foot-1 and a career 27.1percent 3-point shooter, the 24-year-old Jones lacks the size and perimeter shooting prowess modern NBA teams prefer in their point guards.
He makes up for that with a combination of heart, hustle and basketball know-how that once made him the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year at Duke.
Even before the start of training camp, the point guard situation was a topic of intense debate in Spurs coaching meetings. One thing the staff agreed upon: If other options floundered, the team could always go back to the tried-and-true Jones at some point.
In five games since making his first start Jan. 4 against Milwaukee, Jones is averaging 16.6 points and 5.2 assists while shooting nearly 66 percent from the field (31 of 47).
More telling has been Jones’ impact on team success. During the past five games, the Spurs rank seventh in the NBA in offensive efficiency, 11th in defensive efficiency and eighth in net rating.
In the 33 games without Jones in the starting lineup, the Spurs ranked 29th, 25th and 30th in those categories.
One might forgive Jones for uttering an “I told you so.”
Ever the good soldier, he will not.
“Every chance you’re on the court, whether starting or coming off the bench, you have to try and prove yourself the best you can,” Jones said. “I’m not necessarily trying to be competitive to show the coaches up or anything. It’s just any opportunity I get, I’m trying to make the most of it.”
There is no telling how Jones’ recent run as a starter changes the Spurs’ view of their point guard situation going forward. Barring a mid-20s growth spurt, Jones will still be 6-1 next season and beyond.
The Spurs arrive in Atlanta with rumors swirling about the Hawks’ intention to shop Murray before the February trade deadline. The Spurs are believed to have at least held exploratory conversations about bringing him back.
Though a reunion with Murray is unlikely, the Spurs’ interest is a sign that the search for the point guard of the future goes on in San Antonio.
As for the point guard of the present? He has been under their nose the whole time.