Options are clear
Jones’ NBA draft decision should be obvious by now
This won’t be an easy choice for David Jones to make, even if it probably should be.
He wants to play in the NBA, but the NBA may not want him. Memphis basketball wants him back, but his ideal scenario is to not come back.
This was likely true all along, ever since the Tigers sputtered to the finish line a couple of months ago and Jones made the logical decision to declare for the NBA draft without compromising his eligibility at Memphis.
But the options are becoming decidedly more clear after he appeared at the NBA scouting combine in Chicago last week, and based on reports, failed to boost his stock.
It is, in some ways, a throwback storyline of a team waiting to find out if its best player will stay in the NBA draft — but with a twist, courtesy of name, image and likeness. Either Jones will play basketball for money in a professional league during the 2024-25 season, or he will play basketball for more money at Memphis.
So perhaps, some might argue, there isn’t a wrong decision to make. Jones is going to be paid because of what he does on the court next season in some form or fashion. But I’m here to make the case that there is just one decision, and it’s for Jones to return to Memphis for one more year.
It’s just about the only major offseason development coach Penny Hardaway is waiting on at this point, after restocking his roster through the transfer portal once more. It’s the most straightforward way for the Tigers to recover from the way last season ended. Here’s why it’s in Jones’ best interests, too:
This NBA draft decision is different than almost any other in Memphis basketball history simply because of the money Jones can make legally by remaining with the Tigers. After earning honorable mention All-american honors, he almost certainly can make more NIL money at Memphis than he will on whatever contract he initially signs with an NBA team.
The adulation
What sounds better? Being a returning hero at Memphis playing in front of thousands at Fedexforum, with a trip to Maui on the docket as well? Or playing in front of hundreds at a G League arena, taking commercial flights around the country and being mostly invisible to everyone but the
most diehard of basketball fans?
With a two-way contract or a fullon call-up, Jones could see an NBA court sooner rather than later. But he’ll mostly be a forgotten part of the NBA machine, as opposed to being the big man on campus at Memphis.
The NCAA tournament
The carrot of participating in March Madness is probably more important to Hardaway and Memphis fans than Jones, but Jones spoke longingly about the NCAA tournament toward the end of last season. Here’s a chance to show scouts he can win big at the college level by fitting his considerable scoring talent with the Tigers’ mix of intriguing transfers.
He’s only guaranteed this year
This might be the most important reason to play for Memphis again, and the case of former Tigers guard Lester Quinones is worth studying.
Yes, Quinones didn’t stay at Memphis for his final year of eligibility and he received a two-way contract from the Golden State Warriors ahead of NBA summer league play. Two years later, Quinones is a full-fledged member of Golden State’s roster.
But in between all of that, he got released from his initial two-way contract by the Warriors before his rookie season even began. He toiled in the G League for a few months, earned the G League’s most improved player award, got a 10-day contract from the Warriors and signed another two-way deal with them.
It worked out only after it nearly didn’t, and it took him playing at a level we never really saw at Memphis, quite frankly. It took Quinones making a giant bet on himself. Jones would be taking an even bigger one, given the money he’d be turning down at Memphis, compared to what Quinones likely turned down at the time.
The point is, even if a team tells Jones it will give him a two-way contract, those deals are so easily disposed of that they’re often nothing more than an extended tryout with guaranteed money.
There’s a chance Jones will get the biggest payday of his entire basketball career by playing at Memphis this season. That’s a reflection of how much his return is worth to the Tigers, and just how difficult life is on the fringes of the NBA.
Here’s the real kicker, though: Jones can still get a two-way contract next year, maybe even if he can’t match what he did this past season. But this offer from Memphis will be gone in a matter of weeks, whenever Jones makes a decision that can’t possibly be easy for him, even if it should be by now.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on X: @mgiannotto