Selected 24th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, Tyus Jones is now in his ninth season in the league. The 27-year-old spent his first four seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the next four with the Memphis Grizzlies. The 2023-24 season, Jones played for the Washington Wizards.
The 6-1 point guard is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
Tyus Jones Wants to be a Starter Next Season
In his first season with the Wizards, Jones appeared in 66 games. All 66 saw him be a part of Washington’s starting five.
Talking with the Washington Post (subscription needed), Jones simply stated that the plan is to remain a starter and not go back to being a reserve as he gets set to enter free agency.
While the Wizards finished with the second-worst record in the NBA at 15-67, Jones performed admirably. In 29.3 minutes per contest, he posted averages of 12.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.1 steals. He finished with career-highs in both field goal percentage (48.9) and three-point percentage (41.4).
2023-24 was Jones’s First Season as a Full-Time Starter
Entering the 2023-24 season, Jones had appeared in 535 regular season games. Only 94 of them saw him in his team’s starting lineup.
Jones did start a combined 45 games for the Grizzlies in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Many of those were due to star Ja Morant being out of the lineup. Memphis didn’t miss a beat with him starting in 2021-22 with a 19-4 record. In 2022-23, the Grizzlies finished 13-9 with Jones in the starting lineup.
Stellar Assist-to-Turnover Ratio Throughout his Career
One thing that Jones has always been marvelous at in his nine-year career is taking care of the ball.
In his season with the Wizards, Jones totaled 485 assists and just 66 turnovers. That gave him a remarkable 7.35 assist-to-turnover ratio.
For his career, the nine-year veteran has 2,593 assists while turning the ball over 466 times. That gives him a career 5.66 assist-to-turnover ratio.
This season Tyrese Haliburton assisted Myles Turner more times than any other player assisted any teammate.
Tyrese Haliburton to Myles Turner – 215
Domantas Sabonis to Keegan Murray – 186
Tyus Jones to Kyle Kuzma – 171
Fred VanVleet to Alperen Sengun – 168
LeBron James to… pic.twitter.com/P2M4PtrEub— Crazy Stats (@NBAcrazystats) April 16, 2024
The 2023-24 season was actually the first time that he even averaged one turnover per game. He received his most playing time in his career though this season by five minutes per game.
Who are Some Other Potential Free Agent Point Guards?
After the 2021-22 season, Tyus Jones re-upped with the Grizzlies on a two-year deal worth $29 million. The expectation was that he would remain a key reserve for Memphis behind Morant. Jones was involved in a three-team deal in June 2023 which saw him land with the Wizards.
It may not be a strong point guard market in free agency this offseason. Tyrese Maxey is a restricted free agent for the Philadelphia 76ers and it is highly unlikely that Philadelphia wouldn’t bring him back. Likewise for Immanuel Quickley and the Toronto Raptors.
The best name along with Jones that may be available is D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers. The 28-year-old has a player option for $18.69 million next season. Unrestricted free agent point guards include Markelle Fultz, Spencer Dinwiddie, Monte Morris, Kyle Lowry, Patrick Beverley, and Cameron Payne.
