Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. recently spoke to reporters about why he chose to join the Mavericks last summer on a base-salary contract. Notably, Jones could have gotten a $3.36 million contract from the Chicago Bulls last summer by exercising his player option, but he surprisingly didn't do so and signed the Mavericks on free agency with a one-year base salary that he is only $2.71 million on this season. In other words, Jones Jr. lost $650,000 in wages in order to join the Mavericks. For a player on a base salary contract, this is obviously not a small statistic.
"I could have chosen to exercise my player option on my contract with the Bulls and stay with the Bulls, but I didn't," Jones said. I just wanted to gamble on how I would do this season, so I decided to accept a smaller contract and join the Mavericks. I thought at the time that money wasn't really the most important thing, I wanted more minutes and opportunities to show what I was capable of. And as things stand now, I really did that.
In the NBA regular season this season, Jones Jr. played a total of 76 games for the team, averaging 23.5 minutes per game, averaging 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, shooting 48.3% from the field, 34.3% from three-point range, and 71.3% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, Jones Jr. played an average of 31.3 minutes per game in the first 16 games, averaging 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, shooting 50% from the field, 39.2% from three-point range, and 72% from the free throw line.
It has to be said that Jones Jr.'s performance this season has obviously far exceeded the level of a base-paid player, his offensive efficiency is very amazing, and his performance outside the three-point line has improved as the season has progressed. Jones Jr. grabbed a starting spot in the regular season with his performance. In the playoffs, his performance has improved further on the basis of the regular season. It is no exaggeration to say that with Jones Jr.'s performance in the playoffs, he is simply the league's top 3D forward with both offense and defense. With Jones Jr.'s performance so far, regardless of whether the Mavericks win the championship in the end, one thing is for sure, Jones Jr. will not get a base salary contract next season. At the very least, he'll get a contract around the full middle class.