Dunk King Derek Jones Jr. option to stay in Portland.
Derek Jones Jr. will be with Portland for another year.
The Athletic’s Shams Carania reported on the 27th (Korea time) that Derek Jones Jr. of the Portland Trail Blazers will spend another season with Portland using a $9.7 million player option.
Jones, who won the 2020 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, is a forward with the best athletic ability in the league. Showing more strength in defense than offense, he helped Miami advance to the final in the 2020 playoffs.
Jones joined Portland ahead of the 2020-2021 season, but his performance on the new team was not very satisfactory. He recorded 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds last season, averaging 22.7 minutes on average, and was pushed out of the main rotation because he failed to show remarkable performance, and eventually made only two appearances in the playoffs.
Still, another opportunity for Jones was given to manager Terry Stotts as he dropped the baton of Portland and the new head coach, Chensi Billops. There is ample chance that Jones will rejoin the rotation as Portland’s core Sixman if he only makes up for his lack of shooting skills.