David Jones Scouting Report
After a breakout season at Memphis, can Jones get drafted?
Name: David Jones
Birth date: November 24, 2001
Height/Weight: 6’4/211
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’6 ¾/8’4
Hand size: 9 ½
Position: SG
Pre-Draft team: Memphis
Tools: Turnover-forcing ability, 3 level scoring ability
Season Stats: 21.8 PPG 7.6 RPG 1.8 APG 2.2 SPG 0.4 BPG 3 TOPG on 46/38/80
Pros:
Has a reliable up-fake that gets defenders in the air on the perimeter
Quick first step in both directions
Plays the passing lanes well
Jump shooting has taken a massive jump at Memphis. Reliable spot-up shooter, and he can get defenders up in the air with a lethal pump fake
Good rebounder that follows the ball
Cons:
Needs to be more disciplined defensively
Jump shot base can vary from shot to shot
Doesn’t get great lift on drives consistently in the halfcourt
Accountability concerns?
Needs to move off-ball more. Sits too long calling for the ball without adapting to the possession
Defensive intensity can be poor, especially when defending players running off screens
Mediocre frame
Deeply negative assist:turnover ratio
Swing Skills:
Jump shot has improved significantly as an upperclassman; is that improvement sustainable?
What is his defense truly like? At Memphis he was a bit hidden by playing the long-side defender, and almost free safety
Summary:
In terms of skill and talent, David Jones is a top 60 talent that can use his skillset to contribute to an NBA team right away on the wings with dynamic 3 level scoring. As an athletic slasher with a quick first step, Jones can quickly get to the rim and capitalize on switches by both being quicker than a big and overpowering guards. When not creating out of isolation, he uses his shooting threat to quickly attack closeouts, using a unique up-fake that gets defenders out of positions. From there, he can blow by defenders and break down the defense, allowing for favorable opportunities offensively.
Jones can easily play as an off-ball threat, cutting well when he actively moves off the ball, and he has a reliable jump shot, albeit a near anomaly shooting season. His shot mechanics check out positively, being easily repeatable with a smooth release. In this case, the jump seems to stem from repetition that took time, opposed to a fluke season. On spot-up jumpers, Jones shot 39% from 3 and overall ranked in the 79th percentile in per possession efficiency as a catch & shoot threat. Additionally, Jones thrived shooting off the dribble, ranking in the 90th percentile on a field goal percentage of 39.6 (42.3% from 2, 38.3% from 3).
Defensively, it’s hard to gauge what type of player Jones is. Prior to joining Memphis, he lacked discipline, often gambling for steals in the half-court, making him a boom-or-bust defender for most possessions. At Memphis, they changed his role to be a more controlled version of this as a free safety that guarded the far-side defense, but some of his bad habits still came out, just in a different ways than before. For example, he is inconsistent defending against off-screen actions. He often chooses to stay behind screens, telling his teammate to fight through it instead as he sits still in no man's land, which is an area he often ends up in during sets involving screens. Take these below plays as examples:
Again with no man’s land, Jones unnecessarily walks towards the P&R without helping, and without floating back to his man, thus having only removed himself from the play. This play already has the on-ball defender creating an action as well as the big playing drop coverage, but he walks away from his man to unnecessarily switch high onto the perimeter, but without fully switching. This 3-on-2 created was entirely avoidable, and leaves the open shooter without reason.
With overall inconsistent, and often poor, defensive intensity, Jones could quickly irk some coaching staffs if this doesn’t get ironed out. He has good athleticism and lateral quickness, helping him stay in front of drives against both guards and wings. When engaged, he projects to be adequate and at least passable without becoming a liability on the defensive end. When not fully focused, he quickly becomes dangerous to the defense by leaving others out to dry and not fighting through screens.
On the offensive end, the motor issues can also be apparent. He doesn’t move well away from the ball unless the play calls for the ball to end in his hands, which can minimize his strong shooting ability. He often spends too much time with his hands up waiting for the ball to come to him instead of going to the ball and adapting to the possession. Take this play against Tulane for example:
I have also received intel about David Jones’ accountability and motor, which from my sources is a red flag. This is easily visible in many of the clips above, and is something he will need to win teams over within the pre-draft process in interviews and workouts.
On a statistical note, Jones’ combination of steal-generating ability, 3 point rate at his size, and overall productive impact measure well compared to former 3&D prospects. While the defense is iffy, if it does translate in the right environment and he can become a better decision-maker to scale down into an off-ball role, there is some upside for him to be a role player on a winning team. RJ Hunter feels like a floor for Jones, although the circumstances surrounding each other, but even Darun Hilliard wasn’t an entirely different prospect. Just because some of these players didn’t work out doesn’t mean it is a failing archetype, but the players who played in good conferences mostly resemble Jones’ archetype, and are seen as a valuable role.
RJ Hunter was a top tier shooter, but struggled to scale up from Georgia State, and he had some knee injuries. D’Moi Hodge still has NBA upside after spending his rookie year in the G League. KCP is a championship winning 3&D wing. Taurean Prince has proven himself as a rotation wing for many years. Hilliard was a good prospect that I liked in the past, combining size and shooting but never overcoming his subpar athleticism and lack of rim pressure.
Overall, Jones’ ability to score the ball and rebound well for his position will get him on an NBA floor, but how he composes himself once he gets minutes will dictate how many minutes he can play, and how long his NBA career is. His talent is undeniable, and the breakthroughs at Memphis should be applauded, but teams will need to approach his intangibles with caution. Turning 23 years old shortly after the season starts gives him a slim margin for error to get himself trending positively, so he will need to come into the NBA with a chip on his shoulder to overcome these flags.
Projected draft range: 50-undrafted
Expected role: 3 level scorer with rebounding ability.
Unplayable if: Motor and accountability issues hold him back from maximizing his tools and skillset.
Exceeds expectations if: Intel ends up being irrelevant, and his defense + tendencies end up positively scaling up to the NBA.
Videos:
Shot chart:
