As Tre Jones grew up in the 2000s, one of the best point guards in the league was consistently Chris Paul.
Now, the Duke guard has declared for the 2020 NBA Draft, and there’s a route in which he could be teammates with the longtime All-NBA player.
Jones told media that he had an interview with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He thinks it would be highly beneficial to his career to learn from Paul.
“Being able to learn from Chris Paul, there would be nothing like it,” Jones said. “We all know what type of player he is.”
Paul’s ability to lead the team on offense has allowed him to be an All-Star for all these years, but his defense and two-way ability is what makes him stand out from the rest of the crowded position.
That’s something Jones can relate to. Entering this past season at Duke, he had proven that he was one of the better defensive point guards in college. He needed to show his offensive game was developed as well.
In 2019-20, he nearly doubling his scoring average to 16 points per game (it helped that he no longer had Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett demanding the ball), and increased his 3-point shooting from 26% to 36%.
In the media sessions, Jones said he has worked on his mechanics and balance in his jump shot.
He thinks he could keep improving with lessons from the nine-time All-NBA player.
“Being able to learn from one of the all-time great point guards that we’ve seen in our time would definitely be a huge advantage and something that I’d really love to do,” he said.
If the Thunder do draft Jones and keep the corps of the roster as-is, the 20-year-old would fit in as a fourth guard behind Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder.
His presence would give Oklahoma City a player to develop for when Schroder’s contract expires in 2021 and Paul’s in 2022, should both remain on the team throughout the length of their respective deals.
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