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The Veteran View

Dahntay Jones has been around too long to think that he’s going to see significant minutes as the Wine and Gold make another run at the Ring this spring. But that doesn’t mean the 12-year vet can't make serious contributions along the way.

Jones officially signed with the Cavaliers on April 13 – the final day of the regular season.

And typical of a consummate pro who’d suited up for 622 regular season games and 49 postseason contests, Jones saw 42 minutes of action in the finale against Detroit, finishing with 13 points on 6-for-14, adding five boards, two assists and a steal.

But if last year’s postseason run taught Cleveland anything, it’s that you can never have enough veteran bodies heading into the Playoff tournament. And Jones knows that if Coach Tyronn Lue looks down his bench for a hard-nosed grinder willing to do the dirty work, No. 30 will be more than ready to rumble.

”I just bring a defensive mindset,” said Jones. “You have a lot of great scorers. I’m just somebody to come in and get stops and wear an active scorer down or just fit in defensively and run the concepts that we do have already. Run the floor, communicate, keep guys together, be a veteran leader.”

Jones, who was taken 20th overall in the famed 2003 Draft, has played for notoriously tough teams over the course of his career – Memphis, Indiana and the Nuggets team that took the Lakers to six games in the 2009 Western Conference Finals.

”You’re a ‘tough’ team because you have a group of tough individuals that want to play a certain way,” opined Jones. “You can’t just have one tough individual and expect that to permeate through the team. You have to have tough-minded individuals with that mindset.

”I’m selfless in the fact that I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. Some guys come in thinking about offense. And it’s not that I can’t score, it’s just the fact I don’t really care about that. All I care about is winning and helping our team.”

But do the current Cavaliers have that same kind of mindset?

”This team definitely has that,” Jones continued. “Because they have a lot of selfless guys on this team that have put their personal agenda aside just to win. And that’s what’s cool about guys like Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert coming off the bench focused on whatever Coach Lue wants them to do to win.

”You have the Big Three who are going to dominate the ball because they deserve to, and because they’re such amazing scorers. And then you have guys around them like J.R. and Tristan who are going to come in and do whatever’s necessary, come up, play hard defensively, make plays on both ends.”

Jones, who’s now played for eight NBA teams – making playoff appearances with the Clippers, Hawks, Pacers, Nuggets and Grizzlies – spent this season with the D-League’s Grand Rapids Drive, averaging 15.7 points on 55 percent shooting in 43 games. On March 30, he set a Grand Rapids record, dropping 45 points on Raptors 905.

”I just want to keep the same mindset that I’ve had throughout my whole career – not take anything for granted, look forward to every day, take advantage of every day, work hard every day,” said the former Blue Devil of his D-League stint. “I tried to impact as many people as I could when I was down there, tried to play as hard as I could every game and just hope for the best.”

Cavs management loved the fact that Jones wasn’t simply biding his time in the D-League, but instead honing his craft and looking to improve if an NBA squad needed veteran help headed into the Playoffs.

The Cavaliers came calling and the rest, as they say, is history.

”There were a number of teams looking to add somebody right before the season ended, and I just finished my D-League season,” recalled Jones. “And the opportunity arose, it was a great opportunity for a great team that just needed somebody experienced with a defensive mindset. It was something that took about a week, but when it did work out, I was ready to go.”

Again, Jones knows he won’t be logging heavy minutes during the postseason. But he knows he can make his contributions felt.

”I can help practices be more competitive – give guys insight on how to guard different things or what I see from an offensive standpoint and how guys can attack, how I would defend it,” said the chiseled 36-year-old New Jersey native. “There’s a lot of different viewpoints that I can give during practices or during games.”

Like those of us who remember Tyronn Lue as a Cav-Killer during his playing days, Jones was another guy who always brought his A-game for the Wine and Gold.

”Well, you always rise to the occasion when you have to play against LeBron because he brings out the best in everybody,” smiled Jones. “If you don’t come to play a hard, focused game he’ll embarrass you. So you come into that game knowing you have a tough game ahead of you. And sometimes it brings the best out in you.

”So I’ve enjoyed coming out playing LeBron and the Cavaliers during my career. I’ve enjoyed competing against him and now with him. It’s been nothing but a blessing so far to see how hard these guys work and how hard he works, especially."

For their part, the Cavaliers have embraced the squad’s most recent addition.

”Kyrie’s been like a little brother to me and J.R.’s been like a brother to me over my whole career,” said Jones. “So, a bunch of great personalities in this locker room that have helped me fit right in and who know that if I’m called upon and take care of anything they need me to, I’ll be there when necessary.”

As the Cavs gear up for their still-undisclosed Second Round opponent, Dahntay Jones is in the gym, grinding with the guys as they prepare for Game 1 on Monday night at The Q. It’s been an excellent fit so far and Jones loves what he sees for the final Playoff push.

“My impression of this team is that they’re extremely focused with a ‘family’ atmosphere – these guys really like each other, they like competing with each other, they like competing against each other,” concluded Jones. “They practice hard, they play hard, they work hard in the weight room and take care of their bodies. Our (weightlifting) breakfast club has been amazing.

”It’s good to see guys like this focused on their bodies and focused on their craft – and it’s really amazing to be a part of.”