Jones: Entire Team Determined to Win

When the Knicks begin preseason play at home next Thursday against Maccabi Tel Aviv, there will be several new faces in the lineup. One of those players, Fred Jones, is poised to play a big role with the team this season, bringing four years of valuable experience with him when he came over in a draft-day trade from Portland.

Of course, that just happened to be the same trade that brought Zach Randolph to New York, which is one reason Jones has already been overshadowed before getting a chance to prove himself at The Garden. Jones, however, was no "throw-in" for the Randolph deal, because Knicks President, Basketball Operations and Head Coach Isiah Thomas knows all about what he brings to the team. After all, Thomas helped bring Jones into the NBA and was his first head coach at Indiana in 2002-03.

The 6-foot-2 Jones provides something every team needs – a talented guard who can come off the bench and do damage both as a scorer and passer. In 2004-05, he played the most minutes of his career and started a game-high 14 games. During that season, he averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

If he can simply match his career scoring average of 7.5 points per game this season, Jones will be a big part of the Knicks' bench and might even start to emerge from the shadow of the big guy who came over with him from Portland.

NYKnicks.com recently caught up with Jones, who talked about his outlook for the new season:

Question: What can Knicks fans expect from you this season?

Jones: To play with a lot of energy. I'll come out there and go as hard as possible, play defense and run the floor. I'll be ready to knock down open shots, and just play with all-out intensity.

Question: You were traded a few times over the course of the last year. Do you think you have something to prove?

Jones: Oh, definitely. I think everyone has something to prove everytime he steps on the floor, so this is definitely a big year for me, and I've got to go out there and play to the best of my ability.

Question: Were you able to get in contact with any of the other Knicks players over the summer?

Jones: Yeah, a few of them. I was in contact all summer with brought Jamal (Crawford). He lives up the street from me so I was talking with him all summer. I stalked to brought Stephon (Marbury) and, of course, brought Zach (Randolph). I also saw brought Q-Rich a couple of times.

Question: What have you been up to since July 2, when you were officially introduced as a Knick?

Jones: I headed back to Portland to spend time with friends and family. I spent a lot of time with my nephew, and then I started getting ready and now I'm back here.

Question: Obviously one big story for this team is the combination of Zach Randolph and brought Eddy Curry. How do you see your role on this team relative to how those two guys play?

Jones: Well, you know, with two post guys like that demanding the ball in the paint, they'll command a lot of double teams. So us post guys have got to get ready to lock and load and knock down shots so they can get a lot of open looks inside.

Question: You've played with Zach before. What's he like?

Jones: He's a good teammate. A great teammate, actually. He's very encouraging to everybody on the floor, and I think he wants everyone to feed off him and play well. One thing if nothing else is that he is an incredibly encouraging teammate.

Question: If you had one thing to say to Knicks fans what would you tell them?

Jones: Wins. That is what everyone has been telling each other, so that is what I'm telling the fans. Wins.