Mock Draft #3: All signs pointing to Terrence Jones?
Earl K. Sneed continues his mock draft series, highlighting Kentucky power forward Terrence Jones as a possible candidate for the Dallas Mavericks' No. 17 pick in the first round.
Mock Draft #3: All signs pointing to Terrence Jones?
As the NBA Draft draws closer and individual workouts rage on, there appears to be a building buzz humming around the possibility of Kentucky forward Terrence Jones landing with the Dallas Mavericks at pick No. 17.
In both the latest NBA.com and Yahoo.com/DraftExpress.com mock drafts, that’s exactly the scenario.
With June 28 quickly approaching, the Mavericks’ front office is keeping quiet on their end in regard to which direction they’re leaning in with the first-round selection just outside of the lottery. But as CBSSports.com first reported, North Carolina sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall confirmed his private workout with the Mavs last Friday with a tweet from inside of the Dallas locker room, highlighting the lockers of fellow Tar Heels Vince Carter, Brendan Haywood and Brandan Wright.
Now, however, it appears that the Mavericks might have their eyes fixed on Jones, a top-10 talent at power forward with a 6-foot-9, 250-pound frame.
The lone knock on Jones appears to be his untapped potential, likely causing him to slide in a draft filled with prospects at his position. Playing next to consensus No. 1 pick Anthony Davis and possible No. 2 selection Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jones upped his scoring and rebounding numbers from Year 1 to Year 2, posting 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds for the national championship-winning Wildcats and also collecting 1.9 blocks on the defensive end.
The big man also showed a bit of range from the outside, knocking down 32.9 percent from behind the shorter colligate 3-point arc, despite connecting on just 64.6 percent from the foul line.
Perhaps more importantly, Jones is believed to be a Day 1 contributor, likely adding depth behind 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki on the frontline should the Mavericks decide to go that route.
That being said, president of basketball operations and GM Donnie Nelson made it clear that he has tempered expectations for any draft pick the Mavericks add into the fold.
“You’re hopeful (to land a rotation player in the first round), and again, we’re still waiting to see how things shake out,” Nelson explained last month when breaking down the Mavs’ draft day plans. “Yeah, we’ve got a first and a second. … It’s a fairly deep draft, so we’re hopeful, but we’ll be active as usual. You know, whether we decide to draft or package or what have you, I don’t know. But yeah, we think we’re gonna get a player there.”
He added: “I don’t know many rookies that are rotation players of significance, period. But, yes, you would hope that that’s the case.”
