5 former Heat players to sign on veteran minimum deals, ranked

No. 2 former Heat player turned free agent: Derrick Jones Jr.

Derrick Jones Jr. appeared in 64 games for Chicago last season, averaging 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per contest. His workload decreased as the year progressed, especially once the Bulls made the soft mid-season pivot toward focusing on youth. Jones is still square in his basketball prime at 26 years old, but it’s fair to question his fit in the rapidly changing NBA landscape.

Jones hit 33.8 percent of his 1.3 three-point attempts per game last season, by far the best numbers of his career. Sustained progress in that area will be key to determining Jones’ NBA future. The NBA is a shooter’s league right now, and Jones has too often been limited anywhere outside the restricted area.

Team context is paramount for Jones. He needs four shooters around him to avoid compromising spacing too much. He also needs at least one and preferably more than one legitimate table-setter to spoon-feed him scoring opportunities at the rim. Jones is a nuclear athlete who has tremendous feel for cutting to the rim and making himself available for lobs, but his self-creation skills are completely absent from the equation.

What keeps Jones pegged at No. 2 on this list is defense. At 6-foot-5 with a 7-foot wingspan, Jones has developed into a thoroughly disruptive presence on that end of the floor. He understands how to weaponize his absurd leaping ability as a weak-side rim protector. His Go Go Gadget arms make him a regular presence in passing lanes and he’s swift on his feet, capable of comfortably switching 1-4 in most matchups.