Is Tyus Jones the answer for the New York Knicks?

Since Tyus Jones is an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason, could he be the point guard to help the New York Knicks?

Should the New York Knicks sign Tyus Jones?

You could set your sundial by the New York Knicks. Literally. New York’s annual offseason search for a solution at point guard is as sure as the change in seasons. The sun and clock agree on only four days out of the year, with one of them being June 15th.

Kemba Walker was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 18th of last year. Kemba was never supposed to be the point guard of the future, but he was supposed to be the point guard of the present. So much for that.

The Kemba era lasted a whopping 37 games before he got sent home with a case of the Thibodeau flu. So now the poor guy is watching Al Horford dominate the playoffs and wishing he didn’t accept that OKC buyout.

For the Knicks, the dial begins turning again this year, with the highlight being the start of free agency on July 1st.

Jalen Brunson is the latest summer blockbuster on Knicks Twitter. He’s making himself a lot of money with a strong performance in these playoffs, and the connections to Knicks executive Leon Rose and coach Tom Thibodeau make him a strong candidate.

But another name that’s become popular with the fan base is Tyus Jones. The 26-year-old is more of an overlooked indie film that is finally catching the attention of the masses. It appears that Tyus has caught the attention of the Knicks front office as well.

The New York Post’s Marc Berman reported that Jones is on the Knicks’ radar and could be their backup plan if they miss out on Brunson. It makes sense for the Knicks to be targeting Jones.

Who is Tyus Jones?

Tyus Jones appears to have taken over the throne as the NBA’s best backup point guard — where the expectations can be a gift (Jalen Brunson) and a curse (Dennis Schroder).

Tyus just finished a breakout season in a contract year. He averaged career-highs of 21.2 minutes, 8.7 points, and 4.4 assists per game on a .451/.390/.818. However, one of the most impressive parts of Jones’ season is that his shooting percentages went up along with his field goal attempts.

Jones helped this year’s Memphis Grizzlies to the second-best record in the NBA — including a 20-6 record during games he started in place of an injured Ja Morant. A solid regular season and playoffs will earn Jones a big raise. Brock Osweiler alert? Not quite.

Search anything about Tyus Jones, and you’ll find articles gushing about how important he is to the Grizzlies. Of course, there are many times when the on/off numbers via Cleaning the Glass are an outlier, but the Grizzlies were really good this year. Memphis had the fourth-best point differential in the league, so the team being 8.2 points per 100 possessions better with Jones on the court says a lot about how efficient he was.

A big part of why Jones was able to keep the Grizzlies winning without their All-Star point guard is that he doesn’t make mistakes. You can’t take about him without talking about his assist numbers.

Jones led the league in assist to turnover ratio once again. This year he produced 324 assists to just 46 turnovers, 7.04. That’s not a typo. For context, the highest assist to turnover on the Knicks was “not a point guard” Immanuel Quickley (2.78).

Jones ranked in the 89th percentile in usage percentage for combo guards this season. (Why was he ranked as a combo guard? I have no idea.) He’s never ranked lower than the 80th percentile in assist to usage percentage in his career, and he’s ranked in the 88th percentile or higher in turnover percentage in each of the last four seasons, per Cleaning the Glass.

Another area Jones excels is with his floater. He uses the screen expertly and typically goes to his left before finishing with his right hand. This area of his game goes largely unnoticed, but it’s a tremendous strength.

Jones has converted 46, 48, and 47 percent of his short midrange attempts (shots outside 4 feet and inside 14 feet) over the last three seasons via Cleaning the Glass. That put him in the 82nd, 84th, and 76th percentile.

Jones averaged 8.1 potential assists per game to just 4.4 assists per game, per Second Spectrum. He’s a better pick-and-roll player than the numbers advertised.

A closer look shows how his teammates missed a shocking amount of looks this season. Jones passed to Jaren Jackson Jr. 6.8 times per game, who shot an inexplicable 31.5 percent on the 3.4 shots from those passes. You also need to consider that he didn’t benefit from playing with the team’s best player – Ja Morant.

One area Jones can improve is with his pull-up jumper. He ranked 67th out of the 96th players who attempted 200 pull-up jumpers last season in effective field goal percentage. Because of that, teams can go under screens on him. If that changes, his pick and roll game could become even more impressive.

There will be some concerns about his height. Tyus is virtually the same size as Brunson. Jones is 6 feet, 196 pounds, and Leon’s godson is 6’1″, 190.

According to Basketball-Reference, an NBA player’s average height and weight in the 2021-22 season is 6’6″, 215 pounds. The average player was 6’7″, 222 pounds in Jones’ rookie season (2015-16). Positionless basketball is dominating, and the league is craving smaller players.

Tyus Jones is legit. The kid is a winner. He’s been comfortable in the spotlight since he started as an eighth-grader on his high school’s varsity team and led his team to a state championship as a junior.

Jones led Duke to a National Championship as an 18-year-old freshman — scoring 23 points in the 2015 National Championship Game.

Jones was the least celebrated future NBA’er on that star-studded Duke squad, but he won the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award, and seven years later, he’s en route to the most promising pro career.

Jones spent the first four years of his career in Minnesota, where he struggled to find consistent playing time — more on that later. So it’s a testament to Jones’ work ethic that he will be an in-demand free agent.

Now you’re probably thinking that this guy and Tom Thibodeau would be perfect together. Not so fast.

The Tom Thibodeau Factor

Tom Thibodeau doesn’t seem like a big reunion guy. It doesn’t matter if it’s family, high school, or network sitcom. It’s hard to picture Thibodeau playing cornhole, wearing a nametag, or watching the cast of Friends catch up.

The truth is that the man loves himself some nostalgia — in the right context, of course. The context being he likes having Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson on his basketball teams. The common denominator with Rose and Gibson being they both played for Thibs in Chicago. You know, back when everyone thought he was good.

But if you check the back of Jones’ basketball card, you’ll notice he was in Minnesota during Thibodeau’s anticlimactic reign as President of Basketball Operations/Coach. Thibodeau welcoming Tyus Jones into his point guard rotation with open arms is far from a guarantee. All that matters to Thibodeau is winning, and he didn’t do much of that in Minnesota. More importantly, he showed no faith in Jones during their time together.

Thibodeau took over the year after Jones was drafted and promptly drafted another point guard (Kris Dunn). Not exactly a vote of confidence. The following year, Thibodeau traded Dunn in the Jimmy Butler deal and signed Jeff Teague as the team’s new point guard.

Before Thibs was fired 40 games into the 2018-19 season, Jones played 39 games and started six. He averaged 20.3 minutes, 5.2 points, and 3.8 assists per game on a .384/.288/.821 slash line. After Thibs was fired, Jones played in 29 games and started in 17. He averaged 26.5 minutes, 9.1 points, and 6.1 assists per game on a .443/.350/.854 slash line.

Let’s add some context. Tom Thibodeau was Tyus Jones’ head coach for two and a half seasons. During that stretch, Jones played 30 or more minutes 11 times. Knicks fans rightfully complain about Immanuel Quickley’s playing time. He played 30 or more minutes 12 times this season.

The statistical evidence pointed to choosing Jones as the starter over Teague, but Thibodeau stuck with his trusted veteran despite all the losing and enormous negative numbers. Even Teague preferred his backup. This type of decision-making probably sounds familiar to Knicks fans.

Jones has evolved since his time in Minnesota. But Thibodeau hasn’t. It would be wise not to buy into any Tom Thibodeau-Tyus Jones reunion storyline.

The Immanuel Quickley of it all

The Knicks seem to be right back where they started at the point guard spot. But the biggest reason not to sign Tyus Jones could be a player already on the roster. Alex Trataros wrote extensively about current Knick Immanuel Quickley as an option for the Knicks as a starting point guard.

It’s impossible to ignore Quickley when discussing any future Knicks point guard situation. IQ’s numbers down the stretch of last season and overall impact on the team make investing in any point guard seem ludicrous to some. Why? Because Quickley has looked like a point guard at times, and he’s still on his rookie deal.

But it doesn’t matter what the fans think. We have little evidence that suggests the team views Quickley as the point guard of the future. Like most free agency decisions, this one is all about price and role.

Jones would be a fine addition if the money is right and he’s willing to be flexible about coming off the bench. The Knicks are in no spot to be able to turn away talent, and Jones is a talent. But if he’s deadset on getting a big payday and a starting job (which he’s certainly entitled to after the season he just had), then it could be best for the Knicks to look elsewhere. Maybe even to their own roster.

Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the 2021-22 NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out NBA Draft Lottery Watch Along, where CP was Live from Miami!