Thursday, January 10, 2008

New Player: Bobby Jones


According to Chris Vernon, the Grizzlies will have a new player arriving soon.

From cvernon.com:

This is hardly big news, but the roster spot vacated by Jeremy Richardson will be filled very soon.

The roster spot will be filled with Bobby Jones, not the golfer, who was released from the Denver Nuggets. Jones is regarded as a wing defender, which is what the Grizzlies need. Played college ball at Washington. He has not gotten a lot of run in the NBA. Let's hope he can help and we get a chance to see him play a little when he gets his 10-day.


Zack tells me that Verno and Wallace had a conversation on the radio today that strongly hinted at this happening and I trust Verno enough to run this without any confirmation from the Grizzlies.

Update (11:10 PM): Here is something from his draft profile (hat tip to Timmy D):

6'7", 215 lbs.

Bobby Jones is a defensive stopper in the truest sense. He has great size and quickness and moves his feet intelligently, always staying in front of his man and taking great pride in harassing whoever he is guarding. He is a versatile defender as well; being used in college to defend any position on the court 1-5. Jones does a good job with post defense and he can defend shorter players on the perimeter as well. He is exceptional at sliding his feet from side to side, knowing when to extend or advance his on the ball defensive position and having the instincts to retreat backwards while staying in his defensive stance and keeping his technique.

Jones is mostly a role player and doesn’t seem to have a problem with that. Offensively he is a decent slasher, being able to take a few short dribbles with his right hand to get to the hoop. Jones moves well without the ball, cutting to the basket and looking for opportunities to come up with cheap baskets in the paint. Once at the rim, he has the length and athleticism to finish well at the hoop.

Bobby Jones is not going to be a star at the next level, instead he is your consummate role player who could be a true defensive stopper in the NBA under the right coach. The special thing about Jones is the defensive versatility he has shown in college, being asked to guard all positions on the floor. If asked to switch on a screen in the NBA this will come in very handy as he is used to defending all kinds of offensive players, which will increase his value at the next level. He is a smart defender, and he just understands that part of the game.

Jones likely has the athletic ability and the defensive ability to stick in the NBA until he develops the rest of his game. His overall weaknesses in ball handling and shooting will limit what he can do at the next level, however, a defender is a defender and at his size with his athletic skills, he can play at the next level and be a great defensive stopper.

Best Case: Bruce Bowen

Worst Case: Stacey Augmon



Sounds good to me! Let's get this guy in Beale Street Blue pronto.

Update: It is officially a done deal. See all the details on Grizzlies.com.

1 comment:

zack said...

Stacy Augmon was my favorite UNLV Runnin' Rebel growing up.....i like that comparison...

:)