Chicago Bulls: Grading addition of Derrick Jones Jr.
A deal that a lot of Chicago Bulls fans were waiting to get done came down in the late morning of Aug. 27. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley were able to get a sign-and-trade done in a three-team deal that also involved the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers. And the trio of players involved in this sign-and-trade deal were fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen, small forward Derrick Jones Jr., and forward Larry Nance Jr.
What the Bulls specifically got in this sign-and-trade deal was Jones Jr. from the Blazers, a future lottery protected first-round draft pick from the Blazers, and a future second-round draft pick from Cleveland. Meanwhile, the Blazers landed Nance from the Cavs in this deal. And the Cavs got the return of Markkanen.
The Cavs signed Markkanen down to a four-year contract worth a total of around $67 million. That brings his next contract to an average annual value of around $16.25. That dollar figure is likely a lot more than Karnisovas and the Bulls were willing to pay Markkanen. And that length of his next contract is definitely a longer-term than he was willing to come back to the Bulls for.
Moreover, this is a good return for the Bulls. The front office finally got some future draft capital back, and added depth at a spot of need in the rotation. It does look as if head coach Billy Donovan will still have to get creative in the rotation to fill the need at the four.
Jones traditionally played most of his minutes at the two or the three. But he does have the ability to play at the four in a small ball lineup. He played 14 percent of his minutes at the four with the Miami Heat two seasons ago. And he played a career-high 37 percent of his minutes at the four with the Heat three seasons ago.
The spot in the rotation that Jones is likely to fall in specifically is either as a backup wing competing for minutes with Troy Brown Jr., or as a backup power forward in a small ball lineup. At least there is a good amount of switchability that Jones will bring to the table here.
Most of the regular season games that Jones played in with the Blazers last season were in the starting unit. He started in 43 of the 58 regular season games he played in during the 2020-21 campaign. But he didn’t get many minutes on the floor per night for being in the starting unit that much (just north of 22 minutes played per game).
Chicago Bulls have a natural fit for Billy Donovan in Derrick Jones Jr.
Sliding into a significant reserve role for Donovan and the Bulls next season shouldn’t be a tough transition in the slightest for Jones.
Jones is a very capable defender, posting a career defensive box plus/minus around 0.5. And he’s got potential on the offensive end of the floor, just not with much range in his game. He has registered a career offensive rating of 120, though, which is very solid.
Last season, Jones did register a steal percentage around 1.5 and a block percentage around four. He’s a disruptive defender that can also help the Bulls push the pace in transition. In the last three seasons, a whopping 24 percent of his field goal attempts wound up being dunks.
There is a chance that Jones could find his range in a new-look offensive system. But it’s hard to exactly pinpoint where he succeeds from beyond the arc. He shot just 29 percent on corner three-point attempts in the last two seasons combined. But he also hasn’t ever shot better than 34 percent from beyond the arc on a regular basis from the top of the key.
Where Jones does excel on the offensive end comes as an offensive rebounder (career offensive rebounding percentage north of seven), penetrating to the rim, and in getting to the free-throw line. He’s got a career free-throw attempt rate of around 35 percent.
Donovan can use Jones as a secondary or tertiary initiator that can also work effectively between three and 10 feet from the rim. He’s also a serious lob threat that plays really well in transition. Pace tends to benefit Jones more so than most other wings/forwards around the NBA.
All in all, this was a great move for the Bulls to dish out Markkanen to get two future draft picks and a player that the front office was pursuing for a good while now in Jones. The Bulls now have a ton of athleticism in this rotation between two Slam Dunk Contest champs in Jones and star shooting guard Zach LaVine.
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Jones and the Bulls will now have around four and a half more weeks to configure this rotation heading into Training Camp and the preseason. For now, we can appreciate the good move made by the front office to land Jones from the Blazers in this three-team sign-and-trade deal.