The Chicago Bulls are rebuilding around the trio of Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain. Tre Jones, one of the NBA's most undervalued point guards, will play a crucial role in helping them develop in 2026-27.
Wilson was the No. 4 overall pick in this summer's draft. The uber-athletic 6-foot-10 wing/forward displayed a quickly improving skill set in summer league and is prepared to carry the franchise on his shoulders.
Buzelis is entering his third NBA season, and though he's gotten somewhat lost in the Wilson excitement, he will likely be the Bulls' best overall player this year.
Swain is behind those two on the NBA-ready meter, but his intriguing blend of size, physicality and guard skills at 6-foot-7 points to a player uniquely suited to fit next to Wilson and Buzelis.
And Jones is ideally equipped to help that trio potentially become Chicago's Big Three.
Tre Jones is a perfect fit to maximize the Bulls' young talent
Josh Giddey is, at least for the moment, locked in as Chicago's point guard of the future. His own skill set as a creative, pass-first floor general will help Wilson and Swain find easy baskets, and his developing partnership with Buzelis will create an important 1-2 punch in the Windy City.
But as he so often does, Jones will have an understated impact.
The 26-year-old has played in 83 games and started 60 since arriving in Chicago as part of the Zach LaVine trade last February. In 26.6 minutes per contest, Jones has averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. His assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 4-to-1 last season was 20th-best in the NBA.
His assist percentage of 29.2 ranked third on the Bulls, but his usage rate of 19.2 was 13th.
He led Chicago in win shares (5.7) by a wide margin — Nikola Vucevic was second with 3.5.
This is all to say that Jones is an extraordinarily efficient low-usage role player who can direct an offense and contribute to winning on both ends of the floor.
His unselfishness will suit Chicago's young cornerstones well. He'll get them organized, direct traffic and quietly find a way to make their scoring lives easy.
He's not an elite shooter, but he's enough of a threat to keep defenses honest. He can wriggle into the paint and finish effectively. He's small but a pest defensively, which should allow Wilson and Buzelis to roam and Swain to use his physical tools on the ball.
Giddey is the Bulls' orchestrator. But Jones' underrated efficiency will be critical to the development of the organization's foundational young stars.
Add us as a preferred source on Google