Tyus Jones

Jones has carved out a nice backup role in Memphis behind Ja Morant over the past three seasons. Last year, he ranked 216th in per-game fantasy production behind 8.7 points on 45/39/82 shooting, 4.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 steals. He's proven to be a nice deep-league option given his assists and steals upside when Morant misses time. Per 36 minutes across the past three seasons, he's averaged 7.8 dimes and 1.7 swipes. The Grizzlies furthered their commitment to Jones this summer, inking him to a two-year, $30 million contract, so fantasy managers should have no doubt that the point guard will remain in this role. In those deep leagues and best ball formats, he's a great option if you've drafted Morant and want to hedge against an injury.

The good news for Jones is when he started eight straight games early last season, he delivered 9.5 points, 6.9 assists and 1.9 steals over 29.0 minutes per game. The bad news is, with star Ja Morant on the Grizzlies, it's unlikely Jones puts together another string of starts unless Morant gets injured. The other bad news is Jones is likely behind De'Anthony Melton, too, on the point guard depth chart. Jones is on the last year of his contract, while Melton has three more years on his deal. Melton is also two years younger than Jones, meaning Melton is a better fit for Memphis' rebuilding timeline. Also, during Memphis' playoff series with the Jazz, Melton played 16.7 minutes per game versus Jones' 9.3 MPG. This is a long way of saying that without injuries to the Grizzlies' backcourt, expect Jones' 17.5 minutes per contest from 2020-21 to go down in 2021-22, with a subsequent decline in counting stats. The diminutive six-footer is too small to effectively defend shooting guards, which also hinders his playing time. On the whole, Jones is only relevant in deeper fantasy leagues.

Jones signed as a free agent with the Grizzlies prior to the 2019-20 season, and he ended up playing a backup point guard role to Rookie of the Year, Ja Morant. Jones remained mostly fantasy irrelevant, though fantasy managers in deeper leagues were able to get some use out of his solid shooting efficiency (45.9 field goal, 74.1 free throw percentages), passing (4.4 assists per game) and defense (0.9 steals per game). Heading into 2020-21, Jones should be in line for a backup role, though he might have to fend off De'Anthony Melton, Grayson Allen and Justise Winslow for playing time. He should again make for a fine flier in deep leagues and is a buy-low dynasty target at age 24, but fantasy managers in standard leagues can probably keep Jones far off their board.

Jones signed a three-year, $24 million deal to join the Grizzlies over the summer after a productive fourth season with the Timberwolves. He saw his role grow to 22.9 minutes per game and achieved career highs across the board with 6.9 points, 4.8 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals. His assist average was even more impressive, considering he turned the ball over just 0.7 times per game. Jones garnered 23 starts with Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose in and out of the lineup, and the former was impressive in those games. He averaged 10.8 points, 7.5 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 32.3 minutes as a starter, showcasing his strong abilities as a facilitator. Jones will likely serve as the top backup to rookie Ja Morant, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Jones play heavy minutes as a leader of the second unit. New career-highs across multiple categories are certainly attainable.

Jones played in all 82 games last season, providing a nice defensive spark off the bench behind Jeff Teague. While he was a regular in the rotation, Jones' role remained fairly limited, and coach Tom Thibodeau even turned to struggling veteran Derrick Rose, at times, late in the season. Jones has demonstrated his ability to rack up steals when given any extended opportunity, averaging 2.3 and 2.2 steals, respectively, per 36 minutes across his last two seasons. Jones also raised his field-goal percentage from 41 percent in 2016-17 to almost 46 percent last season, albeit on relatively low volume. Despite his defensive upside and ability to facilitate, Jones will again be mired in a bench role so long as Teague is healthy. If he's able to turn in another productive campaign, even in limited action, Jones could set himself up for a larger opportunity down the road. Still just 22 years old, Jones has the potential to be a low-end starting point guard, whether that's in Minnesota or elsewhere.

Jones fought hard for backup minutes last season with Kris Dunn behind starter Ricky Rubio. Over the 60 games he appeared in, Jones tallied 3.5 points, 2.6 assists and 1.1 rebounds across 12.9 minutes per game while shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from deep. But, over the summer, Dunn was dealt to Chicago, now freeing up Jones to take over as the legitimate backup point guard behind newly acquired starter Jeff Teague. Assuming Teague sees around 30 minutes per night, Jones should find himself within the 15-20 minute range. While that’s not ideal for Fantasy value, it should at least provide him with enough workload to improve his game overall. That said, Jones can likely be avoided come draft night, but could make for a solid DFS play if Jeff Teague (who is generally healthy) is ever sidelined. Jones’ ability to pass and defend can bring value to the table in that context.

The 2015 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Jones enters the NBA as the 24th overall draft pick and will compete with Andre Miller for the backup point guard position in Minnesota. In his only season at Duke, Jones averaged 11.8 points, 5.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.2 three-pointers per game. Jones shot 42 percent from the floor, 89 percent from the free-throw line, and 38 percent from three-point-range. His role is yet to be determined, but he will likely be relegated to the bench as long as Ricky Rubio is healthy. If thrust into action, it will be hard to expect much from the 19-year-old point guard right away, but he could be an intriguing source of assists given the talent around him and his reputation as a playmaker. For the Timberwolves, Jones is more of a long-term play, so it's probable that he takes a backseat to the veterans in his first NBA season. Fantasy owners may want to take the same approach, as Jones' value is probably higher in dynasty leagues than re-draft formats at this time.