The Memphis Grizzlies have been enjoying stellar play from Tyus Jones this season, recently watching him drop a career-high 27 points in a road win against New Orleans.
He’s proven that he’s an important piece for the Grizzlies, backing-up one of the premiere players in the entire NBA, Ja Morant.
Tyus Jones leads the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio this season and is averaging 7.8 ppg, 4.4 apg and shoots 36% from beyond the arc.
Which teams may covet Memphis Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones in free agency?
There will be no shortage of teams that desire a young, playoff-tested veteran that takes care of the basketball when the 25-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the season.
It’s going to be very interesting to watch the negotiations play out between Jones and Memphis. But, ultimately it may come down to what kind of path Jones wants to take for the next chapter of his NBA career.
Does he want to continue to back-up one of the best players in the NBA? Or does he want a shot at running a team of his own as a starter?
Once he has the answer to that question, it’ll be a matter of which teams offer him a decent contract. Jones signed a three-year deal with Memphis in the summer of 2019 that netted him $26.4 million over three seasons.
We just saw Patrick Beverly, who is older and in most eyes not as valuable as Jones, secure a $13 million contract extension for one season. One would think negotiations would start there, well above his current $7.5 million he’s making this season.
With the Memphis Grizzlies doling out more than $100 million to Jaren Jackson Jr. and a max-contract to Ja Morant on the horizon, the front office will have to weigh how much they want to budget for a back-up point guard.
It’s not unrealistic to think Tyus Jones could command a contract somewhere in the vicinity of $13 million over four or five seasons. Most teams don’t want to spend $50 million on a back-up point guard; but, some might, including the Grizzlies.
We aren’t factoring in budgets, caps or anything like that for this hypothetical conversation, so keep that in mind. But, if the Grizz can’t retain Jones, who might try and court the former Duke Blue Devil?