Terrence Jones

Houston has every reason to want to deal Asik. As good as he is — and he really is — Dwight Howard is significantly better, and the two cannot play alongside each other. Both are pure centers in a league where you do not even really need one pure center, let alone two, and an Asik/Howard frontcourt pairing could not work for reasons of spacing alone. Moreover, it need not now be forced to work, because the power forward hole no longer exists. Terrence Jones has rightfully won the spot with quality play and has nullified the need to find a power forward by trade (and probably killing my own Asik-and-Jones-for-Serge Ibaka trade idea along the way).

Terrence Jones

Something of a forgotten man, Jones had a decent rookie season that hardly anyone noticed, in light of the Thomas Robinson era, Marcus Morris, the brief Patrick Patterson breakout, and the Royce White distraction. In the NBA, Jones averaged 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 15 minutes per game, and on assignment with Rio Grande Valley, he upped these numbers to 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. With all four of the aforementioned players now gone, Jones has a legitimate opportunity to make Houston's power forward position his own, and he has the size, talent, strength, athleticism and skill to do so.

Pick 18: Seemingly not satisfied with the four power forwards they already have, Houston adds a fifth in Terrence Jones. He replaced Patrick Patterson at Kentucky, and now has the chance to dislodge him here. He also absolutely has to dislodge him here, else he's not seeing a single minute.

(Of course, Houston will probably have made 14 extra trades by opening night. But still. As of right now, that's a hugely unbalanced roster.)

Jones now becomes something of a poster child for "players who shouldn't have returned to school," as he was projected to be a top five to ten pick last year who now finds himself out of the lottery altogether. The same is true of his namesake, Perry, who continues to sit in the green room and looks apathetic about it all. Every year, it seems, there has to be one fall guy. This year, it seems, it's Perry Jones.

The draft so far has consisted of a couple of surprising picks, but few shockers, scant little in the way of accidental humour, and only one trade. Right on cue, Ric Bucher walks into shot carrying Adrian Wojnarowski's bags, announcing the Zeller trade for the TV audience. In exchange for this rotation centre, Dallas receives the #24, #33 and #34 picks, and presumably a lesser player. Why? It probably has something to do with the fact that the cap hold for the 17th pick is $1,302,600, while the cap hold for the 24th pick is $963,600. In an offseason where cap space is imperative, that is not insignificant.

Damon Stoudamire - Damon Stoudamire remains with the Grizzlies as an assistant coach. In addition to Salim, add another one to the Damon Stoudamire's Ballplaying Cousins list - Terrence Jones of Kentucky.

In accordance with prophecy, Kentucky turned over their entire roster. Five players from last season were drafted into the NBA, while a 6th - shooting guard Darnell Dodson - was dismissed from the team. (He then promptly got arrested for disorderly conduct and transferred to Southern Mississippi, which will be his fourth team in four seasons.) Perry Stevenson and Ramon Harris graduated and turned professional, and therefore, the only returning players were Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins, Josh Harrellson and Jon Hood. Only the first two played significant minutes last season. It was, by and large, a complete reformation.

Of course, while a lot of talent went out, a lot more came in. Freshman Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb form arguably the best freshman trio in the nation, rivalled only by perhaps that of Ohio State. (Stacey Poole, another top 100 recruit, has played only 45 minutes all season. Not a good freshman season for Stacey Poole.)

[...] In spite of how good those two are, though, the prize recruit may be Jones, the former Washington commit. Jones's physical profile are the basis for everything he does - he is a rugged 6'8 with great explosiveness, making him a difficult matchup for both interior defenders (who he can take outside and/or off the dribble), or opposing perimeter-orientated forwards (who, by and large, are a lot thinner). Jones is more comfortable in the paint, facing up from the 14 foot area in, and always looking to go left, favouring lefty hooks and pure aggression more than finesse. Jones rebounds well, too, recording 9 per game in a little over 30 minutes per contest, he and Harrellson combining to help the Wildcats to 31st in the nation in rebounding. These physical tools also help Jones defensively, where he has similar versatility, able to defend the interior well and at least contest on the perimeter. Better footwork would help, as would much better discipline on both ends, but there's a lot to like.