Jones Jr. made the Heat notice him. Now it’s his time to define his role on the team
When Derrick Jones Jr. first joined the Miami Heat on a two-way contract last season, he immediately noticed the chemistry, the camaraderie, the connection among his new teammates.
They quickly made sure he felt like part of the team.
“It was like I was I was that little brother they haven’t seen in a while,” Jones Jr. said Monday.
The little brother has grown up between then and now, and on Wednesday, he’ll finally have his first chance to prove the Heat made the right decision signing him to a standard contract.
No more summer league. No more practice. No more preseason.
On Wednesday, when the Heat opens the regular season against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center, it will become real.
But just because the 21-year-old swingman is finally a full-time member of the roster doesn’t mean he plans to let down on the intensity. Quite the opposite actually considering he still has to fight for playing time and craft his role inside a team that relies on its depth more than a single superstar player.
“You’re never just coasting,” Jones Jr. said. “You always have to go out there and give it your all. Like my father always told me, you always give it 110 percent and that will give you the results. That’s how I was raised and that’s the person I am.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra loves that about him. Spoelstra, ready to begin his 11th season leading the Heat, said if a newcomer to the team can handle three simple tasks, he’ll have a role on the team.
No. 1: Make your teammates notice you. Check.
No. 2: Make the coaching staff notice you. Check.
No. 3: Give the head coach no choice but to play you. Check, although Spoelstra is still figuring out exactly how to incorporate the high flying Jones Jr. into the lineup with so much depth in the frontcourt.
“He’s come a long way in a matter of seven or eight months where you wouldn’t have necessarily projected this when we first signed him,” Spoelstra said. “He’s been so committed to his self improvement and the process of getting better that it’s exciting to see that improvement.”
Power forward James Johnson added: “There’s probably no ceiling on him. The more he keeps on getting better, the more fun it’s going to be to watch.”
That’s the plan.
“The game’s a lot slower,” Jones Jr. said. “It’s not going 1,000 miles an hour like it was my rookie year or my second year in the league. I’m going into my third year now. The game is getting a lot smoother. I’m playing a lot smoother.”