As far back as he can remember, Portland (Ore.) native Terrence Jones has traveled cross-country to family reunions in New Orleans every other year, with 200-plus people attending the weekend-long festivities. Now that Jones has been acquired by the Crescent City’s NBA franchise, some of those large-scale get-togethers between the forward’s relatives may be hosted by the Smoothie King Center.
“It was very exciting for them when I signed here,” Jones said, smiling widely. “Everybody was (half-jokingly) trying to get dibs on tickets, talking about what games they wanted to choose. It was a lot of fun. It gave my family (in Oregon) a happy, warm feeling, that they knew I was going to be around true family members who’ve shown me love and support, even if my family from Portland isn’t here.