BROOKLYN – Derrick Jones Jr. just looks like a defender. He’s 6 feet 7, all arms and legs, as athletic as anyone you’ll find his size in the NBA.
“He’s very long, you know,” Suns teammate Leandro Barbosa said. “And he’s very skinny. That helps him get through picks. And he has a lot of energy.”
Not long ago, coach Earl Watson pretty much laid out Jones’ career path. If he’s going to survive in the NBA, the 20-year-old rookie would have to become a strong defender. Someone in the mold of Stacey Augmon, a defensive specialist who played 15 NBA seasons.