Thunder Rookie Dillon Jones Will Need Minutes

The rookie is already making a ton of noise on the floor, suggesting he's playable immediately.

Dillon Jones is pictured during the Thunder media day at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dillon Jones has been covered on this site before, but it's worth bringing him up again.

The rookie put up 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists in last night's preseason game against the Spurs, but it's not so much the actual line that matters, but more so how he got it.

Jones was a high-usage ball-handler at Weber State, to the point where NBA teams wondered if he could adjust to a more singular role, which is often the case with players not projected to be worth high usage rate when they enter the pro level.

On the surface, that makes sense. Why draft an all-around guy if you don't plan to use him as such?

Well, with the caveat that this is still just preseason, the Thunder allowed Jones to essentially have free room to make plays off his own accord, and it went very, very well.

Not only did Jones' ball-handling look tight and effective at the NBA level - which wasn't necessarily a given before he was drafted - he was able to get to his own scoring spots consistently, while making a series of wonderful passes to players cutting backdoor, finding them in stride with near perfect ball placement.

His jumper was clean, as was his ability to gain separation from the defense. His keen understanding of when to pull up, and when to ease back, speaks of a player with a high level of understanding of space, time, and situational awareness.

Mark Daigneault, head coach of the Thunder, is going to have a situation on his hands this season, as Jones just seems to consistently rise with the level of competition he's facing. That's not a bad thing, of course, but it does raise questions about how to get him into the rotation, which seems already loaded.

It seems fairly obvious already that Jones needs to play. Be that extended run in the G League to keep his legs warm, and get his motor running, or actually providing with him with a steady dose of NBA minutes.

Needless to say, he won't have free reign alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, but that isn't necessarily the point. Jones offers so much versatile play, and overall quality, the Thunder will need to somehow clear minutes for him to come in and take care of the offense.

If anything, the organization should stand ready to build the rookie up as their future sixth man, a sort of positionless powerhouse of a player who can come in and play three positions, and allow some of his teammates to play off the ball while he's on the floor.

Not playing him at all would be a waste. He simply looks too good not to. 

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

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