OKC Thunder: Colby Jones Provides Depth and Versatility In Second Round
In the second round, for the first time in years, the Thunder are in a position where there isn’t a specific glaring need they need to focus on and can simply select from a variety of talented prospects at different positions.
And that means OKC could choose to continue to add depth on their bench, including a talented guard who has flown up draft boards recently. He’s currently a projected late first round pick, but wasn’t even on many draft boards before the season started.
Colby Jones excelled this season with Xavier and was a key part of the team's success. The 6-foot-6 junior guard can play both the one and two guard spots and has versatile skills on both sides of the floor. For reference, Jones is the same height as Jalen Williams, but 10-pounds heavier.
Oklahoma City holds a talented guard room currently, but added bench depth and versatility wouldn’t hurt. Especially with a player like Jones who could benefit from being with a talented group to develop and learn from the others around him.
Jones has the ability to make plays, as he averaged 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He can do a little bit of everything on the floor, though he struggled at times in his career from beyond the arc before finding success this season, shooting 37.8%. He shot 50.9% from the field overall.
He is a talented defender with a knack for getting steals, he averaged 1.3 or more per game each of three seasons at Xavier. He has a tendency to be undisciplined at times defensively, but makes up for it with effort and can learn to negate errors with time.
Jones would help ease the burden of the Thunder bench guards and give another all-around weapon alongside Tre Mann off the bench. Jones could be off the board in the late first, but has a chance to be available for OKC’s second round selection, and would make a solid addition to the rotation.
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