Minnesota Timberwolves: Tyus Jones recalled from D-League

The Minnesota Timberwolves have recalled first round pick Tyus Jones up from the NBA Development League, where he played six games with the Idaho Stampede.

With the week of Christmas finally here, the Minnesota Timberwolves have brought their 2015 first round pick and point guard Tyus Jones back up from the NBA D-League.

Jones played six games with the Idaho Stampede. In those six games, his per game averages included 24.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 35.2 minutes. Additionally, Jones posted a 48.7 field goal percentage, a 42.9 three-point percentage and 92.3 free throw percentage.

According to this post from Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Stampede have a week-long break in its schedule due to the holiday season, so it only made sense for the Timberwolves to bring Jones back for Christmas and for Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

In the limited amount of time I was able to watch Jones during his D-League stint, I was pleasantly surprised with his play. The numbers fairly represent the quality of his offensive play. He was aggressive, but at the same time, he was also letting the game come to him. He ran the pick-and-roll with high efficiency and showed a solid shooting touch, both from mid-range and from three-point range.

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Defensively, Jones’s NBA struggles weren’t completely eliminated by playing against inferior competition, but it was still encouraging. Most of his defensive issues are due to limited athleticism rather than a lack of knowledge or awareness of how to execute.

Is his stellar performance in the D-League a sign of things to come? There’s no way to tell yet, but the fact that Jones was able to play significant minutes for a stretch is a good sign in itself. If he had gone this entire season riding the Timberwolves bench (which likely would be the case without a D-League stint), Jones’ development as a player would’ve been limited.

Zgoda also writes in his article linked above that Stampede coach Dean Cooper will welcome Jones back if the Timberwolves choose to give Jones another stint. I would expect Jones to end up with the Stampede for at least one more stint this season.

Next: Timberwolves fall to the Celtics, 113-99

For highlight videos of Jones’ six games with Idaho, click here.

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