Derrick Jones is an American professional basketball player who trades with the NBA – the Miami Heats. He started his professional career in 2016 after spending a year at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. He was signed by the Phoenix Suns in September 2016 after being left behind in that year’s NBA draft. Jones finally joined the Miami Heat at the end of 2017 after spending just over a year with the Suns.
Biography of Derrick Jones
Derrick Labrent Jones Jr. was born on February 15, 1997 in Chester, Pennsylvania to Otiesse and Derrick Jones Sr. He grew up with 3 siblings, a brother named Lakeem and two sisters, Dej’ha and On’Jesha. He received his high school education at Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
Among other highlights of his high school career, Derrick Jones helped his school go 23–7 overall in his senior year (2014-15) and averaged 19.2 points, 10, 1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game. His stellar performance earned him Southeastern Pennsylvania Player of the Year, Delaware County Player of the Year, and PIAA Triple-A Player of the Year. He became Archbishop Carroll’s all-time leading scorer with 1,645 points, 1,029 rebounds, and 268 blocked shots during his four-year high school career.
Widely considered a 4-star recruit, Jones made a commitment to continue his college career at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In his freshman year (2015-16) with the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, he was the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 30 total appearances. He also recorded five 20-point games and four doubles doubles for the season, among other notable accomplishments. However, his stellar run for the season came to an end in late February 2016 due to controversy surrounding his ACT test results. As a result, he was forced to sit out the Runnin’ Rebels’ final 3 games for the 2015-2016 NCAA season.
Derrick Jones entered the 2016 NBA Draft on April 7, 2016, however, he held off on returning to college by not using an agent. He backtracked on his original plan and elected to bring in an agent later that month, but was ultimately left undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft.
NBA career statistics
Despite not being selected in the 2016 draft, Derrick Jones signed a contract with the Phoenix Suns on September 25, 2016. He marked his NBA debut in his home state when the Suns faced the Philadelphia 76ers. on November 19, 2016. He made his NBA debut in the Suns’ December 15 game against the San Antonio Spurs, recording 3 points in 3 minutes of play.
For most of the 2016-17 season, Jones was assigned to the Phoenix Suns’ NBA G League affiliate Northern Arizona Suns. However, he was nominated for the 2017 NBA Slam Dunk Contest and made it all the way to the finals of the competition before losing to eventual champion Glenn Robinson III.
Jones’ playing time improved slightly during the latter part of his rookie season and he finished the season averaging 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game in 32 total appearances. . He joined the Suns for the 2017 NBA Summer League and also made 6 appearances in the 2017-18 NBA regular season before leaving the team in December 2017.
After his contract was not renewed by the Phoenix Suns, Derrick Jones was acquired by the North Arizona Suns on December 12, 2017. He played 16 total appearances with the team for the season before eventually joining the team. of the NBA Miami Heat on a two-way contract on December 31, 2017. Due to the nature of his contract, Jones split his playing time between the Heat and their Minor League affiliate Siforce Falls Skyforce for the remainder of the 2017-18 season. For the Heat, he played 14 games with 8 starts in which he averaged 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game.
Derrick Jones Salary
On July 1, 2018, Derrick Jones drafted a standard two-year contract with the Miami Heat worth $3,157,958 with an average annual salary of $1,578,979. With the first year of the contract guaranteed, the NBA star is billed to earn $1,512,601 for the 2018-19 season. His base salary will increase to $1,645,357 for the 2019-20 season, which is a team option.
Size weight
Derrick Jones stands at an impressive height of 6ft 7in (201cm) and maintains a bodyweight of 91kg (200lbs). He is a versatile player and is able to thrive in both small forward and shooting guard positions.