Perry Jones blaming OKC Thunder roster depth for his failure to succeed in NBA misses mark
Former OKC Thunder big man Perry Jones III blames the roster excellence as the reason for his failure to succeed in the NBA but this view is shortsighted.
In an interview with Erik Horne of The Oklahoman former OKC Thunder big man, Perry Jones III spoke of his time with the team. The former number 28th pick in the 2012 draft, Jones felt landing with the Thunder hurt him because of the roster compilation given how loaded there were for wear.
The big man is now playing in the BIG3 and featured as a co-captain of The Enemies. His co-captain Gilbert Arenas has been channeling his Agent Zero days of late winning games at the buzzer in recent outings.
As for Jones, in his time with the OKC Thunder he averaged 3.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.2 blocks. For Jones to say it was the team roster of stars that hurt his potential to be a contributing force is somewhat misleading.
A quick scan of his shooting speaks to this fact. For a big man to only connect on 46.5 percent of his two-point shots is more than a little concerning. Albeit, it was hoped Jones could become a player who could stretch the court but in his three seasons, Jones only averaged 29.3 percent on less than one attempt per game. His second season provided his best output from the perimeter (36.1 percent) but again this was on only 1.0 attempts per game.
| Season | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 38 | 7.4 | 2.6 | .394 | 0.1 | .000 | 2.6 | .402 | .394 | 0.4 | .667 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
| 2013-14 | 62 | 12.3 | 2.9 | .459 | 1.0 | .361 | 1.9 | .508 | .519 | 0.7 | .667 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 3.5 |
| 2014-15 | 43 | 14.7 | 4.3 | .397 | 1.4 | .233 | 2.9 | .476 | .435 | 0.9 | .649 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 4.3 |
| Career | 143 | 11.7 | 3.2 | .420 | 0.9 | .293 | 2.4 | .466 | .459 | 0.7 | .660 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/23/2019.
While speaking to Horne, Jones stated he hoped to make a return to the NBA and is using his minutes with the BIG3 in the hopes it will move the needle for General Managers to solicit his services.
After his trade from the OKC Thunder to the Boston Celtics, he still didn’t get serviceable minutes on an NBA court. Boston eventually waived Jones who then spent his next three years in what was then dubbed the D-League (now the G-League). For two seasons Jones played with the Iowa Energy and his last year was spent playing with the Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves G-League Affiliate).
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Moving forward, if Jones doesn’t get a call to try out for an NBA franchise he told Horne he’ll investigate overseas possibilities.