It was a small move, but adding Mason Jones was a solid move by the Philadelphia 76ers this season. Jones was an undrafted rookie, but he has the potential of being a spark plug off the bench down the road.
Currently, Jones is on a two-way contract, however, the Sixers need to convert that to a regular deal during the offseason. Jones has the potential to be a diamond in the rough for this club moving forward.
Mason can bring scoring off the bench for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Before joining the 76ers, Jones began his NBA career with the Houston Rockets. During his time with them, he averaged 5.8 points on 36.1 percent from the 3-point line. With Philly, 2.8 points on 50.0 percent from deep in very limited minutes. In college, he averaged 22.0 points on 35.1 percent from downtown during his sophomore season.
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However, just reviewing averagers won’t show the potential Mason has as a scorer. In 26 games with the Rockets, Mason scored more than 10 points four times, while only averaging 11.8 minutes per game during that stretch.
The Sixers are a defensive juggernaut and need more offense coming off the bench in the future. Adding Mason on a cheap deal could make him a valuable player for the 76ers like Shake Milton is currently for the franchise.
Jones isn’t a good defender at this point in his career, but to be fair, most rookies not named Matisse Thybulle aren’t good defensively. He will need to improve in the next year or two on that end to have a permanent spot in the NBA, but signing him to a cheap partially guaranteed deal is worth the risk for the Sixers.
Jones has shown enough this season in limited minutes for the Philadelphia 76ers to invest more than just a two-way contract in him. His upside as a spark plug off the bench is certainly worth an investment in by the Sixers.