 James Jones, What's The Going Rate For A Shooter?
Part 8 of the series features Portland SG/SF James Jones (archives after the jump)
Status
Thoughts On The Player I'm assuming Jones can play the shooting guard, but he barely spent any time at the position this season. It doesn't really matter though, because James is a shooter off the bench, pure and simple. He provides little-to-no rebounding nor assists, nor defense for that matter. He does one thing, and he does it well. He shoots the three. He actually shot a higher percentage from three (44.4%) than he did from the field (43.7%). If you're looking for a guy who can come off the bench and stretch the defense, he fits the bill. Thoughts On Likelihood Here's the problem. Ed Stefanski's only player-personnel move as GM of the Sixers was to jettison Kyle Korver to clear that cap space out. His feeling then was that a one-dimensional three-point shooter wasn't worth $4+ million per year when the team had more pressing needs. Well, Jones is a one-dimensional three-point shooter who might even demand more than Korver was making. I think Jones is likely to opt out of his final year, and someone will pay him, just like they paid Jason Kapono last season, I just don't think it should be the Sixers. The other shooters we've talked about up to this point (Vujacic, J.R. Smith, Ivan Calderon) all bring something else to the table. Vujacic is a marksman and a solid defender on the perimeter, Smith can run with this team and score in bunches, plus he's got three-point range. Calderon might be a top-five PG in the league, and he can hit the three. Jones is a three-point shooter and that's it. I don't see this happening. If it did, I'm afraid they'd be using too much of that valuable cap space to bring in an extreme specialist when they haven't filled all the holes first. Now, if Jones is still lingering later in the Summer and his price tag drops after the Sixers have made their big splash, then you think about it, but for now I see him as an expensive toy, which this team shouldn't waste its money on. If it came down to J.R. Smith or James Jones, who would you guys want? Archives after the jump. 
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Between jones and smith I think its obviously Smith. I may be the only one but smith would be one of my top 5 choices of free agents this season. We dont have anyone that can really catch fire and carry you offensively now thad will probably end up being that guy and we may get someone else to do it but smith can shoot from anywhere run with us and has the potential to be an allstar if he can get his head right he probably wont reach that level but can be a 16 or 17 ppg guy.
I agree. Smith is a dynamic scorer, not just a gunner from three. He'd fit into the Sixers offense and if you can tone down his shot selection and tame his off-court problems you could very well have a guy who can carry the offense for stretches.
It depends on what we do with Iguodala. If we kept him, I think I'd prefer Smith. But on the other hand, suppose we traded him for a 4 and signed Miller, then a vanilla shooter off the bench like Jones would be a better fit. If you're good enough, there's always room for an extra one-dimensional shooter. The Spurs always have a few and it probably made the difference in most of their Finals runs. But I agree that you don't add one until you've filled out the rest of the team.
Totally agree. What's the point of having the best shooter in the league if there isn't a low-post prescence to open up things for him and the rest of the league? We should've looked at the PFs possibilities first, Brian.
When Smith dogs it on defense (you know, only when the other team has the ball), who on this team is going to get in his face? Not Mo, who has never been a disciplinarian. Not either Dre - Miller is too quiet and 'Dala doesn't have the juice yet to pull it off. This is a young team, and it doesn't take much to throw off the chemistry. A starting 2 guard who thinks he's too cool to listen to anyone else would be more than enough...
I agree that Jones doesn't do much besides shoot from distance, but he's got a much better head on his shoulders. He's not a starter but at the right price could be a great fit off the bench.