Philadelphia 76ers: Which Duke freshman fits best in Philly?
While Tre Jones may be the least prolific member of Mike Krzyzewski‘s brand new one-and-done ‘Fab Four’, he may actually be the only player of the crew that the Philadelphia 76ers have a legitimate chance of selecting with their own 2020 first round pick, without having to move up.
A 6-foot-2 point guard out of Apple Valley Minnesota, Jones was a consensus five-star recruit and a McDonalds All-American and received offers to play for over half a dozen marquee programs across the nation.
But for Jones, where he would play college basketball was never really a question; it was always Duke or bust.
Though he too was far from a generational player, Tre’s older brother Tyus also played point guard for Coach K from 2014-2015, where he lead the team to a national championship.
From there, Tyus decided to forgo the final three years of his college eligibility and declared for the NBA draft, where he was selected 24th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, before being traded to the Timberwolves for the draft rights for Cedi Osman, Rakeem Christmas, and a future second-round pick.
Since then, Jones has played pretty well for the Wolves, averaging almost six points, three assists and 1.2 steals per game in about 18.5 minutes of action a night as Jeff Teague‘s backup point guard.
One game into his NCAA career and it’s not hard to foresee Tre filling a very similar role in the NBA next season.
While the 76ers are pretty loaded at point guard at the moment, this is in all likelihood the final season the team will have T.J. McConnell on their roster, as he’s set to become a free agent after the season and has seen his minutes diminish significantly so far this season.
Even if Markelle Fultz does live up to his potential and become a legitimate starting-caliber combo guard alongside Ben Simmons in Brett Brown‘s starting backcourt, the team could still use a small, scrappy point guard willing to fight for loose balls and keep the tempo up when the team goes small. Factor in a cost-controlled four-year contract worth maybe $10 million over four years, and adding Tre Jones in the first round could be a sound investment for the Sixers next summer.