Could a "fresh start" lead to a breakout season for Perry Jones III?

Could a "fresh start" lead to a breakout season for Perry Jones III?
By Jeff Clark  @celticsblog on Jul 29, 2015, 9:24p 23






Nick Laham/Getty Images
Is he Jeff Green 2.0? That would actually be a huge compliment.



The Celtics are getting a free look at Perry Jones III.  He didn't work out in Oklahoma City for a variety of reasons but he's hoping that a fresh start will give him the opportunity he needs to shine.

Perry Jones: Trade to Boston Celtics like 'being drafted all over again'

"I'm happy that I'm here now," he said. "It's been like a fresh start. It doesn't matter what happened three or four years ago (when the Celtics drafted two other players, Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo, before Jones came off the board in the first round). I'm a totally different person and player from then. It's all about from here on." "I love the people here, to be honest with you. Everybody I've met has been great. I feel like I'm being drafted all over again, to be honest. It's just a great feeling to be here.

I think that's a perfect analogy because it feels like he's in the same boat as some of our rookies and sophomores.  Completely unproven with a good amount of upside potential.  Of course there's some baggage that comes with being buried on the bench in another city.  That doesn't tend to help one's confidence much.  But the flipside, you could say that he's already had a chance to adjust to the NBA life and see up close how much work it takes to succeed in the business.  What he does with this opportunity is up to him.

At least one NBA writer has pegged him as a guy that could have a breakout year this year.

NBA AM: 2015-16 Breakthrough Candidates | Basketball Insiders | NBA Rumors And Basketball News

Jones spent the first three seasons of his career primarily glued to the bench behind Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka in Oklahoma City. But in Boston the forward should be able to carve out a stronger role on a team full of younger players. Guys who get minutes at the pro level put up the numbers and Jones is finally in a position to get more floor burn in 2015-16.

Of course he's going to have to survive roster cut-downs in preseason first.  Barring additional moves he's still the most likely to simply get waived.

Still, the Celtics didn't trade for him simply to cut him right away.  They did get Zoran Dragic for that purpose and you'll notice that he didn't get a uniform and a spot on the podium this Monday.  Jones did though, and perhaps that means he's part of the team's plans for this year.  Danny did point out to his athleticism and length as adding something lacking on the roster.

After all, someone has to fill the void of "athletic freak that doesn't play much but gets fans excited when he dunks." For as long as I've been covering the team there's always been someone like that around.  From Kedrick Brown to Gerald Green to Henry Walker to James Young.  If all we ever get out of PJIII is some highlight dunks and some fun garbage time highlights, that will make trading nothing to acquire him worth it.  Basically he's got zero expectations and the talent to exceed those expectations.

The easy joke is to compare him to Jeff Green (he even followed a similar path to Boston by routing through OKC) but if he ever actually reaches the level of Jeff Green that will be a huge win for him.  Getting occasional scoring outbursts from a guy on a rookie contract would be wonderful, even if he disappeared for 2 or 3 games between good ones.

But maybe Brad Stevens can find the magic words to whisper into his ear and he can become something even greater than that.  Here's hoping at least.



bob
MY NOTE:  Jeff Green's problem is that, with all his talent and size and athleticism for his position, he should be SO much more than he is.  Because of all that talent, etc he was put in a starter's role which he showed glimpses of what he could be but also showed his inconsistency.  Perry Jones III is 2" taller than Jeff Green and the same weight.  He is not, right now, Jeff Green 2.0 but with steady minutes he could become him and, as long as he's not expected to lead the team in scoring every night like Green was, I can live with his disappearing from time to time.  Jeff Green, his contract aside, would have been an awesome bench player. He could come in and completely dominate the opposing team's bench or wear out their starters and, if he took some games off, that's ok because he was a bench player. Bench players can do that, that's why they're bench players.  The bench players who don't disappear, who consistently show up and do their thing, are well paid players in high demand.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a team that was good enough to bench Jeff Green, so he was thrust into a position he's not tempermentally capable of succeeding in. PJ3 would be the same I think as a starter, but between Brad and his realizing he isn't going to get many more chances could be the daylight he needs to make a run for it as a rotation player.  Other than his knees my biggest concern about Jones is how well he responds to inconsistent and perhaps not many minutes.  Now HERE is a reason why having Phil Pressey on the roster would help. PJ3 would look and see how Phil was working his ass off everyday and was ready to go in at any moment for however long Brad needed him to be in.  His knees and his motor.  Those are two very big worries, but the upside is SO appealing.

I'm so down on James Young at this point, due to his failure to look good (much less dominate) against summer league level talent, I don't see how PJ3 could be a downgrade unless his knees decide to retire him and, even then, this is the last year of his contract.


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I wonder why they don't just concede the Most Improved Player award to Perry and get on with life.

In a saner vein, I find it very difficult to believe they'll go into the regular season with Sully, Kelly, Amir, Jerebko, Lee, Mickey and Jones all on the roster. Almost half the roster devoted to one position? And, yes, I do know that some of them have gotten time at the center position; but—aside from Lee—I don't believe any of them has the qualifications of a real center. Maybe Olynyk could qualify as a part-time center because of Brad's infatuation with spreading the floor. But I'd send him packing in a New York minute as part of a trade for a defensively-minded real center.

Sam