Jones sold Mavs on Dwyane Wade-Rodney Stuckey comparison

Posted Jun 25, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Jun 25, 2010 at 10:17 AM

You gotta love mock drafts and all the speculation beforehand. It’s fun, but on draft night, you just never really know what’s going to happen. History proved once again Thursday night that drafts remain one of the most unpredictable events in all of sports.

Take the case of USF’s Dominique Jones for example. Most mock drafts had him going late in the first round or early in the second round, and that turned out to be true when Jones was selected by Memphis with the 25th overall pick, the first USF player ever selected in the first round.

Here is where it gets tricky. The Grizzlies immediately traded Jones to the Mavericks, who didn’t even have a first-round draft pick. Instead, they paid $3 million to acquire Jones’ rights and see Jones as an immediate contributor in the backcourt with point guard Rodrigue Beaubois.

To me, here’s the best part of Jones going to Dallas—the Mavs weren’t even one of the 18 teams to bring him in for a personal workout. Instead, Jones made a lasting impression at the NBA combine in Chicago last month.

“When we interviewed him, he said he felt he was a cross between Dwyane Wade and Rodney Stuckey. That sounded pretty good to me,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told ESPNDallas.com. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on him right away, but to be able to score like he scores, you’ve got to not only get to the rim, but you’ve got to be able to play mid-range, weave in and out, get places, bump, create separation and knock down shots.

“His ability to get to the free throw line is really unique. I think that’s what makes him special.”

Jones is scheduled to arrive in Dallas soon and will then play on the Mavs’ Summer League team in Las Vegas from July 9-18.

Click here to read the ESPNDallas.com story on Jones’ selection by the Mavs.

For more on Jones, click here to read Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw’s take on the Mavs’ draft.