Colby Jones could be a two-way connector for Sacramento

Following the conclusion of the 2023 NBA Draft, Sacramento Kings’ general manager Monte McNair outlined the importance of adding two-way versatility this offseason. “We’ve got two All-NBA guys that we’re building around, so guys that can help them on both ends of the floor,” McNair said. “We want high-IQ guys that can come in here and just figure out a way to contribute no matter who they are on the floor with.”

Colby Jones, who the Kings selected with pick 34 on Thursday night, fits that description nearly perfectly. The front office’s willingness to expend a future second-rounder to move up from 38 to 34 to select Jones shows how they feel about his potential fit.

At the combine, he measured 6’4.5” without shoes and weighed 199 pounds with a 6’8” wingspan. He should have the size to deal with a majority of twos and threes at the NBA level standing around 6’6” with shoes while also having the lateral quickness to potentially contain most point guards. Considering Sacramento finished 24th in defensive rating in the previous regular season, let’s start with how Jones could help improve on that end.

The Xavier product spent a good amount of time guarding initiators during his junior season and performed well in those scenarios. According to Synergy Basketball, Jones held opponents to 0.702 points-per-possession when defending pick-and-roll ball handlers. When you watch the tape, it’s easy to see why.

His combination of length, ball pressure, awareness, and screen navigation is promising. Notice the way he quickly gets his shoulders past screens and how, when he does get hit, he never gives up on the play. When appropriate, you can see him veer off to help defend the rolling big man and attempt with no hesitation.

McNair was complimentary of his on-ball defensive versatility on Thursday night. “Defensively, he can guard up and down. Probably not a lot of centers, but he’s strong. He’s big and he’s going to be very versatile on that end.”

McNair alluding to Jones guarding fours may be a bit kind, but Jones won’t ever go down without trying his best to make it work.

Jones’s impressive understanding of the game is apparent in most things he does, but it’s crystal clear in his off-ball rotations. The Kings could undeniably use more players who muck things up for opposing offenses.

When he finds himself responsible for protecting the rim as the low man, Jones is up for the task with verticality and discipline. If he needs to dig or stunt he does so with active hands but remains aware of his own assignment.

Having averaged 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks per game helps reinforce the defensive impact seen on film. McNair said Jones was highly regarded by their scouts and analytics staff and “when those two things overlap, as we’ve talked about, it makes my job easy.”

Crashing the glass is another area where Jones makes an impact with his attention to detail and relentless engagement. Averaging 5.7 rebounds (1.3 offensive) at his size when often assigned to perimeter players is no easy feat. Jones pulled down 14 rebounds in their second-round NCAA Tournament victory over Pitt.

Revisiting Sacramento’s postseason series against the Golden State Warriors, it’s easy to understand the importance of finding more plus rebounders outside of Domantas Sabonis.

When it comes to the offensive end, Jones is someone who has the potential to finish plays at all three levels and maintain advantages with passes that are on time and on target. According to Synergy, Jones converted 62.2 percent of his 156 attempts at the rim.

He’s not an underwhelming athlete, but he’s also probably below average relative to the NBA’s high standards yet he manages to find success finishing with imaginative angles and releases.

Whether that’s releasing quickly with the same-sided hand and foot, initiating contact to create space and finish on the way down, or slithering past a big to sneak one past him, Jones finds creative ways to release the ball and utilize his extremely impressive touch at the basket.

That touch also translates to his floater game, which is where he managed to be a constant threat in the mid-range off of one or two feet. Jones made 54.5 percent of his 77 attempted “runners” in 2022-23. If teams scheme to limit his finishing at the rim, Jones can extend his range with that floater to finish over rotating defenders.

While his two-percentage did steadily improve throughout three seasons at Xavier, it was fairly linear. Shooting beyond the arc is a more nuanced conversation.

This year, Jones knocked down 43.0 percent of the 79 catch-and-shoot threes he attempted. In his sophomore season, that number was 32.3 percent on 62 attempts and he shot 34.6 percent on just 26 total attempts in his freshman year. It’s also worth noting that Jones shot an underwhelming 67.9 percent from the free-throw line in his college career.

When asked about Jones’s history as a three-point shooter, Monte McNair pointed to the aforementioned touch and some of the intangibles they’ve come to learn about Jones.

“Colby’s work ethic, the person that he is, his character; those are the types of things we like to see for guys as they improve throughout college,” McNair said on draft night. “But, it’s all the other stuff that Colby does too. He’s got great touch. The shot improved, obviously, this year but he can get in there and make a play with a pass… Obviously, the shooting is a big part of the NBA these days and we like to see the growth that he’s shown.”

The other aspects of Jones as a finisher become exceedingly difficult to capitalize on if defenders do not respect his shot from beyond the arc. With the extended three-point line in the NBA compared to college, this is the big swing factor for Jones that comes with reasons for optimism. He won’t be asked to take off-the-dribble threes, but his catch-and-shoot number has to be respectable at the very least. 

If that proved to be the case, Jones also seems able to attack closeouts and make plays from there. He was a crucial cog in a Xavier offense that was one of the best in the NCAA with stellar ball and player movement that featured similar actions to Sacramento, including a handful of DHOs.

Xavier had a beautiful offense this past season with great ball and player movement. They ran a lot of similar actions to Sacramento, including a decent amount of DHOs.

Here’s Colby Jones finishing and creating for others mainly off of DHOs. Easy to see how it could translate. pic.twitter.com/qaKDN8E2vD

— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) June 25, 2023

Colby Jones does a little bit of everything but, most importantly, he finds ways to help his team win games. “We’re open to anybody who has proven they can win and help us win. This year happened to be two guys that have been in college for a few years,” McNair said. “Colby is just one of the best two-way players. A winner and those are the things we always look for.”

McNair also pointed out how Colby won an overwhelming majority of his games during his three seasons at Xavier. Including tournament games, Jones went a combined 55-31 (63.9 percent) in college.

“A productive and smart utility player. A defender. A two-way player,” McNair said. “Somebody that we’re really excited to add to the culture that Mike (Brown), myself, and the rest of us are building here. Really a winner, he won almost two-thirds of his games at Xavier so we’re excited to bring him in.”

Sacramento is in a position now where their draftee can expect to win games immediately. Jones projects to be a productive player on-and-off the ball on both ends of the floor thanks to his high IQ, quick decision-making, and variety of ways he can impact the floor.

If he can prove capable of knocking down an above-average percentage of his catch-and-shoot threes and adjust to NBA physicality, Sacramento could end up with a rotational player sooner rather than later, which would be impressive value at pick 34.

It’s far too early to tell, but there’s reason for optimism plugging Jones into a system that already had their identity in place with a clearly defined role and opportunity for himself.