Rd 2, pick 38, Pacers select Kam Jones

[Grang33r]

From Marquette university

[Scoot McGroot]

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[Scoot McGroot]

https://tankathon.com/players/kam-jones

[Grang33r]

From the Ringer:

SCOUTING REPORT BY J. Kyle Mann

Jones exploded out of the gate this past season and then cooled a bit as time rolled on, ultimately finishing at just 31.1 percent from 3. That said, he did enough in years one through three at Marquette to keep him in consideration, especially once you take note of the fact that his overall percentage this past season was largely torpedoed by an increase in dribble pull-up 3s. Tyler Kolek’s table setting and Oso Ighodaro’s screening and short-roll playmaking both moved on to the NBA last year, eliminating two avenues of easy-peasy offense for Jones. As a result, the decent but not spectacular athlete had to take tougher shots and was depended on significantly more as a playmaker. With NBA talent around him again, Kam projects as a plug-and-play older guard who can chip in sparingly somewhere in an extended rotation.

[Grang33r]

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[Grang33r]

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[8305]

There will be minutes for a third pg. I think you can see some Andrew Nembhard in Kam.
I like this pick.

[jowglenn]

They traded to get this pick so this must be a guy they were targeting - and not just "best guy available at the pick we've got." So I will be hopeful. Most second rounders never pan out but the Pacers have drafted very well in the 20-40 range lately (Nembhard, Sheppard, Furphy maybe some day) so hopefully this guy is a hidden gem

[meridian]

I love adding another ball handler to the backcourt.

Does anyone know much about his defense and how that projects to the NBA?

[Pacers Forever]

Not excited until I can see him in summer league to show that he’s better than Ray J or Quenton.

[nrbq]

I think its the perfect pick.

[Scoot McGroot]

The way he plays both guard spots, and with QJax's two way years almost running out (he has one last year he's eligible for a 2 way), this may spell the end to QJax with Indy. He may be better off looking elsewhere for an easier spot to the roster, as Kam Jones basically takes his main roster spot out from him?

[JeffFosters]

I like the pick. Seems like a pace and space type guard and one of the better pick and roll PGs in the country last season. The front office has done a great job in this range recently.

[basketballwacko2]

This guy looks like a pretty good player He turned 23 in Feb this year.

Measured 6′ 3.25” barefoot, 202.4 lbs, 6′ 6.00” wingspan, 8′ 4.50” standing reach with a 24.5 no step vertical and 31.5 maximum vertical at the 2025 NBA Draft Combine … Averaged 19.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.4 STL in 34 games for Marquette in 2024–25

[Hoop Hunter]

I always figure a 2nd pick is a long shot, if they are good great, if they are bad not a big loss. I'm always hopeful. I like shiny new toys.

The Pacers have had great luck over the years with 2nd rounders. Antonio Davis, Lance Stephenson, Nembhard, Furphy looks like a possible rotation player.

Kam Jones looks like a decent pick. Can play 1 or 2, so he could be 3rd string for both. Possible minutes available at 1 if he can play. He'll have some competition with Q.

[Wizop]

The way he plays both guard spots, and with QJax's two way years almost running out (he has one last year he's eligible for a 2 way), this may spell the end to QJax with Indy. He may be better off looking elsewhere for an easier spot to the roster, as Kam Jones basically takes his main roster spot out from him?

and Peter could take someone's two-way spot unless he just gets an Exhibit 10 which seems unlikely

[Scoot McGroot]

The way he plays both guard spots, and with QJax's two way years almost running out (he has one last year he's eligible for a 2 way), this may spell the end to QJax with Indy. He may be better off looking elsewhere for an easier spot to the roster, as Kam Jones basically takes his main roster spot out from him?

and Peter could take someone's two-way spot unless he just gets an Exhibit 10 which seems unlikely

Drafted players don’t get exhibit tens. You can pencil in Peter to a Two Way for sure.

[granger05]

Hollinger over at The Athletic had Kam Jones number 17 on his prospects list just before the draft:

I’ve had Jones rated as a first-rounder for the last three years and have just been waiting for him to declare, which he finally did after his senior year at Marquette. Jones will be 23 on draft night, making him four years older than most of the one-and-dones on this list, but he was also massively more productive in college than all of them except Flagg.

That said, I did move down Jones from 10th in my orginial board to 17th on my final one, after he measured small at the combine (6-3 in socks with a 6-6 wingspan), posted just a 24-inch standing vertical and underwhelmed in the on-court portion before departing with a hamstring injury.

Jones combines plus finishing in the basket area with elite passing, making him either a tricky secondary scorer or a plus bench creator. His career 59.3 percent mark on 2s is exceptional for a small guard, and he moved to point guard this season and handed out more than three assists for every turnover.

Those numbers came even in a shooting-starved lineup that deprived him of both spacing and assists, and his work on the ball provides encouragement for scouts worried that he’s too small to play shooting guard full-time and too left-handed to play point guard. Instead, the opposite appears true: He’s a pure combo who can slot in at either spot.

I’d be more bullish on Jones were it not for his questionable shooting. He slumped to 31.1 percent from 3 this year and made just 67.1 percent from the line in his four-year career. The eye test in warm-ups when I saw Marquette was similarly discouraging. He did make 40.6 percent from 3 a year earlier playing next to the Knicks’ Tyler Kolek and had to take tougher 3s off the dribble this season, but players of his size need to make 3s off the dribble consistently.

[Wizop]

Fits on the court and on the cap sheet.

[basketballwacko2]

Any of you guys familiar with the West side of Indianapolis, and the old "Airport" Expressway, now called the Sam Jones Expressway?

How about the Kam Jones Expressway?