Tyus Jones was acquired by the Wizards as part of the three-team blockbuster that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington. The point guard is already bringing a calming presence to the young team, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes.
“He’s essentially a coach on the floor,” coach Wes Unseld Jr. said.
Jones will take over as a starting point guard after serving as a backup for a majority of his career.
“This is what you strive for. You always want more, right? If you’re not striving and working towards more responsibilities, I feel like you’re in the wrong profession,” he said. “So, this is what I’ve been working for, going into year nine, for eight seasons now. But, at the same time, the work’s just getting started now. (There’s) more responsibility, more pressure — all those things.”
We have more on the Wizards:
- With Daniel Gafford out two-to-four weeks due to an elbow sprain, veteran forward Danilo Gallinari is willing to play center in his absence, Robbins tweets. “Whatever needs to be out on the court, whatever position I need to play, I just want to play basketball. So any position is good,” Gallinari said.
- Jordan Poole doesn’t want to dwell on the past, particularly the incident last training camp with the Warriors when he was punched by teammate Draymond Green, he told Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “We in the era where people feel the need to express themselves. I don’t need that. I quite frankly don’t care,” he said. “I really only care about hooping. All the extra stuff? It’s going to come — no matter how cool or how chill of a person you are, they’ll find something to talk about.”
- Unseld was pleased how the team looked in its first practice on Tuesday, Robbins tweets. “I thought the energy was terrific. That’s been great carryover for us kind of through the open runs. We’ve seen those guys get after it,” he said.
At some point close to the trade deadline …. Some team will solidify themselves inside with a Gallinari trade.