TSN - According to a report in the Toronto Sun, the Raptors are closing in on a deal with shooting guard Fred Jones. Jones, who won the 2004 slam dunk contest, averaged 9.7 points per game for the Indiana Pacers last season. Though he is a fantastic athlete, he is a suspect shooter. Jones has a career shooting percentages of 41.5% from the field and 35.0% from three-point range. Because Jones is a restricted free agent, the Pacers have the right to match any offer he receives. The Raptors had a five-year, $23-million deal in place for Sixers free agent John Salmons, but the versatile swingman backed out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- says it on realGM.. i hope we get him cause ive always liked his game, hes got a decent 3 point shot and hes fearless going to the basket.. i think he'll provide more toughness and athletism to the team with Salmons out of the picture.
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET! I like him better than Salmons, but I hope we can still call him Fred "Indiana" Jones. If not, then we'll just call him "Junior"
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting '[-Benz-:</div><div class="quote_post">'] says it on realGM.. i hope we get him cause ive always liked his game, hes got a decent 3 point shot and hes fearless going to the basket.. i think he'll provide more toughness and athletism to the team with Salmons out of the picture. </div> On the other hand, he's very inconsistent, doesn't have much range on his jumper, and is a tweener as a 6'2" swingman with subpar handles. Yeah, he has great athleticism and can really cut through a defense and get to the rim, but he doesn't play into those strengths of his often enough and is really too passive offensively.
He is pretty much better than Salmons and has more potential than him, but he is like 5 inches shorter or something. I didn't think Salmons would earn that kind of money, but Fred Jones making that kind of money I can understand.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">On the other hand, he's very inconsistent, doesn't have much range on his jumper, and is a tweener as a 6'2" swingman with subpar handles. Yeah, he has great athleticism and can really cut through a defense and get to the rim, but he doesn't play into those strengths of his often enough and is really too passive offensively. </div> He has more range than John Salmons does. While FJ is not a "three point shooter", I'd say making 87 and 63 three's the last 2 seasons is good enough range. It's not like he can't shoot the outside shot, and he shot 38% and 33.7% the past 2 years on about 3 attempts a game. He can hit spot up three's quite well, so I'd say his range is perfectly fine, no one was expecting Peja type shooting anyways, and he's definately not Mike James in that area either. Now what I do agree with is that he's only 6'2 at SG, and is very undersized, even with his athleticism, that's not going to cut it, but we'll survive. I can see him playing a similar role to what Barbosa does on the Suns, but also different, because Barbosa's speed and quickness is not matched by many, and Barbosa is also a superior shooter, he was basically a 40% 3PT shooter as a rookie anyways, so.. Also just to add, to his credit though, while he's undersized, he's actually quite good defensively at the SG spot. What I would like to see from him though is also what Barbosa did this previous season which is to concentrate on going to the basket more than on taking jumpers.
So the big question to pose is... what does everyone prefer. John Salmons or Fred Jones?? It's a toss up really, they both bring different things to the table and contribute in other areas. It also depends on how we play, I think Jones will be better in the uptempo style that we will play over John Salmons, and I think he could break out because he won't be playing in an Indiana half court set grind it out... However, since Jones WANTS to be here, and Salmons doesn't.. Jones 4 life. I predict much better than what he did in Indy due to our uptempo style.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">So the big question to pose is... what does everyone prefer. John Salmons or Fred Jones??</div> Don't we not have a choice on Salmons? We can't force him to sign the contract, so it doesn't matter who we prefer, we got Jones. I think Jones as of right now can do a lot more for us than Salmons would. At least we know what Jones brings, Salmons, it's up in the air. Also I think our signing of Anthony Parker affected Salmons. He's looking for a team where he can also get consistent minutes and a fairly good role, and that signing decreases his chance of getting those two things.
I would've rather gone after him first to tell the truth. I just haven't been very impressed by Salmons through his career. One of the reasons I'm a little critical of him is that I expected him to be good, and he had oppurtunities with AI going down constantly, but did nothing with his chances. He'd have like one good game every 5 games in the 20 games AI was out. So like 4 good games total, I mean common.
I was saying who do we prefer like hypothetically if we had a choice. I see that you would rather have Jones. What I'm wondering is what contract we're giving Jones? The same as Salmons, more or less?? Hopefully it's like a 3 year deal at 12 million.
you dont understand how happy i am. i thought getting salmons was good, but JONES!! finally our first good dunker since vince! i just hope indiana doesnt match our offer.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Mr.Wade:</div><div class="quote_post">I was saying who do we prefer like hypothetically if we had a choice. I see that you would rather have Jones. What I'm wondering is what contract we're giving Jones? The same as Salmons, more or less?? Hopefully it's like a 3 year deal at 12 million.</div> Oh alright, and yea, I'm also wondering how much we're getting him for, and hopefully it's a similar amount.
I wanted us to go after Jones in the first place as well. I'd much rather have him than Salmons or House. He's the perfect guy to come off the bench. If he can improve on his shot and consistently drive to the basket, I'll be happy. Edit: Here's the link to the Toronto Sun article: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Basketball/NBA/T...698687-sun.html "Jones' deal is rumoured to be for a bit less money than Salmons'." --- This makes it even better.
I think, Indiana rescinded their qualifying offer to Fred Jones.. not too sure though, if not then Pacers could resign Jones at any time, though Pacers will likely sign and trade him to Toronto for a 2nd and the some odd exception money to make it better for them to land Al Harrington.
read on yahoo sports that fred jones is going to sign with toronto as pacers pulled out their qualifying offer i guess he can play the SF but he has to prove that he can shoot and not just dunks... anyways...not sure how he is going to fit the long run but i guess...if it's the same money i rather sign fred jones than salmons
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hohoyoyoyo:</div><div class="quote_post">read on yahoo sports that fred jones is going to sign with toronto as pacers pulled out their qualifying offer i guess he can play the SF but he has to prove that he can shoot and not just dunks... anyways...not sure how he is going to fit the long run but i guess...if it's the same money i rather sign fred jones than salmons</div> SF?? Jones is a combo guard, not a SF. He should be a good scorer off the bench for us. I was surprised by his range last year, he's a little inconsistent, but can shoot it from downtown.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">He has more range than John Salmons does. While FJ is not a "three point shooter", I'd say making 87 and 63 three's the last 2 seasons is good enough range. It's not like he can't shoot the outside shot, and he shot 38% and 33.7% the past 2 years on about 3 attempts a game. He can hit spot up three's quite well, so I'd say his range is perfectly fine, no one was expecting Peja type shooting anyways, and he's definately not Mike James in that area either.</div> He's decent at hitting the spot up threes but not really off the dribble, and his midrange game still needs a lot of work. Obviously he's a decent shooter overall by some standards. You're not going to be able to survive as a two guard in the NBA without some sort of outside shot, but by NBA standards, his range is limited and his jumper is streaky. Really, I see him as a poor man's Desmond Mason. He's still a decent pickup none the less at this point in the signing period, especially considering that Mike James bolted to Minnesota. My only real concern is when the Raptors play small ball, pairing him with Calderon in the backcourt. Calderon's outside shooting is one of his biggest weaknesses at this point, and without Mike James' shooting to keep defenders honest, the Raps' new backcourt could get exploited.
According to Jones agent Bill Duffy, it sounds as though he's going to sign with us within the next couple days. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">NDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Free agent guard Fred Jones will sign with the Toronto Raptors, his agent said Sunday. Jones, a former slam-dunk champion, spent the first four years of his NBA career with the Indiana Pacers and played a key role while the team fought through injuries and suspensions the last two seasons. The 6-foot-2 leaper from Oregon averaged 9.6 points a game as a backup last season, and 10.6 points and 3.1 rebounds two seasons ago. The Pacers made a qualifying offer to Jones earlier this summer. But Jones' agent, Bill Duffy, told The Associated Press they rescinded the offer last week, making Jones an unrestricted free agent. Jones will sign with Toronto in the next few days. The timing of the Pacers' decision made things more difficult for Jones. Being an unrestricted free agent earlier would have given Jones more options, but the Pacers' late decision limited Jones' options. "We were behind the eight-ball," Duffy said. "Other situations were not available that would have been available because time had elapsed." Jones should fit in well with the Raptors, who just added point guard T.J. Ford. Jones has spent most of his career as a backup, but will have a chance to compete for a starting spot in Toronto.</div> Link - <font color=""Red"">Rest of article</font>
