Mavericks may grant Tyus Jones his longtime wish after flurry of trades

After years of thriving as one of the best backup point guards in the NBA, Tyus Jones may finally get the chance to start with the Dallas Mavericks. Though it could be a short-lived experience, Jones' long and winding road to a starting point guard role has never seemed closer to its destination.

With Kyrie Irving still recovering from a torn ACL and the Mavericks 4.0 games back of even qualifying for the Play-In Tournament, Jones could realistically have the rest of the season to start in Dallas.

Jones is an 11-year veteran who has started for teams in the past. He's come off the bench in 504 of his 730 career regular season games, however, as well as 23 of the 27 playoff games that he's appeared in up to this point in time.

Jones started just eight of his 48 appearances with the Orlando Magic, however, and came off the bench in 23 of his final 27 appearances in 2024-25—with one exception being the regular season finale, when the starters rested.

Now in Dallas, Jones has a chance to become a full-time starter for just the second time in his career. He's had extended stretches, but 2023-24 was thus far the only example of a team committing to him as a starter across his full tenure.

Thankfully, the Mavericks are in an ideal position to give Jones the keys to the offense as a playmaker, floor-spacer, and ultimately, a player who can make life easier for Cooper Flagg.

Tyus Jones can realistically become full-time starter with Mavericks

Clearly, Jones would be in line to be bumped to the second unit once Irving ultimately returns to the rotation. If that isn't going to transpire in 2025-26, however, then Jones could realistically finish out the season in the starting lineup.

The rationale behind such a decision would be providing Flagg with a veteran point guard who can efficiently create offense and space the floor in a similarly prolific manner.

Jones' primary claim to fame is that he boasts the highest career assist-to-turnover ratio in NBA history. He reached perhaps his most awe-inspiring level in 2023-24, when he averaged 7.3 assists to just 1.0 turnover per game.

It was more a matter of playing time than a sudden surge, however, as Jones' career averages translate to 7.4 assists and just 1.4 turnovers per 36 minutes.

That bodes well for a Dallas team that ranks in the bottom half of the NBA in both assists and turnovers per game. It also helps that Jones shot 41.4 percent from beyond the arc in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, and is joining a Mavericks team that ranks No. 26 in three-point field goal percentage.

A starting role is from guaranteed for Jones, but he should have every opportunity to secure the distinction with a Mavericks team that wanted to acquire him as far back as the offseason.