Grading every Dallas Mavericks player ahead of 2024 NBA Playoffs

4. Derrick Jones Jr.

The Dallas Mavericks made one of the best veteran minimum signings in the league over the offseason when they signed Derrick Jones Jr. to a one-year deal. The Mavs needed more wing depth badly, and Jones Jr. looked as if he was going to be the perfect fit off the bench.

Jones Jr. filled in his role off the bench excellently, but his switch into the starting lineup is a move that helped propel the Mavs to the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.

This season for Dallas, Jones Jr. averaged 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from downtown. He is clearly one of the Mavs' biggest X-factors heading into their series against the LA Clippers that begins today, and his defense on LA's stars will be huge in this series.

While Jones Jr. quickly emerged as one of the best perimeter defenders on the team this season, one thing that gets overlooked is his offensive impact. Jones Jr. is a decent shooter, an underrated slasher, and an elite lob threat.

Jones Jr. always has the potential to throw down a posterizing slam off an alley-oop or in transition, and teams must always keep an eye on him as he can turn a simple back-door cut into a momentum-shifting slam.

Jones Jr. gets a B+ for this season for his elite defense which helped him hold down the starting unit alongside P.J. Washington.