There have been numerous instances in the NBA where a player has bet on himself in an attempt to leverage a team into a more lucrative contract. Fred Van Vleet always comes to mind regarding situations like these. However, this approach can also backfire, and Derrick Jones Jr. is the perfect example of that.
Planned to come back
The athletic forward expressed his plans to return for the second year of his two-year contract. With a player option for his second year, the slam dunk champion publicly stated he had wanted to come back to the Chicago Bulls and embrace the role he has off the bench.
"Like I told Coach (Billy Donovan) and everybody else, I'm locked in for two years. I didn't sign for two years for no reason. So I'm here for two years," Jones Jr. said back in April.
However, the winds seemingly changed in June when he declined his player option worth $3.3 million to become an unrestricted free agent.
Did not pay off
Jones' decision, though, did not pay off. It's deep into free agency, and the 6-foot-5 forward remains unsigned. Whether it's because of his limited offensive skills or poor three-point shooting, teams have stayed away, and it's likely that if Jones wants to play in the NBA next season, he might have to do so for the vet minimum—a far cry from the $3.3 million option he declined. It is for this reason that Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley calls Jones a loser in free agency.
"Give most folks access to a time machine, and they might have a tough time figuring how far back they'd want to go," Buckley wrote. "Give one to Derrick Jones Jr., though, and he might already have an exact date and time he'd revisit. Looking back, his decision to decline his $3.3 million player option seems like a big swing and a miss."
"Jones might find minimum money yet, and it's possible with his bounce, energy and defensive versatility, he could play his way into at least a semi-regular role. But he could have a tough time matching the 893 minutes he logged this past season, never mind collecting the $3.3 million he could have had with Chicago in the upcoming one," Buckley added.
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