Derrick Jones Jr., the Dallas Mavericks’ starter during the team’s NBA Finals run, is set to potentially enter unrestricted free agency Sunday night without an agency to represent him, a league source said.
On Friday, veteran basketball writer Marc Stein reported that Jones would be leaving his former agent Aaron Turner to join Klutch Sports, run by Rich Paul. However, under National Basketball Players Association guidelines, players looking to change representation must wait 15 days before signing with another agency, as first noted by Yahoo’s Jake Fischer.
Jones’ decision, according to a league source who was asked to remain anonymous to speak freely, occurred Wednesday. That movement is confirmed by team and league sources. The athleticIt could potentially mean that Jones would not have representation for teams to negotiate with until July 11, when Klutch would be allowed to take him on as a client nearly two weeks after free agency begins at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday.
On Sunday morning, a Mavericks source had expressed optimism that this bizarre, never-before-seen situation could be resolved as soon as Sunday. Jones could still negotiate his next contract through Turner, the president of Verus Management, who has represented him since he entered the league. Jones and Turner could also come to a mutual agreement to waive the contractual waiting period, which would allow Klutch to take him on as a client sooner.
But Jones, as of now, will not be represented by either party when free agency begins and will not immediately continue negotiations with the Mavericks, who have been allowed to negotiate with him since the Finals ended. For the first time, this calls into question the likelihood of him returning to Dallas, league sources say, which had previously been seen as a mutually desired scenario.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison described Jones as “priority one” in a postseason news conference. But free agency is moving fast and Dallas has other priorities that could make it difficult for the team to hope for a resolution to this situation if it persists. The Mavericks are one of the teams expected to make a big push for Klay Thompson, the four-time champion who is expected to leave the Golden State Warriors after 13 seasons, as reported by The Athletic on Friday.
Under Turner’s representation, Jones signed with Dallas last summer for the league’s veteran minimum. a calculated bet which could have provided him with a total salary in the range of his career earnings of $28 million.