Tyus Jones heading home after Wolves acquire draft rights from Cavs
MINNEAPOLIS -- The christening of No. 1 overall pick Karl Anthony-Towns wasn't the only eruption-inducing news to reverberate around the Target Center on Thursday night.
Almost two hours after making their first-ever No. 1 overall pick official, the Timberwolves traded both of their second-round picks for hometown point guard Tyus Jones. Minnesota sent the 31st (European guard Cedi Osman) and 36th (Syracuse power forward Rakeem Christmas) selections and a 2019 second-round pick to Cleveland, which took the Apple Valley product and Duke national champion 24th overall and traded him to the Wolves.
Jones and his family and friends spent the evening celebrating at Bar 508 in downtown Minneapolis. Two years before declaring for the draft after one magical season with the Blue Devils, Jones led Apple Valley to the 2013 Class 4A state championship.
The setting? The very same Target Center where about 1,000 remaining fans at Thursday night's draft party cheered his name, less than two blocks away from Jones and his closest companions.
"It's really hard to put it into words," Jones said. "I was just extremely blessed and honored. I always have wanted to play for the Timberwolves and be a Timberwolf. Growing up in Minnesota, it's something you dream of as a kid, going to games, watching on TV."
Ranked as the No. 7 prospect in his class by Rivals, Jones was a three-time Gatorade and Associated Press Minnesota player of the year and played in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound offensive phenom earned three gold medals with Team USA and played for the U.S. Junior National Select Team in the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit, too.
But his meteoric rise was most pronounced during a freshman season at Duke in which he averaged 11.8 points and 5.6 assists per game and earned Final Four MVP honors as the Blue Devils claimed their fifth national championship.
Not long after, he handed Kevin Garnett a baseball for the first pitch at the Twins' home opener. Growing up watching the Timberwolves, Garnett was one of Jones' idols.
"Knowing I'm going to put a Timberwolves jersey on, it's just truly a blessing," Jones said.
He's expected to step in as Ricky Rubio's backup. Jones can score from all over the floor -- 41.7 percent shooting, 37.9 percent from 3-point range and 88.9 on free throws -- and is equally adept at setting up teammates.
But his defense, he admits, needs some work. His size will limit him in the NBA, too.
There would be no talk of weaknesses Thursday night, though. After the Cavs agreed to the trade, Wolves coach and president Flip Saunders walked to 508 with general manager Milt Newtown and bear-hugged Jones when they got there.
"Going into the draft, we targeted players thinking, 'Fit what you're trying to do,'" Saunders said. "He's a player that I've known for a long time. I know what he can do, I know what he can't do. I thought that he would be a guy that would fit into what we're trying to do."
There were three players Minnesota would've traded its two second-round picks for, Saunders said. Jones was at the top of the list.
Despite some initial surprise at his decision to go pro, Jones was expected to be taken in the mid-to-late first round. General manager Milt Newton worked the phones feverishly, seeking a trade suitor to move back into the first round and snag him.
With Minnesota fearing Memphis would take Jones at 25, Cleveland returned one of Newton's calls with about two minutes left on the clock, Saunders said.
"We got him right at the last second," Saunders said.
Said Newton: "The one thing I noticed about him the more I watched him play is that he's a natural leader. I think that will help us tremendously, our young group going forward."
Jones said a conversation with his agent, Rob Pelinka, at 6:20 p.m. Thursday gave him hope the Wolves might take him if they could get back into the first round. Jones told his older brother Jadee recently he "had a weird feeling I'm about to be a Timberwolf.
"I didn't know what it was, hadn't heard anything or no specific reason. But I just woke up that day, and I guess it was just God talking to me and letting me know I'm going to play for my hometown team."
With former Robbinsdale Cooper star Rashad Vaughn going 17th overall to Milwaukee, a pair of Minnesotans became first-round draft picks for the first time ever.
"I think I'm going to be a steal," Vaughn said, according to FOX Sports Wisconsin's Andrew Gruman. "I'm going to come in and work as hard as I can."
Local reporters were on a conference call with Towns when news of Jones' procurement broke. The No. 1 overall pick out of Kentucky and fellow 19-year-old Final Four participant was quick to voice his approval.
"It could be awesome to play with Minnesota's own Tyus Jones," said Towns, who teamed with Jones in the 2014 McDonald's All-American Game.
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