Tre Jones, Spurs Agree to New 2-Year, $20M Contract in Free Agency | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The San Antonio Spurs agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with point guard Tre Jones, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

With San Antonio fully embracing a rebuild, the 2020 second-round pick was afforded far more playing time than he enjoyed in his first two seasons. His 1,984 total minutes in 2022-23 surpassed what had been his career total (1,417).

The timing couldn't have been better with Jones approaching the end of his rookie contract.

In 68 games, the 23-year-old averaged 12.9 points and a team-high 6.6 assists while shooting 45.9 percent from the field, including 28.5 percent from beyond the arc.

His best performance came in a 143-138 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 26, when he finished with 23 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds. He also posted a triple-double (21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds) when San Antonio fell 151-131 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in its penultimate game of the season.

"I feel like I am in a good position right now," he said in April regarding his future. "I made a lot of strides this year. Gotten a lot better in a lot of different areas that I wanted to."

In general, Jones' ceiling could be limited by his scoring ability if this past year was a fair reflection of his overall game. His poor three-point shooting stands out, and he wasn't much better attacking the basket. According to NBA.com, he made 41.3 percent of his shots in the paint outside of the restricted area.

But floor generals haven't fallen totally out of vogue.

The Duke product could have a career similar to his older brother, Tyus, who has become a dependable backup point guard and signed a two-year, $29 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies last offseason.

Regardless of whether they intend to keep starting him or shift him to the reserves, re-signing Jones made plenty of sense for the Spurs. He has acquitted himself nicely in Gregg Popovich's system, and his playmaking can help further the offensive development of Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama.