Atlanta Hawks’ Midseason Grades: Len, Jones, Fernando

Damian Jones:

Jones was acquired last summer in the trade that sent Omari Spellman to Golden State. Like Spellman, Jones was once the 30th pick of the 1st round, with Jones’ name being called by the Warriors during the 2016 Draft.

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That pairing worked out well for Jones, who won 2 titles while sitting near the end of the bench in Golden State. He appeared in 49 games through his three seasons with the Dubs, averaging 11.9 minutes per contest.

The 24-year-old was basically guaranteed to elevate his playing time in Atlanta, and he has, starting 20 games through the Hawks’ first 41, compared to his 22 starts in his previous three seasons.

On the court, Jones has been iffy, playing a very physical game, averaging 3.0 fouls in his 16.8 minutes per game. Despite his physical mentality, he’s averaging a pretty bad 3.7 boards.

He’s nearly always the 5th option to score offensively, and is making 69% of his 3.7 attempts per game, which technically leads the team.

Jones seemed to be working his way out of the rotation, with coach Pierce turning to Bruno Fernando then John Collins in the starting role, and Jones picking up a few DNP’s, but with Len, Fernando and Jabari Parker on the injured list currently, should be getting a good handful of minutes again.

Verdict: