Minnesota Sports Forum

I figured we could have another thread for Tyus. The guy deserves it. Summer league MVP and all.

At what point can we give him some legit due for performing well in Sunmer league as a legit prospect? You can't say he just put up numbers either he has his team in the championship game of this tourney. That's something.

We know guards typically are set up to do well in the Sunmer league setting. However at PG it's also typically a gantlet of players you are going against. There is a variety of talent that's playing with a chip on their shoulder and or very hungry at those spots and a lot of times they are good athletes in one respect or another and bring something pretty legit to the table. There are rarely stiffs at that spot.

Let's remember Tyus turned 20 in May. He is still young and put up some pretty good numbers against players...probably all of them older than he is.

I get why we are hesitant to give the guy some props. He is 3rd on the young PG depth charts. He doesn't have the physical profile but even though it is just Summer league I think the guy deserves at least some more consideration as a worthwhile piece going forward.

Thoughts?

I think your take is right on point. Hard to get upset about him playing well when given an opportunity. I think the key for him is confidence to shoot. If he can start getting good looks against real NBA competition he'll continue to improve.

Credit to Tyus for putting this team on his shoulders and taking the Wolves Summer League squad to the finals with no NBA caliber teamates.

Tyus is a scorer but he is also an excellent floor general who makes smart decisions and makes his teammates better. He's a lot quicker with the ball than I thought he'd be coming into the League and he's also very crafty. He actually moves better laterally than I thought and played hard defensively.

I get that this is just Summer League, but I'm still impressed by what I've seen from Tyus. I'm not sold on him as someone who can eventually be a starting PG, although I wouldn't dismiss that possibility. I am, however, convinced that he can at least be a very good backup. And that makes us 3-deep at the PG position with one of the three, Dunn, capable of playing quality minutes at the SG spot. Perhaps the biggest positive coming from Tyus as a quality backup PG is the ability to have another ball-handling SG (Dunn) behind Zach. That's huge. Otherwise, Zach is backed up solely by guys, Wiggins, Bazz and Rush, with relatively poor handles by NBA SG standards. I love the idea of Tyus and Dunn paired as our second-unit backcourt duo.

lipoli390 wrote:Credit to Tyus for putting this team on his shoulders and taking the Wolves Summer League squad to the finals with no NBA caliber teamates.

Tyus is a scorer but he is also an excellent floor general who makes smart decisions and makes his teammates better. He's a lot quicker with the ball than I thought he'd be coming into the League and he's also very crafty. He actually moves better laterally than I thought and played hard defensively.

I get that this is just Summer League, but I'm still impressed by what I've seen from Tyus. I'm not sold on his as someone who can eventually be a starting PG, although the I wouldn't dismiss that possibility. I am, however, convinced that he can at least be a very good backup. And that makes us 3-deep at the PG position with one of the three, Dunn, capable of playing quality minutes at the SG spot. Perhaps the biggest positive coming from Tyus as a quality backup PG is the ability to have another ball-handling SG (Dunn) behind Zach. That's huge. Otherwise, Zach is backed up solely by guys, Wiggins, Bazz and Rush, with relatively poor handles by NBA SG standards. I love the idea of Tyus and Dunn paired as our second-unit backcourt duo.

I agree with this. I'm not sure he will ever be a full time starter in the league, but I do think he will make a very good backup PG. That depth will be critical moving forward.

Tyus has been very good in Vegas and is worthy of the MVP award. We all know that he has been part of winning teams at every level he has played at (except for last season), but the aspect of his game that impresses me most is his ability to do what the game dictates. Lip referred to him as a scorer who is also an effective field general, but I think that might be backward. He wasn't really known as a big-time scorer at AV or Duke...except when he had to be. He's really more comfortable directing traffic and setting his teammates up, and hitting the open shot when opponents forget about him. But when he really needs to score, like in the NCAA championship game when his higher-scoring teammates were a little off, he has shown an ability to step up as a scorer. That's what has been happening in SL. After repeatedly finding wide open teammates and watching them clank their shots, he realized (or Saunders told him) he needed to be more of a scorer...and he became one. Yesterday he was credited with 6 assists, but he easily should have had at least 10 with some easy conversions by his teammates.

Two things that have surprised me in SL: First as Lip pointed out, his lateral quickness is better than I thought. This was really on display against a very quick Tyler Ulis yesterday, who Tyus consistently stayed in front of like no other PG has been able to do in Vegas. Second, he seems to have more hops on rebounds than I remember...I wonder if he has been doing a lot of leg strengthening in the off season. The other parts of his game have not surprised me. He plays with his head up, controls the ball very well, has great vision, and has an extraordinary ability to put his passes exactly where he wants to. NBA defenders are quick and can rotate or close to defend a shot if the pass doesn't arrive quickly and chest-high, and Tyus does this as effectively as anyone out there...even Ricky. He can hit the open three, and his form tells me that this is a repeatable skill. And he has a terrific floater...something he developed early as a way to stay away from blocked shots. He can beat his man off the dribble, penetrate and find the open mind, sometimes in spectacular fashion, without turning the ball over.

But let's keep yesterday's performance in perspective. While Ulis has had a terrific SL both on offense and defense, he is 5-8 and 150 pounds...we may not get to say this often, but Tyus bullied him with his size advantage! Tonight he goes up against 6-4 Jerian Grant and 6-6 Spencer Dinwiddie. Let's see if he can repeat yesterday's performance against PGs who are bigger than him. The Summer Wolves are going to need him to step up big to have any chance against the Bulls.

The kid did very well in D League too.

Obviously, he's a good basketball player and knows how to play. We'll see if his physical limitations stymie his ultimate success vs. the very best players in the game.

Some guys just don't have enough to climb that final hurdle. I hope Jones makes it.

Good to see the kid getting some love on here. I know there were some who didn't like the pick when he was drafted. It sort of stunk of home town homerism. But I've been a fan since day one and loved the pick. He continues to "prove it" at every level he's played. We all know his track record up to draft day. And as mentioned before me, he's followed that up by performing great in the D-league and now Summer league. And I certainly don't think he embarrassed himself last year in the NBA albeit limited exposure.

It's nice to have him for 3rd PG on this team. He has talent. He's young. He's cheap. And he's probably going to contribute more to this year's squad than Pek, KG or Payne. While that's not a huge endorsement. I'm just pointing out if we need another roster spot - I don't consider Tyus the guy I'd dump. The kid is two year's younger than Dunn. Bring him along slowly with no pressure. PorkChop will be happy to point out Rubio has a history of injuries. It's nice to have a couple young guys chomping at the bit/waiting for their chance. Also - having him as a 3rd PG should put the whole LaVine at PG experiment to bed. If Tyus develops into a legit NBA PG, we can deal one of the three. Until then, he's just a nice "Robbie Hummel like" guy to fill out the roster (smart, cheap and good attitude).

I am feeling really good about our PG position going into the season. I think Rubio will have his best year after not having to rehab this offseason. I think Dunn will need some time to grow and will play as much SG as PG this year. Tyus is a steady hand as a third string PG that can control the tempo in relief. I was not supporting picking him, but am glad he is here. The move for him was not nearly as bad as the Payne move at the time and certainly is not now. Lets hope Payne is gone before the season starts.

Some good highlights of Tyus' summer league games in this link.

http://uproxx.com/dimemag/tyus-jones-summer-league-mvp/

I really like what I've seen and I'm liking the thought of him and Dunn playing together as the second unit guards.

I'm not surprised. I liked the pick from day 1 and haven't wavered. He's been criticized for his lack of this and that on the board, but the guy can flat out play. He may never be a starter in the league but he can be on my roster any day.