Former Duke basketball star has eyes set on joining New Orleans Pelicans

Former Duke basketball guard Tre Jones has his eyes set on potentially joining one team in the NBA Draft.

There are six former Blue Devils in New Orleans with players Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, JJ Redick, Jahlil Okafor, and Frank Jackson and general manager Trajan Langdon.

Could one more player be on the way to the Bayou?

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Well, former Duke point guard Tre Jones wouldn’t be opposed to the idea after his media availability on Wednesday evening during the NBA Virtual Combine.

Jones has virtually met with a slew of NBA teams at the combine this week, including the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, and Milwaukee Bucks as he also has a meeting planned with the Chicago Bulls, and others.

However, on the topic of possibly joining the Bayou Brotherhood in November, Jones could not hide his excitement.

“I actually know all of them. Most of them I know really well. JJ’s the oldest one, but after that, they’re all around my age. One of them obviously I played with,” Jones told the media.

“It would be extremely fun to be able to connect with those guys, to be able to play on the same team as them, and hopefully win games with those guys. Having Trajan Langdon in the front office would be amazing. It would be a Brotherhood Connect down there. Being able to play with those type of guys would be amazing. It would be a good connection, for sure.”

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Tre Jones also said that his agent told him to expect to be selected in the mid to late first round of the draft, as many mock drafts have the ACC Player of the Year in the late first round to early second round.

What would the Duke basketball star being drafted by New Orleans mean?

Tre Jones to the Pelicans would send Blue Devil fans into a frenzy, but it also might mean another Dukie would be leaving the Brotherhood because of an excess of point guards.

New Orleans already has starting point guard Lonzo Ball in the fold, and former head coach Alvin Gentry occasionally played Jrue Holliday and rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker over Frank Jackson at point guard.

So, another point guard on the roster could spell doom for Jackson’s time in New Orleans.

But with Gentry fired after a disappointing season, the clear goal for the team is to build a supporting cast around Zion Williamson that can compete for the playoffs and eventually an NBA Championship.

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Jones averaged 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game on 42.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent from 3-point range in his sophomore season in Durham.

Clearly, the point guard and Williamson have a long history, combining to win an ACC Championship and advancing to the Elite Eight the one season the two were both on the Blue Devils together. But is New Orleans truly the best fit for Jones?

Just like Tre Jones, we will have to wait the long six weeks following the NBA Combine to find out as the NBA has set a November 18 date for the draft.

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