Duke basketball: Four reasons Tre Jones slipped to the second round

Why Duke basketball’s Tre Jones fell in the draft: SHOOTING CONCERNS

I also believe that NBA teams are still concerned about Tre Jones’ ability to shoot the three. The former five-star recruit out of Minnesota is still probably not a player who can hit at a high clip from beyond the arc right away, but I do believe he can develop into that. He increased his 3-point shooting percentage from 26.2 percent as a freshman to 36.1 percent as a sophomore.

The NBA Draft is obviously an inexact science. Every year, there are players we think are great but end up disappointing. There are players we think will disappoint but end up shining. While we all wanted to see Tre Jones get selected in the first round, he is in an ideal situation with a stable organization that prioritizes winning.

Somehow, a player’s substance has become overlooked in the selection process. NBA teams look for something eye-popping that jumps out at you.

Tre Jones is not really that player. He may not wow you when watching him play, but he does things that impact winning. But in the NBA, you have some teams that want to win and other teams that just want to sell tickets and stay relevant.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Tre Jones in the NBA plus other Duke basketball news and views.