Duke basketball: Tre Jones can test open market of free agency

Iconic Duke basketball guard Tre Jones can test the open market of free agency. 

There will be some valuable conversations for Duke basketball guard Tre Jones over the weekend as he has the ability to negotiate with other teams around the NBA when free agency opens on Friday evening.

Jones was extended a qualifying offer by the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday evening, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac.

The offer now makes the former Blue Devil a restricted free agent, meaning that Tre Jones can agree to a contract with any other organization in the league but the Spurs will have the ability to match the deal.

Jones took on a bigger role with the rebuilding Spurs this season as he started 65 games while averaging12.9 points, 6.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

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The 6-foot-1 guard connected on 45.9-percent of his shots from the field yet only made 28.5-percent from 3-point range.

Tre Jones also saw a career high in minutes this season at 29.2 minutes per contest, elevating from 16.6 minutes in 2022.

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It is very clear that the San Antonio Spurs will be the hot team of the summer and the preseason after selecting the 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

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Many experts believe that the presence alone of Wembanyama will elevate the Spurs to a postseason berth and Jones is hoping to be the one to be leading the production of the offense.

There has been no rumored interest between Tre Jones and other teams in the NBA but it seems likely that he will remain with San Antonio after the organization matches any deal that Jones agrees to.