With the start of the NBA regular season just one week away, the Bobcats strengthened their frontcourt with the acquisition of forward Jumaine Jones from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a future second round pick on Wednesday, October 26.
"Jumaine Jones is a versatile player who provides a different dimension to our frontcourt positions and will help us in many ways on both ends of the floor," Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "He is a proven outside shooter and has shown success rebounding the ball. We look forward to having him on our roster."
Jones averaged 7.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and shot .391 from three-point range in 24.1 minutes last season for the Lakers. He ranked 18th in the NBA in three-point percentage, connecting on 102-261 attempts, and reached double-figure scoring 21 times, including a season-high 25 points on 7-8 from the three-point line against Orlando on Dec. 12.
The 6-8, 218-pound forward has appeared in 377 career games with Philadelphia, Cleveland, Boston and L.A. Lakers with career averages of 6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 20.0 minutes. His top scoring season came in 2002-03 when he averaged 9.8 points with Cleveland and he grabbed a career-best 6.0 rebounds in the 2001-02 season with the Cavaliers.
Jones was drafted by Atlanta with the 27th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, but had his draft rights traded to Philadelphia. An early entry candidate, Jones spent two seasons at the University of Georgia, where he averaged 16.6 points on .449 (385-858) shooting from the field and 9.0 rebounds in 31.7 minutes. He also recorded 1,079 points and became the first sophomore to reach 1,000 points since fellow alum and NBA great Dominique Wilkins did so during his collegiate career.