The Golden State Warriors have got their first look at Lajae Jones at the professional level after their recent decision not to bring the 54th overall pick to training camp starting in Hawaii on Monday.
After signing with Italian club Pallacanestro Trieste earlier in the week, Jones stepped out to play 19 minutes in his debut for the team during an 83-79 loss to Olimpia Milano.
Warriors' 52nd pick Laje Jones scores 10 points in Italian debut
Jones produced a very similar stat-line to what we saw during his summer league campaign, finishing with 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and 2-of-5 from 3-point range. The 6'7" wing did have two turnovers and committed five personal fouls, but still finished as a +13 which ranked second of all players on the floor.
It was Jones' first professional game after four years of college basketball across multiple different schools, having finished up at Florida State last season where he averaged 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals on 42.7% shooting from the floor and 32.5% from 3-point range.
Jones will be hoping to impress with his new Italian club to ensure his NBA opportunity eventually arrives. There was talk from the moment the 22-year-old was drafted that he'd be a draft-and-stash prospect who would head overseas, and clearly Jones didn't do enough to change Golden State's opinion during summer league despite his role on what resulted as a championship team.
He averaged 7.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in nine summer league games, showing some promising signs but also elements of tunnel vision driving downhill which suggested Jones needs the kind of reps and development he'll now get in Italy.
Warriors prioritized another recent late pick over Lajae Jones
As much as it's not a total surprise that Jones is now starting out in Italy, it's still interesting that the Warriors did decide to bring one of their other recent second-round picks, Alex Toohey, to training camp where the Australian could chase a two-way contract.
At the very least it appears Toohey will be part of the Santa Cruz roster in the G League, suggesting that the 6'10" forward -- after initially being waived following a season-ending injury last December -- is closer to a role with the main squad than Jones who's now overseas.
The Warriors haven't had a second-round pick go straight overseas since Justinian Jessup who was taken 51st overall at the 2020 NBA Draft. Jessup hasn't suited up in an NBA game to this point of his career, and his draft rights have now been traded on multiple occasions.
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