The Golden State Warriors have not yet signed their second-round draft pick, Lajae Jones, to a contract for next season. Now he may not be with the team at all, as breaking news gives him an option to go back to college.
The Warriors' path to drafting Florida State wing Lajae Jones was a typical one. The 22-year-old player finished his fourth season of basketball, exhausted his eligibility, and thus entered the NBA Draft. It has been happening with players for decades.
Jones had a solid Summer League and looked like an interesting piece to add to the roster. As of yet, however, the Warriors and Jones have not officially agreed to a contract. Some speculation has been that the Warriors would ask Jones to play a year overseas, taking advantage of his Israeli passport, and then bring him in a year from now.
Now another option has opened up. Instead of riding the bench for the Warriors or playing on another continent, Jones can get paid and stay close to home: he can go back to college basketball.
Lajae Jones can play another year of college basketball
The NCAA, the governing body for college sports, has been dealing with a multitude of challenges to its long-standing eligibility rules, with international players and undrafted players and disgruntled players and bored players all trying to come back and play another year of basketball. In most cases, the courts granted players a pass where the NCAA was trying to say no.
The NCAA responded this summer by passing a new rule, limiting players to five years after they graduate high school. No matter what happens, if a player is older than 24 or graduated high school more than five years ago, they're out. No matter what.
The flip side of the rule is that a healthy player who plays as a true freshman can now play an additional year, from four to five. That is not entirely foreign, as players in college during the COVID-shortened season were granted a fifth year as well, but it is now the base standard across the board.
The rule did not retroactively apply to the high school class of 2022, of which Jones was a part. That changed Firday, however, when a Colorado judge granted a preliminary injunction making all student-athletes from that class immediately eligible. Suddenly, Jones and his peers were allowed back into college basketball.
Lajae Jones now has a choice
A third path has opened up for Lajae Jones. Should he wish to, and should a school be interested, Jones could return to college basketball for a fifth year.
Such a move would almost certainly pay Jones more than playing in the NBA or overseas this year. It would delay starting his NBA clock toward a second contract, but Jones is no lock to earn such a deal. In college, however, he is a defensive star and would start for most teams in the country. Surely one of them would like to pay him?
The Warriors retain the draft rights to Jones, so whether he were "stashed" overseas or in college, the difference no longer matters. They might even be able to guide Jones to a nearby school to keep tabs on his development, or to a school that runs a similar system to Steve Kerr's to gain him some reps. There are options now available.
Jones could still decide to sign with the Warriors, and he would be a financial relief on a full contract because second-round picks count less again the cap and aprons. It is not fait accompli that he will be on another team.
If a college team comes calling, however, Jones might be gone. He gets paid, plays another year, and then joins the Warriors in 2027. There are worse things that could happen.
Now the Warriors must wait on his decision.
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