I cant recall another player having a nerve injury in their leg the way Jones has. I think that's the hard part of it- there is very little info out there on the exact nature of his injury and what if anything could be done to treat it. What I have at least read/seen so far is that its something that can come and go but it hasnt gotten to a point yet where he can do another other than do light shoot arounds. If I was a GM of another team I would be very cautious about taking Jones right now - he is a capable player on both ends when he can play but right now no one knows when that will be. Feigan even said it could be two weeks or two months. I believe its that uncertainty that will scare off any team from taking him on right now. Most teams if they are giving up a player of Dragic's caliber will want someone that can contribute to the team right away. In my head I've assumed that Jones will be out for the rest of the season. He is going to need some time once cleared to practice to get back his conditioning and timing which probably will take 2-4 weeks, maybe more considering he isnt participating in anything physical outside of shooting drills.
Not going to argue about recovery time/injuries because I know nothing about that, but let's be positive and say TJones will be back by February 14th as a Valentine's Day to us all. A big man rotation of Dwight/DMo/Smith/Jones could be pretty danged good. We could just player Black/Dorsey (whomever we don't cut) spot minutes, as was probably the original plan for them. (... and then, getting ahead of myself... if we're able to trade for Dragic without having to give up H&H/Bev/Ariza/DMo/Jones/Smith... damn, that'd be nice.)
Underrated but true statement. Then the ability to have DMo feast on backups and keep Joey Dorsey off the court? I'm on board with this move.
Murrays like "Smith, Dragic, Brewer. Your move." Cubans Like... "Parsons (overpayed), Rondo.... sh**"
I wonder if the Rockets would experiment with Josh Smith at the 5 and Dmo at the 4 with the 2nd unit. Smith could help protect the paint and grab rebounds. Let Dmo work the post.
Exactly, Rondo's trade set the precedent. Not much value. Rockets can decide which asset is more important to them: NOP pick or Dmo. And then offer the lesser of those items to PHX for Dragic as the principal asset in the package. Either one is more valuable than any single item in the Rondo deal. And remember, Brenden Wright is a UFA.
It would scare off any team from taking him at peak value. But if Morey were to make calls and say that Terrence Jones -- a young, athletic PF on a cheap rookie contract with a PER of 19 -- is available, there's going to be real interest. Teams would try to pick him up for pennies on the dollar, of course, but there would be intrigue. I agree with you on the big-picture point -- you're not going to be able to move him as a key piece in a Dragic-esque deal unless he shows he's healthy beforehand. All I'm disputing is the silliness that "no one wants him" or that this is a "career-threatening injury". That's way, way overstating it. As far as this season, remember there's still four months to go of just the regular season. Yes, it will probably take 2-4 weeks (as I said, the training camp/preseason analogy) to get him in shape once he's healed, but there's still tons of time. I would bet a lot of money that he returns at some point this year. There's just no precise timetable, which undoubtedly frustrates a lot of folks, but TJ is going to be fine. Question is simply when.
As a doc, I can tell you that the recovery and timetable are completely unpredictable. I'm not an NBA historian but this is the first in 20 odd years that I've followed the league that I've heard of this happening to a pro ball player.
Happened to Andrei Kirilenko in 2011, for one example. http://www.rotowire.com/basketball/showArticle.htm?id=12304 He missed the last three weeks of the season and was completely recovered going forward. He was actually EuroLeague Player of the Month during the lockout (October of that same year).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>In free agent Josh Smith's discussions so far, clear sense: Any NBA team that isn't playoff-bound or contending shouldn't call.</p>— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/547116959549386752">December 22, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Brief Google search shows that AK had one in 2011 and was similarly sidelined without timetable. Recovery, in general, cannot be guaranteed for nerve injuries.
Cat - I hope you're right. But nerve injuries aren't guaranteed to improve. Part of the reason the Texans, stupidly, passed on Peyton.
I had a nerve injury in my leg for about 3 months, then it just went away. It would bring sharp pains and such. Anytime someone bumped into my knee it would be very painful. It'll go away eventually, then he'll be back to normal.
Why are we talking about trading D-Mo? If we are talking about a deal for Dragic, I don't see how these two things relate. If Morey was interested in trading Motiejunas for Dragic prior to possibility of signing Josh Smith, then I don't think that will change. I actually see Jones as more of a potential canidate to be traded than Donatas. I understand that his injury has diluted his trade value, however, eventually he will return. I believe the team has been smart about his injury and made sure that they are giving him every opportunity to heal 100% without any lingering long term effects. Ideally, I see Terrence coming back in a couple of weeks, since he started working out recently. He may play until the deadline and recreate his value. If he regains his original value then we could be looking at an assortment of trade possibilities for Dragic. My favorite would probably be: Jones+Papanikolaou+Dorsey for Dragic. I am not sure if we would have to inclue the Pelicans pick or not. Then we would be looking at. Howard/Black/Capella Smith/Motiejunas Ariza/Brewer Harden/Terry/Shved Dragic/Beverly/Cannan We could also then potentially sign a FA center for the veterans minimum to provide a little depth. I love watching Morey create this chaos on the board some times. Eventually, everyone is able to see the reasons for his moves and accept his genius
If they aren't, why can't you (or anyone) show me a single example from the entire history of the NBA of a similar nerve injury ending a career? The Manning nerve issue was much more complicated because it was related to multiple neck surgeries. Again, spine issues make the puzzle much more complicated. Same deal with Steve Nash and his chronic back woes. It's not just the nerve -- it's that combined with pre-existing conditions that inherently make a return to 100% much more complicated. Also, those two players were 35 years old or older (in Nash's case, 40). Jones is 22. That's a factor. Nerve issues aren't guaranteed to improve on a specific timetable, which I get is frustrating. But in general -- especially with the doctors and medical technology at the NBA's disposal -- they do recover, especially for young athletes and when not combined with other issues.
