Derrick Jones Jr: ‘I want to be in Miami’

Ahead of his appearance against Kevin Durant in the NBA 2K Players Only tournament, Derrick Jones Jr. spoke with local reporters on a conference call. And the player who will become an unrestricted free agent whenever the off-season begins said that he wants to remain in a Heat uniform.

The following is an excerpt from Anthony Chiang’s article on the conference call.

“I want to be in Miami,” Jones said Friday while sitting in front of a pristine Miami blue sky on the Zoom conference call. “Like I told y’all before. I don’t want to leave. You see the backdrop. I love it here. This is beautiful. I want to be here my whole career. Just if I can have that and we can come to an agreement with the Heat, I’m with it. I just want to be here. This is beautiful for me and my family.”

We’ve discussed the questions regarding Jones’ impending free agency here on this site. Miami’s trade of Justise Winslow appears to signal a commitment to Jones. The Heat may even be willing to sign the 23-year-old Jones to a multi-year contract that would eat into their cap space for 2021.

We know that Jones is on board to re-sign. The only question now is whether Jae Crowder’s performance has changed any minds in the Heat front office and coaching staff.