Kam Jones joins Summer Pacers, Furphy growing up fast
The Pacers second round pick practiced for the first time on Sunday, excited to be part of the 'Pacers Way' as a rookie.
Shortly after the Pacers announced the official acquisition of San Antonio’s second round pick and the fact they selected Kam Jones with said pick, the Pacers newest rookie was on the court practicing with the Summer Pacers as they continue to prepare for games in Las Vegas starting on Thursday.
Jones hit the floor running, literally, as Coach Isaac Yacob lauded his ability to play hard, while possession the key skills to dribble, pass and shoot. On day one, Jones was also holding up well defending the full length of the court which has become a Pacers’ expectation.
Jones referred to those expectations as the ‘Pacers Way’ which he is excited to continue learning. He also feels his approach is the epitome of what the ‘Pacers Way’ means.
“Being with a group of guys that just want to win and put their teammates before themselves and really want everyone around them to be better and feel better about themselves,” Jones said. “Just putting your head down and working hard and doing everything you can to impact winning.”
Put it on the wall.
Jones also admitted his time at Marquette under Shaka Smart prepared him well for this moment and that he needed every minute of his four years in college to, as he put it, “make me the man and the player I am today.”
Jones has solid size for either guard position, and while his lefty jumper is a bit janky, he certainly made a lot of them in the time the media was able to watch. His competitive fire was also on display as he went through some shooting drill competitions with Taelon Peter and Hunter Maldonado.
While Jones is just starting his career at 23 years of age, Pacers second-year forward Johnny Furphy remains the youngest player on the squad at 20 years old. While Furphy has put on some muscle, he also has went through a doctorate level NBA experience as a young rookie, suiting up and actually getting garbage time minutes during the Pacers long playoff run to the NBA Finals.
Jumping right into his second year with the Summer Pacers, Furphy is trying to adjust to his role as one of the leaders of the team, having gone through Summer League last year and being exposed to everything the Pacers want to do at both ends to the floor. He admitted that role is a challenge, but the coaches are pushing him to make his voice heard and share his knowledge with a group of players who may be older, but also are hungry to take advantage of their opportunity in Las Vegas.
More importantly, Furphy will get some quality minutes for two or three games to put that knowledge to work on the floor.
The Summer Pacers have two more practices in Indy before the jet to Las Vegas after practice on Tuesday.
Been waiting most of the day Sunday for the Bucks to officially announce their signing of Myles Turner. There must be some other moving parts involved with the acquisition that the Bucks want to tie up. Or maybe all Turner news will always be delivered a day after the deadlines allowing for such news to be released.
Also, thinking about the hole in the roster that Turner’s departure created which lead to the Pacers trade for Jay Huff, I was surprised at the initial reaction to adding Huff. While expecting a general yawn from the Pacers populace, it appears the trending development of Huff over the past couple of years has many folks excited for what he can offer the Pacers as they try to patch up the center position this season.
While Huff will be starting his prime years at 27 years old, he also hasn’t played a ton considering he will soon turn 27 years old. No matter how you look at it, this remains a long shot at a long term solution to the Pacers center position. But the Pacers do have a pretty good recent track record in hitting on long shots, so please don’t let my reticence rain on your enthusiasm.