Like the team’s first ever draft pick, the most recognizable name Raptors 905 acquired in the D-League expansion draft in August has been traded.
The 905 traded the returning player rights to Dahntay Jones to the Grand Rapids Drive on Wednesday, the team announced. They’ll receive a 2016 second-round pick in return, a nice haul for a player who may not have figured in prominently with a young, deep wing rotation in Mississauga.
Jones was one of 16 players the 905 nabbed in the expansion draft, only one of who (Scott Suggs) is on the roster. Instead, the 905 hold the rights to the other names for up to two years. Should any of those 11 players the 905 have the rights to decide to sign a D-league contract in the next two years, the 905 would have first crack at them. The 905 previously traded the rights to Earl Clark, Kevin Jones, and Ricky Ledo, but there are still some interesting names on their rights list, including Luke Harangody, Mitchell Watt, and Mustafa Shakur.
Getting a second-rounder back next year also brings the team’s war chest back into balance. The 905 dealt their 2016 first-round pick to Santa Cruz as part of the package for Ronald Roberts, receiving a third-rounder back. So instead of a first-rounder this coming draft, they instead have two seconds and two thirds, making moving back up in the draft a reasonable possibility.
The 34-year-old Jones was the team’s fifth pick in the expansion draft. He spent time in the D-League last season before landing a gig with the Los Angeles Clippers, and a team jumping on his rights suggests there may be an expectation that Jones is going to try that route again. Over 11 NBA seasons with seven teams, Jones has averaged 5.4 points and 1.7 rebounds while hitting 33 percent of his threes. He averaged 14.4 points on 53.7-percent shooting in 19 D-League games last year.
The Drive are the D-League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons.
