SAN ANTONIO — With the San Antonio Spurs 2023-24 season over, the players will now evaluate their areas for improvement ahead of next season.
And guard Tre Jones aims to become an extension of the team's longest-tenured head coach, Gregg Popovich.
“Continue to try to lead more and more every day. I know that my main role on this team is to be a leader for us on the court," he said. "Be an extension of the coach on the court at all times."
After coming off the bench last season to make way for Jeremy Sochan at the point guard experiment, he found himself re-inserted as the team's starting floor general as the season progressed.
Sochan's performance as a point guard was not working out, and Jones proved he was the right person each time he was on the floor.
With him guiding the young Spurs, the team flowed better offensively with Jones setting up the plays.
And he aims to continue that path heading into next season.
"Continue to try to get everybody set in their spots. Our chemistry is growing more and more every single game and we feel that as a team," he said. "We know where each other is going to be, we know where to find each other, what spots we're going to be in both offensively and defensively."
Last season, when Jones was on the floor, the team's Offensive Rating was 113.8, the highest in his NBA career. The Spurs' Offensive Rating dipped to 106.8 when he was off the court.
In addition, he averaged just 1.5 turnovers per game (a career-best) and connected with Victor Wembanyama on 105 assists the entire season. He was Jones' most-assisted teammate last season, followed by Devin Vassell (89 assists), and Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan, each with 45 assists from Jones.
"We're starting to get on the same page with rotations on the defensive end and playing off of [Victor Wembanyama] being able to get to almost every shot inside the three-point line and being able to rotate off of that," Jones said. "And then offensively playing off of each other but off of [Devin Vassell] and [Victor Wembanyama] a lot."
Jones saw increased production last season, averaging a career-best in rebounds (3.8 per game), personal fouls (1.2 per game), field goal percentage (50%), and defensive rebounding (3.0 per game).
However, statistics aside, Jones will be looking to be a more decisive on-court leader next season.
"I'll continue to just try to be a leader," he said.
Jones's most significant issue is his three-point shooting, which could be improved.
To his credit, his three-point shooting improved last season. He connected on 65 three-point shots (a career-best) and made 33% from beyond the arch, a marked improvement from the 2022-23 season when he shot 28% from the three-point line.
"Then obviously my three-point shot," he said. I'm continuing to try to improve that, getting more confidence and taking more of those.”
The Spurs wrapped up on a positive note last season, winning six of their last ten games and a two-game winning streak. That positive momentum is what makes Jones excited for next season.
And should he accomplish his offseason goals, the Spurs will be in great hands with him entering his fifth NBA season in Silver and Black.
"It was really good for us this year, and have that roll into next season. Pick up where we left off and continue to grow," he said. "It's not like we're starting next year with a bunch of veterans. We'll still be young but we'll be able to pick up where we left off for sure. Be able to just go with the chemistry that we built throughout the year."