The champion needed a ball carrier to move Wilbkin to position 2, and decided to bet on a Bursaspor player • With no experience in a senior European factory and with a past in Mongolia and Switzerland, Chris Jones jumps to one of the biggest clubs in Europe

• Jones. Maccabi gambles, but for little money

  Photo: 

  Bursaspor - the official site

Chris Jones renewed his contract at Bursaspor this summer, but had the option to leave for the Euroleague. He took advantage of the clause and left the contract in favor of signing with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Things have been closed for about a month, today (Sunday) the Yellows officially announced the signing of the new coordinator.

It is not certain that in a normal season with the regular budget, Maccabi would have signed him. The financial considerations and cheap cost played a role here. On the other hand, he is a player who has been on the radar of the Israeli champion for some time. Last season, when Knight Walters was injured, it was already closed that he would arrive, but his Bursaspor team vehemently opposed and the deal fell through. "Without him we will be relegated," the team said at the time.

This is a gamble. Jones is a player who has so far not played for a team that is even close to the levels of Maccabi Tel Aviv. This will be his debut in the Euroleague, and the most senior European enterprise he played for was the European Cup. It is a gamble, but not a big money gamble. only.

Jones' career is a built-in climb up the stairs. He started in Mongolia, then played in Swiss Basel, from there he jumped a grade to the Belgian league and played two years in Mons. Last season he moved to one of the top leagues in Europe - the Turkish League. His team was Bursaspor who went up in the league, and he dragged it to a good season. The league that was discontinued due to the Corona crisis she finished tenth with a chance of the playoffs and with a winning balance of almost 50 percent. 

Jones finished fourth in the league's assists table with 6.8 dedications per game. The coordinator scored 15.3 points per game and snatched almost 2 balls which shows the defensive activism. Problem: Three-point shooting. There things need improvement with 31 percent per game. Also the loss of the ball in the category that needs improvement. In Turkey he had 2.9 turnovers per game.

His inexperience at the high levels also has a second side. The 27-year-old Jones is an excellent potential and because he was not in the high places he will come very hungry to succeed and show that he belongs to the European top.

Jones is a pure coordinator. This is what Maccabi was looking for. A Walters-style player and Aaron Jackson who runs a game and thinks first of all delivery. The big goal: to help Scotty Wilbkin. He is the man who should let the Yellows star play in the second guard position and not lead the ball.