3 Landing Spots for New Free Agent Point Guard Tyus Jones

With Sunday being the deadline for NBA players to be waived in order to retain postseason eligibility for a new team, the Dallas Mavericks did Tyus Jones a solid, and waived him.

The Mavericks are waiving recently acquired guard Tyus Jones, @TheSteinLine has learned.

The move will allow Jones to seek out a playoff team and open up a roster spot for Dallas to explore its late-season options … including converting Ryan Nembhard to a standard NBA deal.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 28, 2026

Jones signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Orlando Magic this past summer, but was dealt to Dallas at the trade deadline earlier this month.

He got into eight games for the Mavs, playing 16.6 minutes a night, averaging 3.9 points and 3.8 assists. But his playing time has been down significantly from what he'd been used to. The 29-year-old had three straight seasons before this one averaging double-digits in points and anywhere from five to seven assists per night. He started the majority of games for three different teams over those three seasons, going from the Memphis Grizzlies, to the Washington Wizards, to the Phoenix Suns.

The high-basketball-IQ playmaker now gets a chance to try to hook up with a playoff-bound team as a legit backup point guard for a contender.

Three teams are potential destinations for Jones:

Houston Rockets
Boston Celtics
Minnesota Timberwolves

While Amen Thompson has done an admirable job at the point with Fred VanVleet out for the season, the Rockets could still use a true pass-first point guard and floor leader, and Jones could do the job.

The Boston Celtics see an opportunity, with the pending return of Jaylen Brown, to make an all-out push in the East. They've already got Derrick White and Payton Pritchard who can run the point, but with the trade of Anfernee Simons, they could use another veteran hand to help out in the backcourt.

Mike Conley is back with the Timberwolves, but let's face it, the 38-year-old isn't an impact player anymore, and with Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu as the only other point guards on the roster, Jones would give the team a legit floor general.

Jones was a first-round pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers (24th overall) in the 2015 NBA draft.