The Pacers have finally acquired a player who puts defense over offense.
After remaining quiet during the league's moratorium period, the Pacers agreed to a four-year, $11-million deal with Denver free agent guard Dahntay Jones. The fourth year of the deal is a player option. "Pacers president) Larry Bird and (general manager) David Morway contacted me the first night of free agency and expressed a lot of interest in Dahntay," Jones' agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. "The Pacers are getting somebody that competes with an edge and is a lockdown defender. He's going to bring a defensive mind-set to the team."
Jones will be a part the three-man wing rotation with Danny Granger and Brandon Rush.
The 6-6 Jones doesn't need the ball to be effective because he prefers to focus on slowing down players like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.
The Pacers hope Jones' desire to be a defensive specialist will carry over to the rest of the team, which struggled on defense last season. The Pacers gave up 106.2 points a game, and opponents shot 45.8 percent from the field against them.
"If you play aggressive and you play strong, you can be called a bully," Jones told the Denver Post in April. "So I guess you need a team of bullies, because that's a mind-set you've got to have. You've got to be mentally strong, you've got to be tough and you've got to bring the defense every night."
