Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed Saturday that Jones would be in line for an extended stay with Golden State's G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News reports. "He's going to spend a lot of time down there," Kerr said of Jones. "There's no point in him coming up here and sitting on the bench. He needs to play. I could see bringing him up every once in a while and giving him some playing time. If we had an injury or something. But for the most part, he needs to play. So he'll spend a lot of time there."

EDGE Analysis

The 6-foot-11 Jones was sidelined for a good portion of his rookie season with a foot injury and once healthy, he wasn't called upon much to contribute for a deep Warriors roster en route to the team's run to the NBA championship, appearing in just 10 regular-season contests. With second-round pick Jordan Bell making an impact right away off the bench and joining a loaded frontcourt rotation that includes Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia, Javale McGee and David West, there simply isn't room for Jones to pick up consistent minutes. As a result, the 2016 first-round pick will continue to hone his game with Santa Cruz, where he's remained since G League training camps opened. The center made quite the impression late last season with Santa Cruz, earning D-League Player of the Month honors in March and April while averaging 17.6 points and 7.8 boards in 12 games.