The Golden State Warriors had been tracking Lajae Jones closely these last two seasons. With a goal of landing positional size, Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. grabbed Michigan star forward Yaxel Lendeborg with the team’s lottery pick. But then the Warriors pursued a big guard in Jones in the second round.
Dunleavy Jr. mentioned close relationships with St. Bonaventure GM Adrian Wojnarowski and FSU coach Luke Loucks in the pre-draft process. Jones played for the Bonnies in 2024-25 before his transfer to FSU.
“He’s another versatile player that we followed the last few years,” Dunleavy Jr. said on Friday. “We have pretty good intel and relationships with the schools he’s been at, St. Bonaventure with Woj, a former writer and a guy who covered the NBA, and then at Florida State with Luke Loucks, a former assistant coach here.
“Talking with those guys, they were extremely high on him. We watched him a ton. Specifically for me, a guy who made a lot of 3s against Duke. He almost took us down in the ACC Tournament. Thank you for not doing that but impressive performance.”
Jones had some big nights for FSU, dropping 36 points (on 10 of 21 shooting from long range) in a win over Georgia Southern in November. But he also shot 8 for 15 from the floor, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, as he had 28 points in FSU’s narrow 80-79 loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament. That was a memorable night for Jones as well as Dunleavy Jr., a Duke graduate.
The 6-foot-7 Jones averaged 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds for FSU as a senior. He knows what to expect in Golden State.
“Be in shape,” Jones said. “Play fast. And knock down 3s.”
Jones credited Loucks for running an NBA style at FSU on offense, helping him prepare for pre-draft workouts. He humbly said it’s his job to make it as easy as possible for veteran players and do what he can to find minutes on the Warriors.
“I would say I’m very versatile on offense and defense,” said Jones, who is viewed as a bigger guard. “Be able to play 2-4, sometimes like a facilitator on offense. My most underrated part of my game is passing.”
Jones will wear No. 25 in Golden State. And his pro basketball career will begin next week with the Warriors’ summer league team.
"Let’s goooooo!!!! So happy for @JonesLajae," Loucks posted on Twitter/X. "He put in the work - just the beginning of his career. Always bet on competitors that are good people. @warriors got a good one!!!"
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