“Sign him!!! He’s a rare talent” - Mavericks fans hyped amid reports of Derrick Jones Jr. wanting to re-sign after breakout season

The Dallas Mavericks made arguably the offseason's savviest under-the-radar move, signing forward Derrick Jones Jr. to a short-term bargain contract. Amid the 27-year-old's breakout playoff run, a report surfaced that he would like to remain in Dallas long-term, leaving Mavericks fans ecstatic.

Dallas inked Jones to a one-year, $2.7 million deal in August, the type of contract typically reserved for end-of-rotation players. However, he has become one of the Mavericks' most crucial players.

Jones started in a career-high 66 of 76 regular-season games, providing Dallas with much-needed athleticism and defensive versatility around stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The eight-year veteran averaged a career-best 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game on 48.3% shooting.

Jones' success has since translated to the playoffs, with him starting all 11 of the Mavericks' contests thus far. He is averaging a postseason career-high 9.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 1.5 bpg, shooting 49.4%. Meanwhile, Dallas is one win away from the Western Conference finals, leading its second-round series against the OKC Thunder 3-2.

Per Jones' agent, Aaron Turner, who recently spoke with The Athletic, "he wants to be back" with the Mavericks. Turner added that as long as "Dallas can meet them at a price that makes sense for both sides," Jones plans on re-signing.

Mavericks fans on X/Twitter had overwhelmingly positive reactions to the news, citing Jones' importance to Dallas' playoff success.

"Sign him!!! He’s a rare talent," @DrewV2323 said.

"I don’t want him back, I NEED him back," @Malwxre said.

"Key player. Re-sign him without a doubt," @raulramoss_ said.

"We need him. He's the reason we score in transition," @ClutchNBA_ said.

"Should re-sign him for sure. Everybody should come back, LOL. Unless you can get a third star player," @FreddyFrmTX said.

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WATCH: Derrick Jones Jr. caps off Luka Doncic’s alley-oop with unreal one-handed jam

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Derrick Jones Jr. sets postseason scoring career-high for second consecutive outing, locks down Thunder in Game 5 win

Derrick Jones Jr. has made a substantial defensive impact in the playoffs, regularly taking on the toughest defensive assignments. However, he's also experienced a scoring surge the past two games, setting his postseason scoring career-high in back-to-back outings.

Jones tallied 17 points on 7-for-12 (58.3%) shooting in the Mavericks' 100-96 Game 4 loss to OKC. He followed that up with a 19-point performance on 7-for-9 (77.8%) shooting during Wednesday's 104-92 Game 5 victory.

Meanwhile, per NBA on ESPN, Thunder players shot 0-for-8 (0.0%) with Jones as their primary defender in Game 5.

It remains to be seen if Derrick Jones Jr. and Dallas will prevail against OKC and advance to the conference finals. Regardless, Jones' standout two-way playoff production will likely earn him a substantial pay raise this offseason.

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