James Jones is a native Floridian who grew up their, played college in his homestate (for the University of Miami), and now he'll be playing for his favorite NBA team, the Miami Heat. The Heat and Jones have agreed to a five year deal worth up to 23 million dollars which allows the native Floridian to reurn home, despite having other offers from teams like Detroit. "For me, it's like coming full circle," Jones said. "I'm from the city. I spend all my time here and when the Heat hurt, even when I'm on another team, I still feel that pain. ... So for me, the interest from my hometown team superseded and outweighed all the other positives and pluses of the different cities, especially Detroit, that were looking for my services." Jones shot a career high 44 percent from 3 point land this year for Portland, and knows that he'll be counted on in Miami's offense which hasn't had a 3-point specalist since Jason Kapono left for Toronto in 2006. "If that means coming off the bench, if that means starting, if that means taking 10 shots, if that means taking one shot, for me, it's about being efficient and winning games," Jones said. "Coming here, I don't have any expectations about what position or which role I'll play. All I'm looking for is the opportunity to compete." In Jones's NBA career he has played with Portland, Phoenix, and Indiana. Even with this deal, the Heat still can have the most cap room for the summer of 2010 when free agents like Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Deron Williams, and even one of the Heat's own Dwayne Wade are avalaible
PROJECTED 2008-2009 MIAMI HEAT LINEUP
C: Mark Blount
PF: Michael Beasley
SF: Shawn Marion
SG: Dwayne Wade
PG: Jason Williams
BENCH:
Udonis Haslem
Mario Chalmers
Daequan Cook
Marcus Banks
Stephane Lasme
James Jones
Alexander Johnson
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