Thank you for your service, Trey McKinney-Jones

After being signed by the Indiana Pacers to a 10-day contract, Trey McKinney-Jones only played for one total minute. Let’s pay tribute to his time in Indiana.

Here at 8 Points 9 Seconds, we try to cover the Indiana Pacers from every angle. We strive to have all the stories, news, highlights, and player analysis you could ask for. Every player gets looked at and broken down over the course of the season at least once. Trey McKinney-Jones is no exception.

McKinney-Jones was signed to a 10-day contract in late February. The Pacers brought him in to observe what he could do in the pros and add some injury assurance while Darren Collison sat on the shelf with an injury. McKinney-Jones had 10 days to fill that role.

He barely got a chance. He played one minute and 14 seconds in garbage time at the end of a blowout victory over the Atlanta Hawks on February 23rd and was never used again. Thankfully, he got his moment and got to share it with everyone on Twitter:

So, as discussed, we at 8 Points 9 Seconds would like to do justice to every Pacers player and break down Trey McKinney-Jones 1:14 of playing time. The biggest challenge is that he didn’t get a chance to do much…

He didn’t put a single stat on the board. A bunch of zeros. The Pacers didn’t outscore the Hawks over that time frame, but they didn’t get outscored either, with the 74 second period finishing with a score of four to four. The Hawks did get one layup and two free throws in the net during the timeframe, but none of them was TMJs “fault”.

All of these factors make giving McKinney-Jones the proper breakdown somewhat challenging. The Pacers had two offensive possessions. On one trip down the floor with the ball, TMJ was stuck in the corner while Joe Young zipped off of a screen and missed a runner in the lane.

But the other possession, an Alex Poythress layup, McKinney-Jones made his presence felt! He was in the corner and the pick-and-roll was run on his side of the floor. When Poythress got the ball in the post, TMJ cleared out to the wing to pull the help defense away from the paint. Then, when Poythress gathered the ball after a fumble, Trey McKinney-Jones cut to the rim to keep his defender drawn to him and prevent his man from helping. It worked! Poythress got a rare basket, and McKinney-Jones was a helpful part of it:

On the defensive end, we didn’t get to see anything. Like, at all. One Hawks possession, Isaiah Taylor blew right by Joe Young for a layup. On the other, TJ Leaf fouled Mike Muscala. We didn’t get to see any of what McKinney-Jones could bring on that end.

And just as quickly as it began, his time in a Pacers uniform was over. He rode the bench the rest of his games, watching as Joe Young got a chance to show what he can bring. But he did get to play for over a minute in the NBA, and he did impact a successful possession.

Next: Turner and the Indiana Pacers survive Philadelphia, hold on to 3rd in the East

The timing of the Trevor Booker signing was such that McKinney-Jones was not brought back on another deal. But his time as a Pacer should not be forgotten. He was injury assurance and his dream of playing in the NBA came true. Thank you for your service, Trey McKinney-Jones.