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OAKLAND – Warriors’ assistant coach Mike Brown went down to Santa Cruz on Saturday to watch Damian Jones play. Jones didn’t disappoint, finishing with 20 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.

On Sunday the Warriors recalled Jones from their G-League affiliate, giving Jones his first potential stint with the defending champions this season.

“We’re really happy with his development,” Steve Kerr said Sunday.

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Jones was selected by the Warriors as the 30th overall pick in the 2016 draft. The 7-foot, 245-pound center, has not played for the Warriors yet this season. But with injuries to Zaza Pachulia (sore left shoulder) and Draymond Green (sore right shoulder), the team needed some help down low.

Kerr said Jones has a lot of upside — and a lot to learn.

“We’re trying to impress upon him the importance of rebounding and chasing after every ball,” Kerr said. “He’s a guy who has the ability to really be dominant physically. He needs to put his mind to trying to rebound outside of his area, not just waiting for the ball to come to him — but chasing it down.”

Jones has started in 19 games for Santa Cruz this season, averaging 16.6 points on a league-high 70.2 percent shooting, 8.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 blocked shots over 31 minutes a game.

“I love that he’s been playing night in and night out, it’s so important for a young guy to play,” Kerr said. “And obviously he wouldn’t get a whole lot of playing time with us right now. All in all, it’s a really good use of the G-League.”

Kerr said that Jones has handled his time in the G-League this season with maturity. Related Articles Steve Kerr says Breonna Taylor ruling is ‘demoralizing’ as Warriors open minicamp

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“He’s handled it really well,” Kerr said. “He’s such a quiet guy, he doesn’t say a whole lot. It can’t be easy to be gone from the main group so often, but he understands. We talked to him about it. The most important thing is for him to play and gain experience.”

Kerr said he recently had a chat with Jones, explaining to him that just because he’s spending time in Santa Cruz, doesn’t mean he can’t turn into a strong and valuable NBA player.