SEATTLE -- The development of Damian Jones is looking more and more like a very real thing, legitimate enough to have Warriors coach Steve Kerr grinning inside and general manager Bob Myers feeling at least touch of euphoria.

This is not to suggest that there will be a succession of All-Star games in Jones’ future. That’s too extravagant a thought.

But the third-year center is giving the Warriors reasons to believe he will be deserving of consistent playing time in the regular season, perhaps even be a starter for the defending champions and surely worth at least another year beyond this one.

That’s a long, twisted journey for a 7-footer whose 174 NBA minutes were spread out over two seasons.

“He’s worked a lot and sacrificed a lot to get here,” assistant coach Ron Adams says. “He spent a lot of time in the G-League. We’ve asked him to do a lot of different auxiliary things. I think he’s coming into his own. He’s getting comfortable. I can see his confidence growing each day.”

Jones has been something of a pet project for Adams, who has spent more one-on-one time with him than any other player or coach. There was debate within the coaching staff last season about whether Jones was prepared to inherit the “vertical spacer” role played by JaVale McGee, whose best asset was his ability to make an impact above the rim.

If indeed McGee had been traded in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline -- there were feelers -- Jones would have been summoned to force opponents to protect the paint against lob passes.

He may have been ready then. He surely looks ready now.

Jones made a play Friday night that isn’t seen every night or every week in the NBA -- and maybe not in a whole season of G-League ball. Leaping high and stretching well behind his back to snag an errant lob pass from Kevin Durant, Jones whipped the ball back over his head and banged it through the rim with the kind of force that suggests he has become well acquainted with the weight room.

“It was a bad pass,” Durant conceded.

“It just shows you a glimpse of what Damian is capable of,” Klay Thompson said. “I thought that was unreachable, thought it was a terrible pass. But he cocked that thing back and made it look so effortless. That’s what he’s going to give us all year, that floor spacing above the rim.

“I’m happy for Damian. He’s an animal out there.”

There still is plenty of room for growth, but he’s earning the kind of playing time that should only refine his skills. There are times when Jones seems to be a beat behind the rhythm of the game. And there are times when he towers above the floor.

It’s a mixed bag with Jones, as it was McGee. The difference is that McGee was a veteran with 10 years experience, whereas Jones turned 23 in June. He is in the embryonic stage of his career and knows the highs will come with some lows.

“Had to make up for that missed layup,” joked Jones, who bungled a layup two minutes earlier, joked about his spectacular jam.

That missed layup is the kind of thing that nags at the coaches and teammates. The word “consistency” invariably comes up whenever Kerr offers an assessment of Jones. His history is that flashes and fades with near equal frequency.

“When he missed that layup, I was thinking he should have gone ahead and dunked it,” Andre Iguodala said. “He can get so high over the rim, he should be able to dunk almost anything he gets his hands on.”

The entire Warriors bench leapt into the air when Jones jammed Durant’s lob. Even the coaching staff, as Kerr said he got jabbed by Mike Brown’s forearm as the associate head coach was celebrating.

“That was incredible,” Kerr said. “What made it so stunning was that it looked like the pass was going over his head, and Damian just reached up and snagged it out of nowhere. That was probably the play of the night.”

Though Kerr was pleased by what he saw, Myers, sitting courtside, had to be delighted and relieved. He has to decide by Oct. 15 whether to pick up the team option to guarantee Jones will be under contract in 2019-20.

The value of that extension is $2.3 million. It’s looking like a steal.