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‘THREE!’ chronicles the Warriors run to the 2018 NBA Championship.

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SACRAMENTO – The memory still sticks with Damian Jones, as he reflected on the anxiety he felt nearly two years ago.

He had torn a pectoral muscle, while bench pressing 185 pounds during a pre-draft workout with the Orlando Magic. So with Jones needing surgery to treat his injury, countless scenarios ran through his head on what that meant for his NBA future.

“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen,” Jones said in an interview with The Bay Area News Group. “I wanted to see how the draft played out, pretty much. I was just hoping for the best.”

Therefore, Jones said he felt “mainly relief” when the Warriors still selected him with the No. 30 pick in the 2016 NBA draft after starting for three seasons at Vanderbilt. Jones sensed the Warriors did not have as much concern with his injury since they already had frontcourt depth. Yet, it also revealed the Warriors’ intrigue and optimism that the 7-foot, 245 pound Jones could blossom into a center capable of nearly doing everything. To subscribe to the Planet Dubs podcast click here.

Jones has since mostly spent his first two seasons with the Warriors’ D-League/G-League affiliate. Yet, the Warriors will enter the 2018-19 season with plans to see if their investment will yield any return.

The Warriors acquired All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins with their taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.3 million), but he might not return right away since he has spent the past five months rehabbing a left Achilles tendon injury. Veteran center JaVale McGee joined the Los Angeles Lakers on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal after the Warriors’ expressive interest did not translate into an offer to begin free agency. And the Warriors guaranteed the one year left on Jones’ contract because they believe he will bring some on-court results.

“I put in a lot of work this offseason. I feel like I’m ready,” Jones said. “I’ve been working hard these past two years to fulfill this role.”

Jones did not showcase how in the Warriors’ 77-71 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday in the finale of the inaugural California Classic. The Warriors sat both Jones and second-year forward Jordan Bell for rest purposes. Both are expected to return, though, when Las Vegas Summer League play begins with games on Friday (Los Angeles Clippers), Sunday (Houston) and Monday (Dallas).

Through the Warriors’ first two summer-league games, though, Jones showed varying snapshots both good and bad. After scoring 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting against Miami, James had only six points on 3-of-11 shooting against Sacramento. He remained consistent as a rebounder (six vs. Miami; eight vs. Sacramento), dependable as a playmaker (three assists vs. Sacramento) and troubled with foul trouble (eight vs. Miami, three vs. Sacramento).

Still, the Warriors mostly like what they see.

“I’ve been impressed with his aggressiveness and his attention to detail,” said Warriors assistant coach Willie Green, the team’s summer-league head coach. “He’s going out every game and his intention is to, No. 1, be a good defender and he’s running the floor hard. He’s just making the right play.”

Therefore, Green has seen Jones “making tremendous steps” in fulfilling the same role McGee provided last summer as a screen setter, rebounder, rim protector and perimeter defender. Green predicted “it’s going to be a big summer” for Jones.

What will make Jones’ summer big?

He has spent the past two years improving his focus, decision making, rebounding, screen setting and conditioning. The Warriors are enamored with his physique that enables him both to establish himself as a post player, mid-range shooter and defender. Jones has watched film with the Warriors’ previous frontcourt players, including McGee, Zaza Pachulia and David West. Whether the Warriors start Cousins or primarily feature him off the bench, Jones outlined his readiness to play minutes as a starter and reserve.

“He’s good to have on the team,” Jones said of Cousins. “I’ll do whatever they ask of me. That’s all I can do. It should be cool.”

Jones did not usually have such opportunities.

He made only 10 appearances in a combined 85 minutes during his rookie season, while averaging 11.3 points on 58 percent shooting, 7.2 rebounds for Santa Cruz. He also only appeared in 15 games last season, but Jones increased his production in Santa Cruz (15.0 points on 50 percent shooting, 8.1 rebounds and 2.15 blocks). With the Warriors sitting injured players toward the end of the regular season to prepare for the playoffs, Jones then logged a career-high eight points in a career-high 14 minutes on April 3 against Oklahoma City.

Afterwards, the Warriors gave Jones a standing ovation in the locker room.

“I didn’t have anything to lose. I wasn’t playing before, anyway,” Jones said of his game against the Thunder. “So I was going out there to play basketball. I went out there and was ready to play.”

He became ready to play partly because he kept perspective on his scant playing time. Jones had experienced much worse.

He grew up in Baton Rouge, LA, where Hurricane Katrina knocked out power in his area and closed his school for about two weeks. Though he attended a high school that lacked enough resources (Scotlandville Magnet), Jones valued the experience teaching him how to make the most of his circumstances. He majored in engineering science and minored in engineering management at Vanderbilt.

Jones also saw his other frontcourt teammates often sitting because of Kerr’s fluid rotation, which he has done to build team depth and chase matchups.

“Even with guys on the team with playing time, sometimes they’re playing and sometimes they’re not. They deal with it, so why can’t I?” Jones said. “Opportunity will come so I just got to prepare for it whenever the time comes.”

That moment has nearly arrived.

“I felt he could’ve filled it last year. But I think we were so deep with some of the vets in front of him,” Bell said. “Now that JaVale is with the Lakers, Damian can step into a larger role.”

The Warriors will soon find out.

“We’re putting some hope and faith that DJ can get it done,” Green said. “I believe he can.”

Follow Bay Area News Group Warriors beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.