Agent 'disappointed' to see KJ go undrafted

Heading into Thursday night, Kevin Jones and his agent, Bill Neff, were pretty confident that the West Virginia forward would hear his name called out at some point during the NBA draft, they would just have to wait and see where he landed.

After the two-round draft was completed, the Mount Vernon, N.Y., native found himself on the outside looking in, and will now have to find his way into the NBA as an undrafted free agent.

On June 22, Neff told Adam Zagoria that a team had committed to drafting Jones in the first round or early part of the second round.

"I'm disappointed in the team that told us they were going to draft him," Neff told The Daily Athenaeum following the draft.

"It happens though, it's the NBA. Their word doesn't always mean a whole lot, so Kevin just has to pick himself up and keep working."

Neff said he was confident things were going to work out the way they had thought until around midway through the second round when Jones still had yet to be taken.

"It was a concern once we passed a certain point when that team had opportunities to draft him and didn't," Neff said. "I got the sense that people didn't really appreciate what he's about. They don't realize how incredibly efficient and productive that he is.

"These teams make a lot of mistakes and (Jones) has to assume that they made a mistake and have a chip on his shoulder and prove them wrong."

Now, Jones and Neff will be entering the free agency process, looking for a team that will be the right fit for the 6-foot-7 forward.

Shortly after the draft, Neff was contacted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he said he expected up to 10 more teams to be in touch with him by tomorrow.

"At the end of the day, he's going to have to go out and beat somebody out to make a team — and I'm confident Kevin can do that," Neff said. "Winning and guys who are winners don't matter to them as much as it should.

"Kevin's just going to have to show teams that he's a monster, and he's done it before when people don't think he can do it."