CHICAGO _ LeBron James has made it clear James Jones has a place on his team as long as he wants to keep playing. Jones has now decided when that will be.
Jones told the Beacon Journal he will retire after next season, which will be his 15th in the NBA. His ultimate dream is to ride off after three consecutive championships in Cleveland, he said Friday before the Cavaliers played the Chicago Bulls, although clearly there is a lot of work to do before that happens.
"I know playing 15 years is a number where I can look back and I can be like, 'I accomplished something,' " Jones said. "Fourteen vs. 15 may not be much, but to be able to say I played 15 years, that's enough for me to hang 'em up."
Jones, who turned 36 in October, began giving serious thought to retirement last summer after the Cavs' championship, which was the third of his career.
"After winning it last summer, I felt great. I can continue to play, I love the game a lot. But at some point, you have to know," he said. "And watching guys who continue to play this game at a high level near the end of their careers, I just wanted to make sure when I did go out I knew when I was going out, so I don't have to leave anything in the tank. And if I didn't have enough left in the tank to get there, it'd make it easy for me before that time comes to hang it up."
Jones is perhaps the most respected veteran in the Cavs' locker room for the way he carries himself and prepares himself every night despite limited minutes. He has appeared in 10 of the first 17 games, but totaled just 50 minutes entering Friday.
This is his fifth team in his 14 years and he entered Friday's game at Chicago with 753 career 3-pointers, a 3-point shootout title at All-Star weekend and, most important, three championship rings.
Planning a retirement party that's 18 months away leaves plenty of time to change his mind, and Jones acknowledges that's always possible,
"This is what I'm thinking today," Jones said. "This is my thought right now. This is my plan."
