Asjha Jones leaves the Mystics to take front office position with the Trail Blazers

On Thursday, the Washington Mystics announced that assistant coach Asjha Jones will leave the team and become the Portland Trail Blazers NBA Team’s Director of Basketball Strategy.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Thibault said the following:

Asjha has been an important part of our success the past several years. While I am sad to see her leave on both a professional and personal level, I am excited for her and the opportunity in front of her in Portland,” said Thibault. “She will be a tremendous asset to the Trail Blazers organization. I have known Asjha since I first began coaching her in Connecticut in 2004 and she is one of the best all-around pros, on and off the court, that I have had the pleasure to be associated with. All of us here wish her well in her new job.

Jones was an assistant coach for the Mystics in the 2020 WNBA season after serving as a player development assistant in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Before Jones was a coach and player development assistant, she was a very good WNBA player in her own right.

Coincidentally, the Mystics drafted her in 2002 with the fourth overall pick in the draft where she spent two seasons, mostly as a backup before getting traded to the Connecticut Sun, the team Thibault coached from 2002-12. While with the Sun, Jones made the 2007 and 2009 All-Star Teams, and she won an Olympic Gold Medal with the USA Basketball women’s national team in 2012. Jones also won a WNBA championship with the Minnesota Lynx in 2015.

Congratulations Coach Jones on your newest position!