The Phoenix Suns had made some efforts to address their need at point guard before landing Tyus Jones.
They signed veteran free agent Monte Morris and added Collin Gillespie on a two-way deal this summer, but signing Jones to a one-year deal for $3.3 million gives them a true point guard coming off a career year with the Washington Wizards. Jones has a high assist/turnover ratio, can shoot the 3 and has been a key part of playoff teams.
Sources confirmed the addition Saturday to The Arizona Republic. ESPN first reported the signing. This after the Suns added former Wizards assistant James Posey to Mike Budenholzer's coaching staff earlier this week.
Jones, 28, averaged 12 points on 48.9% shooting, 7.3 assists to just one turnover in 66 games, all starts, and knocked down a career-best 41.4% of his 3s for the Wizards last season in his ninth season out of Duke.
He’s an NBA starting point guard, something the Suns didn’t have – but needed – last season. As one source told The Republic, the 6-1, 196-pound Jones has great decision-making, ball security and vision.
Considering the Suns ranked 25th in turnovers and were the worst fourth-quarter team in the NBA last season, they need someone who can protect the ball and get them in their offense late in close games.
This move alone makes them a 50-win team that can challenge the West’s top four of Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Dallas and Denver. The Suns have shown interest in Jones over the years, but this move also brings questions.
First one: Can Jones start for a team that has Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal?
Based on what new Suns coach Mike Budenholzer told Jones in an ESPN report, yes.
What the Suns look like if Jones starts
“Coach showed me how I can significantly impact a team that has a real opportunity to challenge for an NBA title as their starting point guard,” Jones said in an ESPN tweet.
If Jones starts, that puts Beal at shooting guard, Booker at small forward, Durant at power forward and Jusuf Nurkic at the five. The NBA has become positionless, but that’s a small backcourt with Booker, a natural two, having to guard bigger guys at the three.
There is no true lockdown perimeter defender in that starting unit, either, making Durant once again the team's best starting defender – at age 36 by the time the 2024-25 season begins.
Offensively, it could be special with Jones setting up guys for shots, and Booker, Durant or Beal not having to create all the time. Budenholzer is an offensive coach. It could definitely work on that end.
Defense is the concern, a major concern.
Teams switch on defense, but teams also hunt matchups.
The Suns can’t have major leaks with their perimeter defense, especially with Nurkic, who is not a shot blocker or rim protector, manning the middle.
Jones is familiar with starting in a three-guard look for a playoff team.
Jones' experience in a similar role
When the Memphis Grizzlies lost Ja Morant to injury in the 2022 Western Conference semifinals against eventual NBA champion Golden State, they started Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane and Jones.
NBA.com has Brooks listed at 6-6 and Bane at 6-5.
The Suns have Booker listed at 6-4, Beal at 6-3 and Jones at 6-1. They’re a little smaller than Brooks and Bane and neither has Brooks’ maniac mentality to guard the opposing team’s top perimeter offensive player.
The Grizzlies also had Jaren Jackson Jr., who won NBA Defensive Player of the Year the following 2022-23 season, at the four, and Steven Adams, a human wall, at the five.
That’s why starting Royce O’Neale sounds ideal; he’s a proven defender who is 6-6.
This leads to a second question.
Say the Suns start Jones and O’Neale. How would it look bringing Beal off the bench when he’s in the middle of a five-year, $251-million contract he signed with the Wizards?
Mull that thought over for a minute or two.
The first step would be convincing Beal this is the best move for the team. The Suns can show him how Jamal Crawford was a bucket getter who became a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner.
Having Beal matched up against second units in full scoring mode is like Bobby Portis coming off the bench for the Bucks when Budenholzer was in Milwaukee.
What Beal could bring from the bench
The one difference? Beal is a more proven scorer who is coming off a career year shooting the ball from 3 at 43%. Playing with a true point guard in Jones or Morris with Booker and Durant on the floor could give Beal so many wide-open looks to cook even hotter from distance this season.
That worked out well for Portis and the Bucks -- like winning the 2021 NBA championship well.
Picture this second unit: Mason Plumlee, Bol Bol, Morris, Beal and Allen. Jones and Allen won a national championship together at Duke in the 2014-15 season as freshmen.
The Suns would have a floor general in Morris, who has chemistry with Plumlee from their days in Denver, Beal at shooting guard, Allen spacing the floor from 3 and Bol Bol, the talented wild card.
The Suns tried to stagger the rotation last season under Frank Vogel and have at least one of the Big 3 on the floor, if not two. Budenholzer will likely follow that same script to an extent, but having a true second unit is helpful.
Whatever the Suns decide with their starters and rotation, signing Jones shows they’re clearly not trying to relive last season without a true point guard.
They tried to share the facilitator duties, but the Suns were turnover-prone and horrid in the fourth quarter even with Booker, Durant and Beal.
Beal tried to man the position during the second half of the season. He played well in that role at times, but struggled, too, in his first season in Phoenix. Beal committed five of his six turnovers in the fourth quarter in an elimination Game 4 loss to Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs.
The Suns could land Jones only on a veteran minimum deal because they are over the second tax apron. This is an opportunity for Jones to have a big year now with hopes of getting paid the next season.
This is the Suns formula for offsetting their roster restraints.
Jones' motivation to play in Phoenix
They’re selling guys on the idea of playing with great players like Booker and Durant, on joining a team with championship expectations and on the opportunity for a greater financial reward later -- even if it’s with another team.
This gives Jones multiple motivations to produce. This move further shows team owner Mat Ishbia is constantly looking to improve the team. The Suns now have 16 players on their standard roster.
They must have it down to 15 right before the start of the regular season, but it looks like E.J. Liddell would be the odd man out. Phoenix traded David Roddy to Atlanta to acquire Liddell.
Have opinions about the current state of theSuns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin atdmrankin@gannett.comor contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at@DuaneRankin.
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