Tyus Jones Details Why He Chose The Phoenix Suns In Free Agency
![Tyus Jones Details Why He Chose The Phoenix Suns In Free Agency Tyus Jones Details Why He Chose The Phoenix Suns In Free Agency](https://i0.wp.com/imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/66aac31fe0d79feded9b2adb/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=2996,1684,x0,y88,safe&height=900&width=1600&fit=bounds&w=780&resize=780,470&ssl=1)
Washington Wizards’ Tyus Jones during the first half of an NBA basketball In-Season Tournament game … [+]
PHOENIX — One sentence reverberated through Footprint Center Wednesday afternoon when the Phoenix Suns introduced Tyus Jones, their latest free agency signing.
Clearly overjoyed to be with a Western Conference contender, Jones kept landing on the same thing.
“The fit was perfect.”
When a player routinely brings up his fit with certain teammates and lineup contexts, you know he’s given it plenty of thought.
Jones inked a one-year, $3 million deal with the Suns last week, all but finalizing the Suns’ successful summer of retooling the rotation. Despite Phoenix only having the financial means to execute smaller deals in free agency, they still managed to pull off a huge splash at the finish line.
Based on production and reputation, Jones signing for the minimum could be the biggest bargain in the league. His value as a starting point guard, which he revealed in a statement will be his role, fills a void for a team that needed to get quicker and more decisive in the halfcourt.
Jones explored other potential contracts and weighed his options on the open market. But in the end, too many arrows were pointing to Phoenix.
“It’s been an exciting time and I’m thrilled to be here,” Jones said. “I’m thrilled to be part of the organization. Feels like home already, feels like family. That was the biggest thing for me.”
After completing his two-year, $29 million contract this past season, Jones was searching the market for either a lucrative deal, or a chance to join a team with realistic championship aspirations.
However, one of the unintended consequences of the new CBA and second tax apron is the league’s ‘middle class’ getting squeezed out. Most teams are short on cap space with limited flexibility in what they can offer. The organizations with adequate room to dangle high-dollar contracts on the market are also facing bleak situations.
In other words, if free agent point guards were looking for a pay day in 2024, they would also say goodbye to their playoff hopes (Chris Paul is another example after he signed with the Spurs).
With the reality of this new landscape, Jones made the best choice for his career — and there’s still an avenue for him to cash out next summer. The closest he’s been to the NBA Finals is the second round of the 2022 playoffs with Memphis. Joining a star-studded lineup in the Valley, he’s hoping to change that.
“The opportunity to win,” Jones said regarding his decision to join the Suns. “I’m a competitor and I want to win. I want to compete and a chance to lead. So, the role that was offered here, it’s hard to pass up. Just from the conversations with Josh (Bart), James (Jones), Mat (Ishbia), and Coach Bud. They did a great job of recruiting me, but ultimately, the role for myself — I felt the fit was perfect.”
We’re entering strange times in the NBA. Jones is far too talented and important on the court to take a ‘prove it’ deal for the veteran minimum. But it’s hard to get all of your wishes granted in free agency. You’re going to see more players face the same dilemma in the future, ultimately choosing between playing time or the salary they’re worth.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – JANUARY 16: Tyus Jones #21 of the Memphis Grizzlies handles the ball during the … [+]
But, why Phoenix, exactly?
Jones had multiple discussions with the Suns’ brass and key decision-makers. He specifically mentioned head coach Mike Budenholzer as one of the biggest influencers, telling Jones he doesn’t need to come in and change anything about his style.
“Just being myself,” he said. “Talking with Coach Bud, how he envisions me kind of fitting in and being the orchestrator, being the playmaker. Trying to make it easier for KD, Book, Brad, and the rest of the guys honestly. Just facilitating and setting the table. Ultimately, just doing what I do — being a point guard and being a leader.”
This won’t be the first time Jones has played with dynamic scorers. The first part of his career was spent alongside Karl Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and even a brief stint with Jimmy Butler. He then had the chance to play with a younger squad, sharing the floor with rising stars Ja Morant and Desmond Bane.
So this isn’t his first rodeo. But even with 600-plus games of experience, he’s eager to join forces with Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant — easily the best scoring trio in the league with different scoring traits than he’s used to.
Every time the Suns’ big three was mentioned Wednesday, Jones lit up.
“From the outside looking in, you look at the roster and it’s stacked,” Jones said. “I feel like my game complements all of their games and skill-sets as well. I feel like the fit will be easy and I’m really looking forward to sharing the court with those guys.”
It will be the third separate occasion he’s played alongside Grayson Allen. They helped capture the 2015 NCAA championship with the Duke Blue Devils, only to spend two years together with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2019 to 2021.
According to Jones, the two are still close and Allen played a role in the recruiting process.
During his Memphis years, Jones became widely known as the most competent backup point guard in the league. He famously kept the Grizzlies afloat during Morant’s injuries and absences, ensuring their offense never missed a beat.
He knew he was capable of more, though. So when he was shipped to the Wizards in the three-team deal that landed Kristaps Porzingis with the Celtics, he viewed it as a chance to grow.
Jones finally got the opportunity to be a full-time starter in Washington. In his age-27 season, he averaged 14.7 points and 9.0 assists per 36 minutes — both career-highs. Additionally, his 53.7% efficiency on twos and 41.4% from deep were the highest marks of his career, which has spanned nearly a decade.
Many will point to Jones’ historical assist-to-turnover ratio as the greatest strength of his game, and rightly so. He only committed 66 turnovers in his 66 games last year, which seems like an impossible feat considering how dreadful the Wizards were on the court. It’s hard to be that careful with the ball in an offense that ranks 25th in scoring efficiency and only wins 18% of its games.
Only looking at his passing-related turnovers, Jones threw 485 assists with only 55 giveaways. That’s a ratio of 8.8 assists per bad-pass turnover, easily the highest in league history.
Jones also isn’t one of those point guards that only hunts assists. He ranked 13th in total passes per game, throwing roughly the same number as Trae Young and Luka Doncic despite averaging five fewer potential assists than those two. The point being: You don’t have to worry about Jones getting off the ball. He’ll always keep it moving.
What Budenholzer will really appreciate, though, is the fact he’ll have another skilled shooter on the court, especially when Jones is leading the bench unit.
Over the last two seasons, Jones is 64-of-171 on pull-up threes (37.4%). He’s also 162-of-408 when shooting off the catch (39.7%).
Not only are those very respectable marks for a smaller guard, but they also illustrate tangible growth in his shooting compared to the early years. Notice the increase in volume over the last few seasons, in both the pull-up and catch & shoot variety:
Tyus Jones’ pull-up and catch & shoot threes for his career
The removal of Grayson Allen from the starting lineup — if that’s what Budenholzer choose to do — would inherently decrease the Suns’ 3-point attempt rate. Allen started 74 games last season and took 6.4 threes per 36 minutes (that honestly should’ve been higher).
But if Jones is going to start, that’s the only logical answer. There are a plethora of reasons Beal will stay with that starting group, and it’s only right that Budenholzer gets his chance to figure out the offensive flow with the Big 3 on the floor.
Regarding the team’s shot profit, though, the facts are what they are: Phoenix needs to get up more threes and balance the math discrepancy it faced last year. The Suns ranked 18th in above-the-break 3-point frequency and 20th in corner frequency. They still managed to win 49 games and finish 10th in points per possession.
Now imagine if they leaned a little further into letting the ball fly.
When Jones was asked on Wednesday about the 3-point dilemma and his role to help in that department, he exuded optimism. In his mind, he’ll be able to increase the volume. Not only with his individual attempts, but also delivering Booker, Durant, and Beal a few more wide-open looks per game through his lane penetration and ball-screen attacks.
“It’s a little of both,” he said. “Generating my own, whether it’s out of pick-and-rolls or catch-and-shoots. But also (creating) them. Touching the paint for spray outs, pushing the pace, kick-aheads. Just moving the ball side to side. Second and third (actions) in a possession I think will be huge for us, just making the defense work. We got a lot of firepower and offensive weapons, so not letting the defense off the hook.”
Although he’s never been classified as a top-flight playmaker and doesn’t have elite shooting gravity to routinely draw extra defenders, Jones has the quickness and brilliant processing speed to create advantages on the floor. Plus, his best attribute might be adapting to what the current situation calls for. It doesn’t matter the team context — Jones will find a quality shot for someone in the halfcourt.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 17: Tyus Jones #5 of the Washington Wizards attempts a layup during the … [+]
How will they balance a loaded backcourt?
One could argue the Suns might have leaned too far in the other direction, prioritizing guard play over the chance to add a bigger, physical defender on the wing. After all, that is one area they’ll need reinforcements for during the regular season. Nearly every Western Conference contender employs a high-volume scorer or expert playmaker that Booker or Beal might be too small to guard.
What’s clear is that Phoenix will be putting a lot of pressure on Durant and Royce O’Neale to handle most of those duties.
Can they do it? Absolutely. But is it the greatest plan in the world? Time will only tell, and that will obviously be the biggest area of need if the Suns get off to a slow defensive start next season.
Jones isn’t concerned about the team leaning into a guard-heavy approach. Despite being undersized in a lot of matchups, he’s banking on the positives vastly outweighing the points they might concede.
“If you look at how the league is trending, teams are playing smaller and faster,” he said. “Scoring is at an all-time high. Three-point shooting is at an all-time high. So I think the fit is there, and I think it’ll work. I look to continue those trends. We want to play faster and continue scoring at a high rate. And we want to be an efficient team.”
Look — he’s not wrong.
The Suns’ path to becoming a top-tier championship threat has been evident and transparent from the day Mat Ishbia traded for Durant. They must announce themselves on the short list of most explosive offenses in the league while being (at least) passable defensively.
That’s the blueprint. Last year, the offense wasn’t quite good enough. They are hoping Jones’ expertise and Budenholzer’s guidance can boost it to the appropriate level.
Perhaps giving the Booker-Durant-Beal trio some clarity on their roles will help. All Jones is worried about is taking a few responsibilities away from them to preserve their energy.
“I know they have a lot on their plate when it comes to scoring the ball, leading, and showing up every night,” he said. “Last year, I know Book and Brad had to do a lot of playing (point), orchestrating the offense. The fact is they can do that, but what they really do is put the ball in the basket. So, I know it’s up to me to put them in the right spots. Put KD in the right spots, put Book in the right spots, put Brad in the right spots. They’re ultimately going to make my job very easy,” Jones said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
There are still nine weeks until training camps officially begin and 12 weeks until the season opener. But don’t tell him that. He wants to get integrated as soon as possible.
“I’m ready for the season to be here already,” Jones said. “I know we got some time. But I just want to hoop. I want to hoop, I want to get out there with the guys, build our camaraderie and build our chemistry.”
With a new coach, better rotational pieces, and a fresh perspective, the Suns are prepared for another season of sky-high expectations
“Ultimately, we’re competing for a championship,” he added. “That’s our end goal. That’s why everyone is here. That’s why you play the game.”
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