Suns News: Offseason

[ShelC]

[Superbone]

I just got a tremble from the universe as I could just feel Saucy shedding a tear.

[specialsauce]

I just got a tremble from the universe as I could just feel Saucy shedding a tear.

Lollll that was the most Kelly Oubre goodbye ever.

[Superbone]

The Arizona Republic | Page B01 Sunday, 22 November 2020
How James Jones turned the Suns into contenders

Greg Moore

Columnist Arizona Republic USA TODAY NETWORK

Here’s how this could go: “Man, would you look at James Jones?! When he first took over as Suns general manager, skeptics were questioning his experience. And now? He was in the front office for the Deandre Ayton-Mikal Bridges draft. He took Cam Johnson when everybody said he was crazy to pick the guy that high. And he traded an angry and unproductive Trevor Ariza for an ambitious and talented Kelly Oubre, then traded Oubre for ONE OF THE GREATEST GUARDS IN NBA HISTORY! And he just drafted a guy who should fit the team perfectly. Forget ‘executive of the year,’ I want James Jones for president!”

But since we’re talking about James Jones, a man whose idea of excitement is probably something like doing a crossword puzzle without a dictionary, here’s how it should go: “It’s OK if you’ve never heard of Jalen Smith, the relative anonymity of the Suns’ 2020 first-round draft pick is the latest evidence that Suns GM James Jones knows exactly what he’s doing. Jones, in just his second season calling the shots, has transformed the Suns from a lottery-bound joke into a serious playoff contender. He did it despite criticism from national pundits over his personnel decisions. But by taking a long-term approach and resisting temptation to take wild risks, Jones has outlasted his detractors and assembled a Big Three of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul to lead a core of scrappy, defensiveminded, 3-point specialists.”

There’s a good chance Jones has another move or two he can make before the NBA season starts next month.

But it’s worth pausing to appreciate what Jones, a man whose idea of cutting loose is probably wearing short sleeves on a hot day, has done to transform the Suns.


'Raising the floor'

When Ryan McDonough was fired in October 2018, Phoenix had a struggling head coach in Igor Kokoskov and a cast of players whose skills and personalities were a bad mix. Some were young. Some were one-dimensional. Nobody was happy.

The team’s veterans, Ariza and Tyson Chandler, weren’t at a point in their careers where they could be expected to both mentor and produce, and it limited their effectiveness as leaders.

Jones waived Chandler and shipped Ariza to Washington for Oubre.

There were other moves, including adding Jamal Crawford and waiving guys who didn’t fit, but Jones mostly stood pat.

Then in the off-season, the fun started.

He fired Kokoskov after one of the worst seasons imaginable and replaced him with Monty Williams, who was highly coveted and considered a contender for the Lakers job. Jones let Dragan Bender leave in free agency. He shipped out Josh Jackson, De’Anthony Melton and TJ Warren, adding only Jevon Carter in return.

And just like that, much of the roster Jones inherited was gone.

He now had a young core of Devin Booker, Ayton, Bridges and Johnson. And he started adding veteran role players, such as point guard Ricky Rubio, center Aron Baynes and stretchfours Frank Kaminsky and Dario Saric.

Jones called it “raising the floor,” but he was establishing the kind of culture and identity he wanted his franchise to embody.

When this group was healthy, it was competitive, which was saying a lot for a franchise that hadn’t been to the playoffs in about a decade.

Then Jones added Cameron Payne to back up Rubio, and when the Suns got to the NBA’s Disney Bubble they went undefeated.

It created an environment that could attract a player like Chris Paul, a 10time all-star who was second team All-NBA last season.

'I wake up ... and start cleaning'

Paul will be the best teammate Booker has ever played with and the most talented guard in Phoenix since Steve Nash.

Meanwhile, the new rookie, Smith, won’t have to carry the pressure of expectation that crushed so many previous Suns lottery picks.

All he’ll need to do is defend, rebound, run the floor and knock down open jumpers.

Jones added a bunch of guys in his own image.

Self-motivated. Disciplined. Team oriented. Winners. Consider what Smith said in a hype video on draft night: “Due to my father being a Naval officer … sometimes he would have to go off to sea, so sometimes we wouldn’t see him for, like, months. It was tough, but he was always on the phone with us, making sure that we kept our grades up, making sure I was taking care of my mother and sister. Even though he wasn’t there, he made sure he was a part of our lives. He kept a strict rule in the household: Wake up in the morning, everything is neat, everything is clean around the house. Now that I’m on my own, I wake up every morning on the weekends and start cleaning. It’s something that naturally happens.”

James Jones, a guy whose idea of getting crazy might involve wearing a “left” sock on his right foot, drafted a guy whose idea of a fun weekend includes cleaning his room. Here’s how this could go: “I can’t wait for the season to start! The Suns deserve a Christmas Day game!”

But since it’s about James Jones, a man so patient he could paint a mural one stroke a day, here’s how it should go: “I can’t wait for this season to start! If the Suns keep rising, maybe next year they’ll host a Christmas Day game!”

[Indy]

I think you need to at least make the playoffs or acquire a top 5 player before you can call yourself a contender.

[Nodack]

James Jones IMO has done an excellent job. I give him an A.

[AmareIsGod]

James Jones IMO has done an excellent job. I give him an A.

Same.

[Indy]

I would too. But in comparison to McD, we would give nearly anyone an A. Looking at him compared to GMs across the, he is probably in the solid B range.

[AmareIsGod]

What is 'scrimmage Bridges?'

the way he played in the bubble when the games didnt count. he was so much more aggressive and scoring, to go along with his usual above average defense. Exactly what we keep saying we expect him to turn into.

When the games didn't count? You mean, the bubble where we had to win every single game and did? Yeah, that was pretty low pressure full of games that didn't count. Just because Portland pulled off the win at the last second of their game and we didn't ultimately make the playoffs doesn't mean it was meaningless, non pressure filled basketball that didn't count.

[Indy]

What is 'scrimmage Bridges?'

the way he played in the bubble when the games didnt count. he was so much more aggressive and scoring, to go along with his usual above average defense. Exactly what we keep saying we expect him to turn into.

When the games didn't count? You mean, the bubble where we had to win every single game and did? Yeah, that was pretty low pressure full of games that didn't count. Just because Portland pulled off the win at the last second of their game and we didn't ultimately make the playoffs doesn't mean it was meaningless, non pressure filled basketball that didn't count.

Uh, no. The scrimmage games. The ones that didn't count towards your record and were basically pre-season #2.

[Cap]

I think you need to at least make the playoffs or acquire a top 5 player before you can call yourself a contender.

Vegas odds from https://www.vegasinsider.com/nba/odds/futures/

Lakers 7-2
Bucks 5-1
Clippers 11-2
Nets 6-1
Celtics 13-1
Heat 15-1

Everybody else at 20-1 or more.

Suns at 40-1, which I consider “non-contender.”

[AmareIsGod]

What is 'scrimmage Bridges?'

the way he played in the bubble when the games didnt count. he was so much more aggressive and scoring, to go along with his usual above average defense. Exactly what we keep saying we expect him to turn into.

When the games didn't count? You mean, the bubble where we had to win every single game and did? Yeah, that was pretty low pressure full of games that didn't count. Just because Portland pulled off the win at the last second of their game and we didn't ultimately make the playoffs doesn't mean it was meaningless, non pressure filled basketball that didn't count.

Uh, no. The scrimmage games. The ones that didn't count towards your record and were basically pre-season #2.

The bubble was scrimmage games? TF kind of logic is that? It was an opportunity for us to possibly make the playoffs if we won every game. He played well. In no way was that scrimmage games. Come on Indy. You seriously are going to call the bubble a preseason #2 scrimmage level environment?

[Indy]

What is 'scrimmage Bridges?'

the way he played in the bubble when the games didnt count. he was so much more aggressive and scoring, to go along with his usual above average defense. Exactly what we keep saying we expect him to turn into.

When the games didn't count? You mean, the bubble where we had to win every single game and did? Yeah, that was pretty low pressure full of games that didn't count. Just because Portland pulled off the win at the last second of their game and we didn't ultimately make the playoffs doesn't mean it was meaningless, non pressure filled basketball that didn't count.

Uh, no. The scrimmage games. The ones that didn't count towards your record and were basically pre-season #2.

The bubble was scrimmage games? TF kind of logic is that? It was an opportunity for us to possibly make the playoffs if we won every game. He played well. In no way was that scrimmage games. Come on Indy. You seriously are going to call the bubble a preseason #2 scrimmage level environment?

Do you not remember the scrimmage games in the bubble before they actually started counting?

[The Bobster]

What is 'scrimmage Bridges?'

the way he played in the bubble when the games didnt count. he was so much more aggressive and scoring, to go along with his usual above average defense. Exactly what we keep saying we expect him to turn into.

When the games didn't count? You mean, the bubble where we had to win every single game and did? Yeah, that was pretty low pressure full of games that didn't count. Just because Portland pulled off the win at the last second of their game and we didn't ultimately make the playoffs doesn't mean it was meaningless, non pressure filled basketball that didn't count.

Uh, no. The scrimmage games. The ones that didn't count towards your record and were basically pre-season #2.

The bubble was scrimmage games? TF kind of logic is that? It was an opportunity for us to possibly make the playoffs if we won every game. He played well. In no way was that scrimmage games. Come on Indy. You seriously are going to call the bubble a preseason #2 scrimmage level environment?

No, there were a couple of scrimmage games played in the bubble before the regular season resumed.

[Nodack]

The eight games to finish the season were basically playoff games to the Suns. They needed to win to have any hope and they came one Portland shot from making the playoffs and went 8/0. Sure some of those other teams weren’t in that same mode because they had already locked up a spot in the playoffs but, those eight games were definitely not scrimmage games to me and the Suns kicked some ass. That probably sealed the CP3 deal imo too and maybe Crowder.

I don’t see the Suns as contenders. If you haven’t made the playoffs in a decade you aren’t a contender. You make your future and the Suns to me look like they are ready to make a run for the playoffs to at least get their feet wet again and after that we’ll see.

[Superbone]

What is 'scrimmage Bridges?'

the way he played in the bubble when the games didnt count. he was so much more aggressive and scoring, to go along with his usual above average defense. Exactly what we keep saying we expect him to turn into.

When the games didn't count? You mean, the bubble where we had to win every single game and did? Yeah, that was pretty low pressure full of games that didn't count. Just because Portland pulled off the win at the last second of their game and we didn't ultimately make the playoffs doesn't mean it was meaningless, non pressure filled basketball that didn't count.

Uh, no. The scrimmage games. The ones that didn't count towards your record and were basically pre-season #2.

Uh...so you’re saying based on heresay? There were no televised scrimmages that I know of. Or were there? I honestly don’t remember.

[Superbone]

Of course they’re not expected to win it all this year. Who said that?

[Flagrant Fowl]

I'm pretty sure some of those games were televised, but a lot has happened in the last 6 months that I can't recall.

[Split T]

Yes they televised the scrimmage games. We played games against I think Toronto, Boston, and Utah? I’m sure there are threads on here about them. I watched the games. I think we lost the Boston game? But Bridges did a number on Tatum at times in that game.

[Indy]

guys, it wasn't that long ago. And Mikal was great in them.