In an interview with Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Suns president of basketball operations James Jones gives himself an “eight out of 10” for how he was able to construct the team’s roster around its new Big Four. Jones was limited in the moves he could make after trading for Bradley Beal to team with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton, but he found an intriguing mix of veterans and young talent.
Eric Gordon turned down better offers and accepted a veteran’s minimum deal for the chance to win a title. Yuta Watanabe, Chimezie Metu, Drew Eubanks, Keita Bates-Diop and Bol Bol also agreed to sign for the minimum.
“We knew going into it who our four top players were,” Jones said. “The guys who were going to lean on heavily to reach our goals. I think that gave us more clarity and I think it gave the players more clarity around how we would play and how they could fit with our team.
“So when it comes to minimums, I think it’s that label or contract value that people look at, but I look at it more from a perspective of identifying the guys who have the attributes and skills that would complement our group and finding players that believe that this environment will increase their productivity and give them a boost for their careers going forward. This was more forward looking than backwards looking for us and for the players that we targeted.
“I think that clarity allowed us to move quickly and efficiently through the free agency process because we knew exactly who we wanted and we knew exactly who wanted us.”
Jones addresses several other topics in the discussion with Rankin:
On the decisions to re-sign Josh Okogie and trade Cameron Payne to the Spurs:
“Just balancing versatility, and I’m not just talking about from a player skill set and roster construction perspective, but it just gives us options. It gives us options from a roster perspective. It also gives us options going forward. JO is someone who had a tremendous impact on our team last year in a specific role that we think can grow and Cam was someone who had an impact on our team, but he was part of a team that was a different team that played differently. Those two moves allowed us to create balance and gave us some versatility and options to continue to build a more complete team.”
On Bol’s potential after a promising season with Orlando:
“He’s going to get a chance to compete. He fits the profile of the team we’re trying to build. Long, athletic, skilled. Has played some high-level basketball. Has dealt with high expectations and has bounced back from some tough setbacks. The mental grit, the resilience and adaptability that he’s displayed is something that I think will help improve our team and if he can play the way he envisions himself playing, it just gives us another high-level player that we can count on and rely on as we try to march toward a championship.”
On new owner Mat Ishbia’s input during his first offseason with the team:
“He talked about speed, focus and understand what it is we’re trying to accomplish and get after it. Don’t second-guess it, don’t overthink it. Trust your instincts, trust your team and then go out there, find the best options for us and then make those options work. For me, it’s clear focus. He’s given me clear direction that allows me to focus on the things I enjoy the most, which is figuring out how to maximize the environment for our players and coaches and get a win.”
These guys are gonna be really freaking good. I like those quotes from James Jones.
The ideal owner has extremely deep pockets and willingness to spend but turns over the basketball stuff to a well-respected, knowledgeable GM. And it sounds like that’s happening here.
Most of those minimums look like potential steals.
And they’ve clearly looked at the recent trends that small PGs get exposed against good playoff teams, and have just gone all-in on playing with two of Booker, Beal, and KD on the floor at all times with shooting and size around them.
I think this team belongs alongside Denver and the Lakers as the WC contenders.
Really hoping for healthy seasons from Beal and Durant.
If that happens, it’ll be because Ayton improved under Vogel. Imo, he’s the swing vote. Judging by last season, he’s a massive negative for the team. The Suns got outscored by 1.6 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor, and scored 6.8 points per 100 possessions more than their opponents when he was on the bench. Largely because of his effort and execution on defense. If Vogel manages to unlock his potential on that end, they qualify as contenders. If not, they’re dragging a ball and chain with them through the season.
Brad Beal easily makes up for those 1.6 per 100 possessions allowed when Ayton is on the court.
Nothing to see there.
Time will tell if these are good moves, but at least Jones did *something*. Cronin on the other hand did nothing and that resulted in Dame’s request. Dude is literally doing nothing still even after that request.
You can’t compare Portland to Phoenix like that. Phoenix was garbage, got the number 1 pick, and then were in the top 4 in the division each season for the last three years. They had the assets to trade a massive package for KD. Then they got Beal for free because of KD. And the rest are following. Not many teams were in position to pull something like that off… but certainly not Portland. And to blame Cronin is just pointing to the wrong guy as he wasn’t the one that was digging the hole the Blazers are in now.
Sure they might win the championship this year and possibly a year or 2 after that. But they literally have nothing available to construct a roster after that. Pretty sure they don’t own a single draft pick.