JULY 29: Jones’ deal with the Suns is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
JULY 27: Free agent point guard Tyus Jones has agreed to sign with the Suns, agent Kevin Bradbury tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, Jones will sign a one-year, minimum-salary contract.
Jones confirmed his decision in a statement to ESPN, as Wojnarowski relays (via Twitter).
“The chance to play for the Phoenix Suns made the most sense on a lot of levels to me and my family – beginning with the way (Suns owner) Mat Ishbia and the front office recruited me to how coach (Mike Budenholzer) 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.
“My agent (Bradbury) walked me and my family through multiple free agent offers and sign-and-trade proposals at a number of different financial levels but the Suns’ opportunity is where I can best maximize my value for a return to free agency next year as well as give myself a chance to be part of what I think will be a special team and season.”
A nine-year veteran, Jones was long considered one of the NBA’s top backup point guards while playing in Minnesota and Memphis. He got the chance with the Wizards in 2023/24 to become a full-time starter and made good on that opportunity by establishing new career highs in field goal percentage (48.9%), three-point percentage (41.4%), points per game (12.0), and assists per game (7.3) while continuing to take excellent care of the ball (he has never averaged more than 1.0 turnover per game).
We ranked Jones 15th overall on our list of top 50 free agents entering the offseason, but it quickly became clear that there wouldn’t be an opportunity for him to be the starting point guard on a contending team while earning a salary in the neighborhood of the $14MM he made last year in D.C.
Jones’ statement to Wojnarowski, which mentions that he expects to start in Phoenix, suggests that he’ll at least meet two of those three criteria. While he’s accepting a major pay cut, he’s in position to play a significant role on a team that has championship aspirations.
[RELATED: Tyus Jones Expected To Start At Point Guard For Suns]
The Suns’ three stars – Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal – are all relatively ball-dominant, but none of them are true point guards, so the team entered the offseason seeking a veteran who could organize the offense. Prior to signing Jones, Phoenix – which could only offer minimum-salary contracts while operating above the second tax apron – also added point guard Monte Morris on a one-year deal.
Jones will earn $3,003,427 on his minimum-salary contract, while the Suns will carry a cap hit of $2,087,519. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who confirmed earlier today that the Suns were eyeing Jones, tweets that the 28-year-old chose Phoenix over the Hawks and Grizzlies.
The expectation is that, after trading David Roddy for E.J. Liddell, the Suns will waive Liddell in order to create room on the projected 15-man roster for Jones. As Bobby Marks of ESPN points out (via Twitter), Phoenix is saving about $727K in the Roddy/Liddell swap and would remove another $1.41MM from its cap if Liddell is waived using the stretch provision.
Those two moves would essentially cancel out the impact of Jones’ deal on the Suns’ 2024/25 cap, providing crucial savings for a team whose salary is so far over the luxury tax line.
Wow what a fumble of the bag by Tyus
Incomplete pass , he never had possession of the bag
* A danger of entering fa for any non elite free agent today, Ton of trap doors ( aprons ) out there prohibiting movement today
Dude earned a raise with his play… and his reward? A pay cut. Glad to see the value for max contracts is skyrocketing, just about 60 mill per. I’m sure this won’t create resentment on rosters…….
It shouldn’t not every player is equal. Tyus is not a top 10 pg he is solid but needs great players around him. He is a liability on defense too.
I would argue that you can be outside the top 10 at your position and still deserve a sizable contract based on your production, i.e: literally every player on a roster who isn’t top 10 at their position and is making more than the veteran minimum. I think this example is just a collision of bad timing for Jones. If more teams needed a starting PG this offseason, he would have signed a reasonable contract for his production level, IMO.
…although he’s not really a starting PG in this league. He’s a top second-stringer.
Yes but as mentioned above the system is built that there’s a couple Max guys maybe two more High earners and then the rest of the guys don’t make a whole lot. That’s if you want to stay under the cap.
They’re trying to get rid of the super teams. I guess it’s working.
He is worth more than minimum. Easily more. There’s no sugarcoating this.
The best fit would be 76ers?
Suns is never a contender in my opinion. They dont have enough talent. But happy for tyus.
Great pick up by the Suns. I’ve always loved Tyus Jones’ game.
Agreed. If they stay healthy they will be a top 4 team out west.
And if Bud does a better job of fitting the puzzle pieces together. We got a lot of short guys.
Really? You believe that PHX is better than any of Minny, Denver, OKC, Dallas and/or LAC (even without PG)?
I just don’t see PHX being any better than #6 in the west, if all things go well. Meaning if Beal and KD play more than 60 games and their very thin bench plays really well. Could easily see the 2025 season falling apart for them where they are battling for the play in game or worse.
I think PHX can be a top #3 team under Bud and adding two high IQ PG’s in Jones and Morris. The ball is going move and the big 3 going to score much more efficiently.
The trade/resign of Royce O’Neale is huge for the rotation. Grayson Allen had a coming out party last season.
Plumlee getting older but a pro’s pro big man.
Far different team than last years Suns. I believe in the talent and coaching changes. Don’t crown OKC too soon.
Maybe gets the Suns a home play in game, maybe.
These new tax apron rules are having terrible unexpected consequences. There will always be money for the elites, but deserving players a tier or two below are getting crushed. A minimum deal for a guy coming off the season he just had is a travesty. Same for GT, Jr and a dozen other guys. In five years this will be a league with dozens of max guys and the rest on minimum or mid level exception guys.
The only way to create a dynasty now will be for stars to go the Brunson route and leave dollars on the table. Otherwise all of the money will be invested in 3-4 guys per team with everyone else making the minimum.
Silver knew the market fall outs he just didn’t care
The real bone to pick will be between the players and their “ “own” union “ ( very loose quotes there ) I expect we will be hearing pushbacks very soon
Austin rivers talked about this before. The NBA is getting rid of the middle class.
The whole world is getting rid of the middle class.
The technological age has no need for the working class…
The industrial age is long over… We are just waiting for AI and robots to be accepted enough to do the work for the price of the electrical bill… Which if using solar is free…
Not really unexpected. A number of folks said the middle class would get squeezed as a result. Could we have predicted they would get squeezed THIS much? Maybe not. But surely the Players Association saw this coming to an extent. They just didn’t care.
I have a friends who play in the league and the ppl who run the NBPA are the superstars, so the lower tier guys have no say.
It won’t even be MLE guys. Only eight teams have used the MLE so far. 6 don’t have access. Two teams have used the bi annual exception.
So that makes 16 teams that have access to the MLE but are not using it and 14 that are not using any exception at all.
Fit is great. Agreeing to minimum is surprising, but if he wanted a team actually trying to win, then it might have been necessary. Even the old signing for the $$ and demanding a trade might not work anymore.
Bronny James has more guaranteed money coming his way than tyus. SMH.
I didn’t think of this. Now I am, and my stomach hurts. We need a thumbs down button on this site haha
Yes but LeBron gave back 3 million per year or something like that to pay his son. Admirable in my opinion though a small concession considering his son doesn’t belong in the NBA right now. But that’s why Bronny has the salary he does.
They finally get a pg though Beal or Booker may still have to play it.
The lineup of Tyus, Booker, Beal, KD, and some big is still bad defensively.
KD needs to have better D around him so he can stay healthy. He will do way too much. He is a competitor and will sell out on D. They need to help better in a heartbeat. At the 5. A rim protector rebounder. Who can play pick and roll D
Their second unit is even worse and offers no interior support to their starting lineup. Really thin team in PHX, I don’t see them being any better than #7 out west.
Beal has to sit. He’s a great combo guard so perfect off the bench. Pelicans are doing it with CJ McCollum so why not the Suns, unless Bradley is not that kind of guy. Sort of Carmelo like. I ain’t sacrificing no bench role.
Again I know it’s super unlikely but if they could manage to trade Beal away for some depth/role players they’d actually be a nice side.
Imagine Beal and a first for John Collins and Colin Sexton or something along those lines.
Jones Booker KD Collins Nurkic
Sexton Allen Little ONeale Plumblee
Jones solid defender, doesn’t turn the ball over, but can play the role off playmaker/secondary ball handler off of Book and KD.
Collins plays the PF spot and allows KD to go back to SF. Good height, length, can space the floor, rebounds well, super athletic and can play small ball 5 coke the playoffs.
Sexton gives you a spark plug impact player off the bench. Allen obviously the shooter, ONeale plug and play solid role player.
One less star but a better more well rounded roster and allows your two superstars to truly shine
Imagine the Jazz taking on Beal for 3 years at $161M to get a pick in seven years
Yeah it’s definitely not going to happen it was just an example.
Beal is basically impossible to be dealt because of the lack of future picks and amount of money and years still owing .
It was more just a case of how they should be giving up picks to move him for 2 role players.
I get money always being a defining move for a player. For most of you. The man has an agent. He has access to advisors. The bag is not always the defining move.
He’s in the right place now. Suns need him. And he will get his exposure now. So the bag is coming. Try and see the glass half full.
Next yr is what he’s playing for. Phoenix is the right place to be. Sixers should of went after him.
Suns got more watchable… Could a decent team… Although there will be defensive issues with Tyus, Beal, Bookerand KD line ups… That offense will hum…
Get an althetic big like Wemby or Robert Williams and that could really work…
This could turn out to be a solid move by Tyus Jones. He’s pretty much gambling on himself by signing a vet minimum deal and with a strong season in Phoenix he could parlay that into a scenario similar to what Derrick Jones Jr did this past season in Dallas. DJJ signed with the Mavs for the vet min then played well enough throughout the season/playoffs to land a 3yr/30M contract from the Clippers.
Between the injury histories to both Booker & Beal expect Jones to start more games than expected and with his efficiency running an offense he should flourish passing to three great scorers in KD, Booker & Beal.
I tend to root more for players in his situation when they choose to bet on themselves hoping it pays off financially a year later. Tyus has made over 60+M in career earnings so this isn’t a situation where he “fumbled the bag.”
Jones doesn’t need the Suns to win the Finals for this to happen, he just needs to show teams that he can help a contender win games with his play and it likely will lead to a multi year contract done the road.
As he’s a short mid tier guard this is his last real shot at a big payday…
If he took a long cheap deal now he’d be locked into vet min contracts for the rest of his career…
At least by doing this he has a chance of a better deal next season…
“As he’s a short mid tier guard this is his last real shot at a big payday…”
I doubt that that is the case at all. He’s just 28yrs old and has already shown that he can be a high end backup point guard running an offense. With the amount of money that will be coming into the league in the very near future it will only raise average salaries with each new year, even for short mid tier guards.
Just looking at some of the other very good backup/part time starting caliber PGs that have signed in recent years:
28yr old Gabe Vincent 3yr/33M
32yr old TJ McConnell 4yr/32M
30yr old Dennis Schroder 2yr/25M
31yr old Gary Payton II 3yr/26M
24yr old Tre Jones (Tyus’ Brother) 2yr/19M
28yr old Jevon Carter 3yr/19M
26yr old Payton Pritchard 4yr/30M
Most of those names are roughly the same height as Tyus Jones or very close to it.
Don’t confuse Jones signing for the vet minimum with not having more lucrative offers on the table because from all reports there were more offers, he just went with a situation that he thought would benefit him more in the long run. His comments above pretty much spell this out.
Is he going to go from the 3M vet minimum he just signed for to a contract a year from now paying him in the 18-22M range? Probably not but if shows he can run a contender’s offense efficiently over the next season then landing a multi-year deal in the 10-13M MLE range is definitely reachable especially if Phoenix decides to bring him back.