Tyus Jones 2024-25 Suns season preview: Can he prove Phoenix needed a point guard?

Did the Phoenix Suns actually need a starting point guard? Tyus Jones might be the one to provide a definitive answer to that question, even if the Suns didn’t exactly go into free agency expecting it.

Over the next four days, we’ll be wrapping up our Suns season preview series that has gone through all 17 players on the roster, one-by-one. That includes both a written piece for the avid readers (hello there!) and a video breakdown for the visual learners.

On Day 14, it’s time to assess the pros and cons of the Suns’ biggest offseason addition, how Tyus Jones can make life easier on the Big 3, and where this team might struggle with him entering the starting lineup.

Tyus Jones 2024-25 Suns Season Preview

The idea that the Suns went out searching for a traditional floor general to add to their starting lineup is a bit of revisionist history.

Make no mistake: This team knew they needed at least one point guard in the offseason. But Phoenix was all set with a backup point guard in Monte Morris, until they realized they could actually snag a free agent like Tyus Jones on a vet minimum deal.

It was too good an opportunity to pass up, and they went all in on recruiting him.

“We didn’t think we had a chance, to be honest, at the beginning,” owner Mat Ishbia said. “But spending time with it, that didn’t mean we didn’t make the calls. Didn’t mean we didn’t spend the time, but when you have a 1 percent chance or something, then it just rose to 5, 10, 20, 30 and all of a sudden, you’re like, ‘We might be in the game here.'”

Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein knows Tyus Jones’ agent, Kevin Bradbury well, and they would check in from time to time. The Suns viewed Jones as a perfect (yet unrealistic) fit, but as they watched the free agency market dry up, they had their first real meeting with Jones and Bradbury at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Jones’ camp wanted to wait to see how the market played out, but the Suns decided they were all in.

“We said, ‘Let’s go all in and recruit him, and the worst thing they can do is say no to us,'” Bartelstein told PHNX Sports. “But we went all in on recruiting him, from little gift bags to videos for their kids, to all the small details and showing the care factor. And it was the same kind of thing we did for Bradley Beal when we had to recruit Brad to come pick us when he waived his no-trade clause to come here. We believe in that, and we think on the margins, we’re gonna win.”

The Suns sold Jones on his fit with the Suns, how he could just be himself on this team, and how happy he and his family would be in Phoenix. His wife went to Michigan State, which, of course, Ishbia tapped into as part of the recruiting pitch. Jones’ former Duke teammate, Grayson Allen, even reached out as part of the recruitment, letting him know he was fully on board with him joining the Suns, even if it cost him his starting spot.

Tyus Jones started the summer as a pie-in-the-sky target, and he wound up joining the Suns on a bargain bin contract.

Suns have some roster imbalances between guards and wings but at the end of the day they convinced a starting caliber point guard to take such an insanely low deal that he had to immediately release a statement explaining it

— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) July 27, 2024

“We can say it how it is: We got him for a steal,” Devin Booker said. “I remember the news being broke while we were at USA and all the guys in the locker room was like, ‘Maaaan, how did y’all get that done?'”

One of the biggest reasons Jones took way less money than expected is he wants to win, and he believed Phoenix gave him the best chance to do so as a starting point guard.

“I want to contend for a championship,” Jones said. “Obviously the roster that was in place prior to me coming here was enticing, just getting a chance to play with so many great players and also the role. Talking with Josh, talking with James, talking with coach Bud, just how they envision myself being able to step in and just be me.”

Tyus Jones makes life easier for the Big 3

In terms of Tyus Jones just being Tyus Jones, the biggest thing that leaps out is his godly assist-to-turnover ratio. Over the last six seasons, Jones has led all qualified players in assist-to-turnover ratio every single year.

“Tyus brings that stability, that guy that you know when Tyus has the ball, it puts your heart rate a little lower,” said Josh Okogie, Jones’ former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate. “‘Cause he’s gonna make the right decision every time, he’s gonna get everybody involved, and he’s just gonna be that calm wave as the season goes through its roller coaster.”

Last season, Jones set the single-season record in that category. He only averaged one turnover a game, which was somehow a career-worst. Oh, and he also just happens to hold the all-time record for the assist-to-turnover ratio in NBA history (5.56).

Taking care of the ball will be a huge plus for a team that had a horrendous turnover problem last year, but his playmaking will be too. Jones averaged a career-high 7.3 assists per game last year, and that was for the Washington Wizards’ 25th-ranked offense! It’s easy to picture how deadly the Suns can be if you replace Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija and Jordan Poole with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal:

Jones doesn’t drive or get to the rim very often, but he makes smart pocket passes and finds rolling bigs for lobs. Jusuf Nurkic isn’t an above-the-rim threat like Daniel Gafford, but Jones can run a pick-and-roll with anyone, ranking in the 94th percentile in points per possession as the pick-and-roll ball-handler last year. 

“Every pass is on the money,” Beal said. “He doesn’t make bad passes, he don’t turn the ball over….His IQ is huge for the game, and it just makes all of us as scorers, our jobs easier.”

Whether it’s dumping it off to the rolling big or targeting open shooters on the weak-side, Jones will be able to orchestrate this offense until it sings like a symphony.

“We had a lot of talks last year about, like, ‘Does this team need a point guard?’ and a lot of times, I was kind of the guy who thought ‘no,'” Grayson Allen said. “But there’s not many guys out there like Tyus, not a whole lot of point guards out there that play like Tyus. So I really think he is the perfect fit for our team.”

More specifically, he’ll put Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in optimal positions to attack, without having to worry about being primary ball-handlers.

“I think for our roster, especially to have a point guard, a starting point guard in Tyus, I think it puts all three of those guys — but not just Book and Kevin and Brad, but the entire group — in a position to be their best also,” coach Mike Budenholzer said.

Jones acknowledged that Booker and Beal had to run the 1 a lot last year, and while they can do that, what they do best is get buckets.

“They’re gonna make my job really, really easy, and I plan on doing the same for them,” Jones said of the Big 3. “They are three of the best scorers in the world, and for me as a point guard who likes to get guys the ball and get others involved and put guys in the best position to score the ball, I can’t imagine a better trio to do that with.”

Part of Jones’ value will be pushing the tempo. He’s a master of the hit-ahead pass, turning misses, turnovers or even made baskets into fast break opportunities.

“When he has the ball, it’s those early kick-aheads,” Grayson Allen said. “If he sees anyone helping, he’s pitching the ball, and that creates opportunities for us to be ready to catch-and-shoot or be ready to play with a little bit of an advantage because you have a guy flying at you.”

The Suns won’t play at the Wizards’ breakneck, league-leading pace, but Phoenix was No. 1 in points per possession in transition last year. They just need to do it more often and take advantage of cross-matches before the defense gets set. Even when they’re not running the break, having someone get this team into their offense earlier in the shot clock will help.

“Whether it’s kick-aheads, whether it’s me making sure I’m pushing the ball up the court fast, [there’s] different ways of making sure we’re staying at high tempo, we’re staying at the pace that Bud wants,” Jones said. “I gotta be an extension of him on the court, kind of leading these guys, and so I feel like that falls on my shoulders to make sure we’re playing to the speed that coach wants.”

What else does Tyus Jones bring to the table?

Jones is a pass-first point guard, but on a team like this, he also has to be a scoring threat. His coaches and teammates agree his scoring and shooting abilities often fly under the radar.

“I think kind of underrated is his threat to be a scorer off the pick-and-roll, which is what allows him to be such a good passer,” Grayson Allen said.

“Obviously everyone talks about the assist-to-turnover ratio, but he’s definitely not someone you can leave open either,” Devin Booker added. “So he’s just a true ultimate winner, and I’m glad that he’s on a stage now where he can show it.”

Last year, Jones averaged a career-high 12.0 points per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from 3. He shot 42.2 percent on catch-and-shoot-3s and 46.1 percent on “wide open 3s,” which means he can space the floor whenever Durant, Booker or Beal goes to work.

“You just gotta walk that fine line of facilitating and keeping the defense honest,” Jones said. “And if you walk the line well enough, the game becomes pretty easy.”

Part of walking that line will be asserting himself as a scoring threat with the ball in his hands. Fortunately, Jones made 38.7 percent of his pull-up 3s last year. If there’s an opening in the defense, he should feel confident letting these fly:

Jones only ranked in the 58th percentile in 3-point openness rating, per The BBall Index, but that number should improve significantly playing next to the Big 3. But there’s another not-so-secret weapon to his game: his trusty floaters.

“Obviously he’s a natural PG, but I think his ability to be able to shoot that floater, like, you have to be honest and keep [defenses] honest,” Beal explained. “Because he wants to pass first. I love his ability to, one, be able to shoot, and that floater of his.”

As an undersized guard, Jones doesn’t get to the rim much, ranking in the 16th percentile at his position in frequency of shots at the rim. However, a whopping 39 percent of Jones’ shots came from the short midrange (4-14 feet away from the basket), which placed him in the 98th percentile among guards. Whenever he gets in the lane, he loves to use that floater:

Only Jalen Brunson (369) and Trae Young (252) attempted more floaters than Tyus Jones (248) last season, and that’s certainly not a bad thing, since Jones made nearly 54.8 percent of them. Again, he shot nearly 55 percent on a shot that constituted 37 percent of his shot attempts.

Jones can get to his floater from pretty much any angle. He can weave his way around screens and keep his defender on his hip before letting it loose or he can pull up early in the lane before the low man contests. It’s an automatic weapon when the defender is in drop coverage, and he can either stop on a dime or loft up a floater running at full speed.

“I’ve always had it, but the older I’ve gotten, obviously at this level, bigger defenders, bigger athletes, better shot-blockers,” Jones said. “So it was just a shot that I was going to have to rely on or get to more, and then it just became kind of target practice, just knowing when I can get to my spot, get to that floater.”

The biggest concern with Tyus Jones

So if everything’s been so overwhelmingly positive, why the reservation? Well, because there’s a defensive end of the floor too, and against elite playoff teams, Tyus Jones is going to have to work really hard to avoid getting picked on.

At 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, he’s simply undersized. He rarely ever fouls, but according to NBA.com, opponents shot 7 percent better when guarded by Jones last year. The Wizards’ 28th-ranked defense was also 3.0 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the court.

The BBall Index placed Jones in the 89th percentile in perimeter isolation defense, but he only placed in the 41st percentile in ball screen navigation, so he’s not a true point-of-attack defender. He will be targeted on switches, he won’t offer much resistance as a help-side defender, and the rebounding for this undersized starting unit will be a concern.

The hope is that Jones is a peskier on-ball presence and more engaged team defender on a team with title aspirations, but at some point, when every possession and mismatch matters, he’ll have to find ways to avoid being targeted.

“Just competing, just understanding our system and our philosophies on defense, and then just being extremely active,” Jones said. “Whether it’s deflections, steals, contesting, high hands. There’s nothing easy on the defensive end, it’s just making sure you’re competing, and you gotta be scrappy, tough, things of that nature.”

More 2024-25 Suns season previews

• Collin Gillespie: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• TyTy Washington: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Jalen Bridges: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Ryan Dunn: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Oso Ighodaro: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Bol Bol: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Damion Lee: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Josh Okogie: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Monte Morris: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Mason Plumlee: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Royce O’Neale: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Grayson Allen: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Jusuf Nurkic: Written breakdown | Video breakdown