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Coming off the worst playoff loss in franchise history, as well as arguably the worst Game 7 loss in NBA history, the Phoenix Suns have a lot to figure out over the summer. Taking James Jones at his word, the Suns’ general manager believes the key will be looking inward for improvement, rather than outward.
On Wednesday, Jones spoke to reporters via Zoom for his end-of-season media availability, answering questions on a variety of topics, from Deandre Ayton’s future to the Suns’ second-round collapse against the Dallas Mavericks. But the consistent theme seemed to be continuity and internal growth.
“Let’s be real: We had a tremendous season,” Jones said. “I said this yesterday, the season, the way it ended was disappointing, but the season was not a disappointment. Our team was a really good team. We just didn’t have that same level of success in the playoffs. And so I’m not going to change what we do. I’m not gonna change my approach to team-building, which is to create and construct a team that has a ton of depth, a ton of skill and great chemistry. We just need to be better, and I think after a summer where our guys improve, we will be.”
Those words may not feel encouraging for some in the wake of a 64-win Suns squad going down without a fight in a second-round series many thought they’d win in four or five games. Chris Paul didn’t look like himself after Game 2; Deandre Ayton was such a non-factor that he and coach Monty Williams wound up having words on the sidelines in Game 7; and franchise star Devin Booker shot 29 percent from the field with 12 turnovers to 5 assists over the final two losses of the series.
But as easy as it’d be to overreact in the moment, the Suns do still have a young nucleus, should they choose to keep it intact. Booker won’t turn 26 until the start of next season. Cam Johnson is only 26, Mikal Bridges is 25 and Ayton turns 24 in a few months. That’s the future core of what was the best team in basketball this year, and although they fizzled at the worst possible time, that’s a foursome Phoenix can build around, keeping their window as a title contender propped open for years.
However, there are myriad questions that come with this group heading into a crucial offseason full of important decisions. At the crux of it is Ayton’s future in Phoenix, which became cloudy seven months ago when the Suns failed to reward him with a max contract extension before the deadline. For the record, Jones was highly complimentary of Ayton’s season.
“Deandre had a great season, a really productive season,” he said. “I think across the board, you look at what he did, he improved. And that’s a testament to him and the hard work, and that’s what you expect from a player of his caliber.”
As for his future? Jones wouldn’t commit either way, but “continuity” and “internal improvement” made another appearance.
“As far as free agency and those things, we’ll address them at the proper time,” Jones said. “That’s the time, that happens in July and the end of June. But we want to continue to keep our consistency, our continuity, and keep the guys that we have and continue to help those guys improve upon the things that we did this year. The season didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but I think with a lot of internal improvement, we can progress forward.”
After sacrificing and embracing his role to help his team reach the 2021 NBA Finals, Ayton’s lack of a payday ruffled feathers. He expanded his game with an automatic hook shot and reliable midrange jumper, averaging 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game on a career-high 63.4 percent shooting. But thanks to the Suns’ suddenly feckless offense and his own lack of aggression, DA was nowhere to be found late in the second round.
That created the opening for the scenario that unfolded in Game 7: a disgruntled big man who believed he could do more for a team that was losing, giving in to a moment of frustration and arguing with his own coach.
Jones said he did not feel the need to put the two in a room together to hash things out, leaving that up to Williams and the rest of the team.
“Nah, man, we’re a team,” Jones said. “We have conversations, internal dialogue and discussion all the time. I think Monty addressed it. It’s one of those things when you’re playing an emotional game at an emotional point, it’s a game of emotion and feelings. So sometimes your feelings get hurt, and you process and you move on from it. But we’re adults. We’re teammates, we’re grown men. Those things you handle it and you move on and improve from it.”
Ayton’s restricted free agency isn’t the only potential payday the Suns will have to contend with. Assuming Devin Booker makes one of the three All-NBA teams (which is a virtual lock given where he finished in MVP voting), he’ll be eligible for a four-year, $211 million supermax extension that would kick in for the 2024-25 season. And much like Ayton and Bridges last year, Cam Johnson will be eligible for his rookie-scale extension before the start of next season.
Jones backed up what owner Robert Sarver said on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo show last July, that the luxury tax would not impede the Suns’ offseason decision-making.
“That’s a part of the business: As your team improves, typically your payroll increases,” Jones said. “We’re focused on improving the team, and those guys deserve the credit, they deserve the accolades and the financial rewards that come with being good players and productive players. So it doesn’t preclude us from doing anything. We’re not talking about luxury tax issues or avoiding those things. Like, that’s not something that’s going to prevent us from continuing to build this team to keep this team together.”
Sarver is still under league investigation for allegations of racism and misogyny that were published in an ESPN article back in November. For the time being, Jones said his team-building process for the offseason won’t be changed by what’s going on outside the court. The focus is still finding ways to improve, whether that’s exploring a way back into the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft (the Suns don’t own a first- or second-round pick this year) or figuring out how to shore up a roster that fell short.
However, with continuity seemingly ruling the day, Jones isn’t thinking back on the 2022 NBA trade deadline with regret. When asked about the Eric Gordon rumors and whether his focus on depth and continuity was enough, Jones maintained his approach.
“I go into those deadlines, I go into the summer with the same mentality: Explore everything that will help us improve, and find out the things that are real and the things that are actionable, and balance whether or not it can be done and whether or not it can help us,” Jones said. “And so I’m not, like, revisiting what we did. We made moves that we thought helped increase our depth. It did. Those are practical moves. The theoretical moves, I can’t allow myself to think about whether or not something that potentially could’ve happened would have had an effect or would have changed it. You just don’t know. You roll with what you have, you put the best squad together, and you go out there and you try to make it happen.”
In the words of Monty Williams, well done is better than well said. James Jones is preaching the value of continuity for a young group that was the best team in basketball this season, but when it comes to extensions for Ayton, Booker and Johnson, as well as other potential offseason moves, the proof will be in the results.
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