James Jones’ 3 best trades as Phoenix Suns general manager

Phoenix Suns trade Trevor Ariza for Kelly Oubre Jr. and Austin Rivers

On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a significant, game-changing trade for the franchise. However, not only was it a win in the short-term, but more importantly, its repercussions are still being felt in the aftermath of Oubre’s tenure with the team.

Ariza was a disappointment for the Suns after signing a one-year, $15 million deal in the 2018 offseason. In December, just a couple of months after becoming interim general manager, Jones flipped Ariza for Kelly Oubre Jr. and Austin Rivers.

Rivers was waived by the Suns the following day, making this practically a player-for-player deal. Ariza was 33 and Oubre 23 at the time, with Jones taking advantage of the Washington Wizards’ pressure to put veteran role-players alongside John Wall and Bradley Beal.

Revisiting the trade 12 months later, writer Matt Levin was hugely critical of the deal from the Wizards perspective, citing the age difference and the pressure faced by general manager Ernie Grunfeld.

"“The Washington Wizards traded Kelly Oubre for basically nothing. It is shameful that the Wizards gave up young talent for an old veteran…Let’s just be grateful that Ernie Grunfeld is no longer the General Manager of the Washington Wizards”, Levin wrote."

Ariza went on to play 43 games for Washington, shooting just 40.9% from the floor and 32.2% from three-point range. On the contrary, Phoenix were able to re-sign Oubre who then had a career best season in 2019-20. He averaged 18.7 points and 6.4 rebounds on 35.2% three-point shooting.

Jones ultimately played his cards perfectly, eventually on-trading Oubre right at the perfect time as the Suns made a bold move.