Crucial Suns starter could have gone elsewhere for more money this summer

It is hard to pinpoint one reason the Phoenix Suns have started the 2024-25 season so brightly, and that is great news if you're a fan of this team. It's not just that Kevin Durant has gotten off to a hot start or that Devin Booker is warming up as well - although both of these facts have certainly helped - there's a lot more going on than just the play of one player.

Perhaps head coach Mike Budenholzer should get more of the plaudits. After all he has managed to bring together a roster that - although deeper than last season - still has the same top five players, even if rookie Ryan Dunn is trying to crash that party.

But it could have been so much different in Phoenix right now.

It seems strange to get this far without mentioning both Tyus Jones and Monte Morris, the two point guards the Suns went out and got to rectify the mistake of not having a floor general last season. Morris was added first - although when word of the chance to get Jones surfaced - the Suns moved rapidly to secure him.

According to Ramona Shelburne in this excellent piece for ESPN - and to the surprise of nobody given the abilities of Jones - there were other suitors who could have offered the diminutive 28-year-old more money to come and play for them. An opportunity he turned down in pursuit of a serious chance at a championship in The Valley.

"Indeed, Jones did weigh more lucrative interest from the (Washington) Wizards, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets, league sources said, with offers ranging from $8 million to $12 million annually."

The idea of more money and long-term security is appealing for all of the obvious reasons, although the above teams mentioned wouldn't even have guaranteed Jones a playoff appearance, never mind a chance at a championship. He had already tasted life with the Wizards last season, and had a career year in the capital.

His 66 games started there were also more than he managed during his entire four-year tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies (60), the place here Jones established himself as perhaps the best backup floor general in the league. It was Washington where he proved he could also start, and he's taken that momentum straight into the Suns' starting five.

It is scary to think where they would be without Jones right now - and although it has only been six games - he was breaking records in Phoenix after only one game. Getting a player in their prime - and who looks to be as effective as ever - on a minimum contract just does not happen very often in the league, and it has already had huge benefits for the Suns.

It also ensures they can bring him back for more money down the road - in much the same way they did Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale - and not have it impact their already decimated salary cap. They will still have to pay luxury tax for being over that second apron - but if Jones can continue this hot start to the season - owner Mat Ishbia surely won't care. This was the deal of the summer.