Disastrous Tyus Jones signing should teach Suns valuable lesson

Looking back on the disaster that was the 2024-25 Phoenix Suns' regular season, and one of the most disappointing outcomes was what happened to point guard Tyus Jones. He began the campaign starting - and was an important part of a hot 8-1 jump out of the blocks - but by season's end he was coming off the bench.

To put in perspective how vast the drop-off was, in November when Jones was at his peak in Phoenix, he was averaging 32.5 minutes per night. Contrast that with March - which was the last full regular season month - and his minutes had shrunk all the way down to 21.5. By April - when every game was win or bust - it somehow fell even more to 20 minutes per game.

The Jones experience proves fit has to matter next season.

On paper the Jones signing was one of the sneaky great moves of last offseason. How an organization stuck in the second apron was able to convince one of the best backups in the league to take the minimum to head to The Valley - even if that has backfired massively for him now - was seen as further proof the Suns were ready to content.

Veterans flocking to play with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, with Jones also having the added bonus of being one of the best assist-to-turnover guards in the league as well. Everything looked great on paper - but as became painfully evident once the season began and the losses began to pile up - the game isn't played on paper.

The front office should have known that this team was going to struggle defensively when their best five players were on the court, and Jones was never going to help in that regard. They finished 27th in defensive rating as a team - allowing 117.7 points per night - and unsurprisingly the three teams below them are all headed to the NBA Draft with lottery selections this summer.

Surprisingly the team did fare slightly better on that end when Jones was out there - conceding 116.1 points - but that doesn't tell the full story. Jones often played with rookie Ryan Dunn for example, who worked overtime to cover for him on the court. On top of that, Jones had a net rating for the campaign of minus 2.5 because offensively he wasn't the solution it was hoped he could be.

Most importantly moving forward for the franchise, his 5.3 assists per game trailed Booker's 7.1. It was thought that the introduction of Jones would allow Booker to revert back to being the elite scorer that was ended up seeing late in the season when the team was chasing wins, but that wasn't quite the case.

That was a combination of Booker deferring too much, but also of Jones not having the desired impact when out on the court. There is little reason to believe he will be back next season - and even if he can't get more money elsewhere after the disaster that was 2024-25 - the experience in Phoenix means he is likely to take even the minimum again to rebuild his value away from the Suns.

Which makes the next selection the team makes to run the show a crucial one. Dennis Schroder of the Detroit Pistons is showing during these playoffs that he would be the perfect fit, but he's also playing himself into more money with how he has performed versus the New York Knicks.

With the future of Bradley Beal uncertain - according to owner Mat Ishbia anyway despite having that no-trade clause - it would be ideal to get a floor general who could start for this team. Chris Paul is too old despite being beloved, while Monte Morris could yet be back as a backup. A defensive-minded and sturdier player who can shoot some is the right selection for this group next year.