James Jones continues to prove his worth as executive (even if Mat Ishbia ruins it)

The Phoenix Suns continue to be talked about more for what is happening around the league and off the court, as opposed to their so-so season on the hardwood. This is still nowhere near a team capable of competing for a championship, but the trade deadline is still weeks away.

Getting three first round picks from the Utah Jazz in exchange for their 2031 selection was a smart move, and it keeps them alive in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes. Not that Butler is potentially even the ultimate end game at this point, what with Bradley Beal's no trade clause and those firsts they can use to get involved in other trades.

The Suns should be thankful they have James Jones leading the way.

Jones has come in for his fair share of criticism through the years, although at this point he is the steady presence the front office needs as their General Manager, particularly since the introduction of owner Mat Ishbia. It is commendable that Ishbia has done all he can to make Phoenix an attractive destination for free agents - something it has never been - but he is now going too far.

Adding Kevin Durant was excellent, and turning Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton into Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic made sense at the time as well. With the benefit of hindsight though, perhaps making such sweeping changes to a roster that made it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2021 was being too proactive here.

Yet despite Ishbia charging head first into the kind of deals that have the organization as all in as any in the entire league, Jones has worked quietly behind the scenes to try and give the Suns some flexibility. The aforementioned trade with the Jazz the latest example, and it gives them a potential out on another of their own players if they can't get Butler to The Valley.

That would be center Nurkic, with the Suns now able to attach a first round pick to Nurkic to send him packing. A deal to reunite him with the Portland Trail Blazers has been talked about as it would give them another pick plus they'd only have to give up the often injured Robert Williams III, but it remains to be seen if that can actually happen.

Even if that's not the move, there's now an actual roadmap to escaping the nightmare that has become Nurkic on this roster. Jones was also part of the deal that sent Josh Okogie to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Nick Richards. It is still early days but there's no doubt he's an upgrade over Nurkic and was starting for the Suns on only his second ever appearance for the team.

Richards isn't going to solve all of their problems, but being able to get a rotational big while stuck in the second cap and with few trade assets was another great piece of business from Jones. Going back to last season and adding Royce O'Neale at the deadline was also a move worth making, while they also convinced Tyus Jones to play on a minimum contract for this season.

The Jones experiment might have gone sideways in recent weeks, but he's been a great addition to their rotation as an actual point guard who can take care of the basketball. On top of all of that, Jones and his team made astute draft selections in taking Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, while Toumani Camara may end up being their best selection of the lot.

He now plays for the Trail Blazers, but Jones and the front office can still take credit for that. So despite having the most impatient owner in the NBA - and with little wiggle room to make any deals - James Jones continues to prove he's one of the best General Managers in the league working so effectively under those conditions. The Suns don't know how good they have it with him.