3 Suns whose roles are under threat after the arrival of Tyus Jones
By Luke Duffy
1. Royce O'Neale
There is overlap between the cases of Allen and Royce O'Neale, but it gets even harder to see where O'Neale figures into all of this with Jones now in The Valley. There's no doubt he was a great get from the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline, and was one of the few role players who played well in the postseason sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But while O'Neale is a better defender than Allen - and not quite as automatic from 3-point range - he appears better suited playing next to the starters. So whereas Allen can and likely will be turned into the sixth man, O'Neale isn't going to start or have the most desired role off the bench either.
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It is unfortunate that his skills work best next to Booker, Beal and Kevin Durant, because he can defend at a reasonably high level and can't be left alone either. Like a younger, taller Eric Gordon in some ways. But O'Neale occupies a spot on the court that Beal, Allen and even Okogie are going to be fighting for.
Perhaps he was also brought back on a new deal this summer (the Suns weren't going to let him walk anyway as they couldn't sign a player in his place through free agency) so that he could be traded down the road. Either way, the added competition of a true point guard that O'Neale can't compete with skills wise was surely not what he had in mind for his first full campaign in Phoenix.