Tyus Jones might be correctly viewed as a Phoenix Suns' one-season wonder who flamed out badly, but if he were on the roster for this coming season, he would excel for a number of reasons.
Suns now a defensive-minded group with real size
We know what you're thinking. "Is this the most offseason piece to ever offseason?" Probably. But now is the time of year to get overly nostalgic for players who have come and gone from The Valley, and we can't keep putting on the rose tinted glasses and remembering the Bol Bol experience.
Jones struggled in his lone season with the franchise because he mostly shared the court with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal (when healthy), Jusuf Nurkic and Royce O'Neale. In fact, Jones started the third most games of any player (58) outside of their superstar duo.
You don't need to go back and look at the numbers to see that the five-man groups Jones was largely a part of were designed to pile up points while getting scored on relentlessly. His job among all that was to take care of the basketball and tee up his teammates, and he generally succeeded.
It was his lack of size that was picked on by opponents, and the Suns were unable to hide Jones on the court as a result of the guys he was sharing it with.
Compare that to now, where Collin Gillespie gets to benefit from the current roster, leading to a new four-year, $48 million deal. He can also get picked on, but now, the Suns can play one of Jordan Goodwin or Jamaree Bouyea alongside him or take him out entirely in favor of that duo.
Jones had... Monte Morris backing him up when he was on the roster. Levels.
Jones also makes more sense next to Booker than current two-guard Jalen Green, whose life would have been made difficult by Jones being around. It is Gillespie now ruffling feathers in his place. The Suns still need a true floor general, and Jones was the last potentially great one they had.
Bruising forwards the key difference since Jones left town
What Jones would have loved to have was an aggressive ball of energy in the frontcourt who had his back. Oh, wait, that's Dillon Brooks, with Jones being the person he has literally played the most professional games with as teammates at 254 back when they were in Memphis. Safe to say that would have worked.
Miles Bridges might not be a willing defender, but he sure could score off all the dimes Jones would have provided. He, too, could have masked the issues that having Jones out there brought with it. Then there are hulking centers Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach, who are both obvious upgrades over Nurkic.
That officially makes this a wrap, and although the Suns have rightly moved on from the Tyus Jones experience, he would actually thrive in this setup.
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