<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-desmond-bane-drops-steady-rock-take-tyus-jones');   ga('set', 'title', 'Magic’s Desmond Bane drops ‘steady rock’ take on Tyus Jones');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Desmond-Bane-drops-steady-rock-take-on-Tyus-Jones.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Magic’s Desmond Bane drops ‘steady rock’ take on Tyus Jones</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-26T10:16:29-07:00">September 26th, 10:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-26T10:16:29-07:00">September 26th, 10:16am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-desmond-bane-makes-career-high-guarantee-first-orlando-season">Orlando Magic prepare for the 2025-26 NBA season</a>, guard Desmond Bane has made it clear <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHQSHSJ51Y&amp;t=1303s" rel="noopener">what he values about veteran teammate</a> Tyus Jones. The former Memphis Grizzlies teammates are reuniting in Orlando, and Bane recently described Jones as a “steady rock” both on and off the court.</p><p>Speaking on The Sixth Man Show – Orlando Magic Podcast, Bane reflected on their time together in Memphis and praised Jones’ consistency.</p><p>“Tyus is one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever played with. Locker room presence, great family man, and I mean on the court he’s steady. We call him ‘stones,’ like he is that, he is a rock, whether it’s making a big pass, knocking down a shot, getting the team organized, he is the centerpiece. Whether he’s coming off the bench, whether he’s starting, somebody that you can always turn to, he’ll be there, he’ll be steady.”</p><p>Bane and Jones played three seasons together with the Grizzlies from 2020-21 through 2022-23, forming part of a backcourt that emphasized efficiency and decision-making. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-desmond-bane-reveals-wild-timing-of-when-orlando-trade-went-down">Bane was traded to the Magic on Father’s Day</a>, he now rejoins <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/orlando-magic-2025-nba-free-agency-grades-for-every-signing">Jones, who signed with Orlando this summer</a> after spending the past two seasons with the Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns.</p><h2><b>Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones reunite with Magic aiming for title contention</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Desmond-Bane-and-Tyus-Jones.jpg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Jones, 29, is expected to bring veteran leadership and stability to the Magic’s young core. Last season with Phoenix, he averaged 10.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44.8% from the field and 41.4% from three across 81 games. His ability to organize the offense and provide reliable minutes has been a trademark of his NBA career since being drafted in 2015.</p><p>For Bane, the reunion with Jones comes as Orlando builds momentum from consecutive postseason appearances and a 47-win campaign in 2023-24, the franchise’s best record since 2010-11. Alongside Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the Magic added Bane and Jones this offseason in moves designed to push the team further into contention in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>The reunion also adds intrigue ahead of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-what-desmond-bane-regrets-about-orlando-europe-trip">Orlando’s January Europe trip, where the Magic will face Bane’s former team</a>, the Memphis Grizzlies, in Berlin on Jan. 15 and in London on Jan. 18. The matchup marks the beginning of the NBA’s three-year Europe Games slate and provides both Bane and Jones a chance to face familiar teammates on an international stage.</p><p>With Bane’s shooting and Jones’ steady hand at point guard, the Magic aim to strengthen their backcourt depth and surround Banchero with more experience as he continues to establish himself among the league’s top young stars. Bane’s endorsement of Jones underscores the trust the Magic hope to lean on as they enter the season with elevated expectations.</p><p>Orlando will open its 2025-26 campaign at home against the Miami Heat on Oct. 22 at the KIA Center.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Magic’s Desmond Bane drops ‘steady rock’ take on Tyus Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-orlando-tyus-jones-contract-desmond-bane-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Magic add Tyus Jones on $7 million contract after Desmond Bane trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_1743.jpeg"><figcaption>John Hefti-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Magic add Tyus Jones on $7 million contract after Desmond Bane trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-30T17:49:24-07:00">June 30th, 5:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-30T17:49:24-07:00">June 30th, 5:49pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-orlando-contract-decisions-moe-wagner-caleb-houstan">Orlando Magic started off their offseason moves</a> before the NBA Finals were even over when they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/magic-news-chris-broussard-contender-claim-desmond-bane-trade">acquired Desmond Bane in a trade</a> with the Memphis Grizzlies. The trade was a move towards becoming a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. And with the NBA free agency negotiation period beginning on Monday, the Magic made another big move with veteran point guard Tyus Jones.</p><p>The Magic and Tyus Jones <a href="https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1939841570427076949" rel="noopener">agreed to a contract</a> in free agency for one year and worth $7 million, as per ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel. Jones spent last season with the Phoenix Suns after signing as a free agent in the offseason. The No. 24 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Jones has long been considered one of the best backup point guards in the NBA.</p><p>Last season, Jones’ role with the Suns was split between starting and coming off the bench. He appeared in 81 games, including 58 starts, at a little over 26 minutes per game. He averaged 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists with splits of 44.8 percent shooting from the field, 41.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 89.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>Now entering his 11th season in the NBA, Jones began his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves after they acquired his rights via a draft day trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jones played the first four seasons of his career with the Wolves before signing as a free agent with the Memphis Grizzlies. His Grizzlies stint spanned four seasons as well. Jones also played one season for the Washington Wizards after being traded by the Grizzlies ahead of the 2023-24 season.</p><p>He will now help a Magic team looking to move into the upper-echelon in the Eastern Conference. His role will likely be the primary backup point guard to Jalen Suggs. This past season, the Magic finished with the seventh seed in the East after defeating the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in. They were eventually eliminated in the opening round of the NBA playoffs by the Boston Celtics.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Magic add Tyus Jones on $7 million contract after Desmond Bane trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/orlando-magic/nba-rumors-how-magic-contract-decisions-tyus-jones-suns-chris-paul-reunion');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: How Magic’s contract decisions impact Tyus Jones, Suns’ Chris Paul reunion');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Chris-Paul-and-Tyus-Jones.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: How Magic’s contract decisions impact Tyus Jones, Suns’ Chris Paul reunion</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-30T06:47:40-07:00">June 30th, 6:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-30T06:47:40-07:00">June 30th, 6:47am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Orlando <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/magic-news-orlando-contract-decisions-moe-wagner-caleb-houstan">Magic are looking to make some moves</a> when free agency arrives, as it seems like they’re going all in for next season. After trading for Desmond Bane, it was obvious that they were looking to take that next step, and now they will have to fill in some holes on their roster.</p><p>With the recent moves that the Magic have made, it is setting up for a potential backup guard to <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-freshest-and-hottest-nba?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=167147450&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">sign with them</a>, which also has something to do with Chris Paul, according to the Stein Line.</p><p>“It is believed Orlando’s Sunday business — declining the $11 million team option for Moe Wagner along with the $2.1 million team option for Caleb Houstan — represents two steps toward creating the financial wiggle room needed to finally land Tyus Jones in the Magic Kingdom after the veteran point guard has been linked to them for years,” the Stein Line wrote.</p><p>“If Jones indeed exits Phoenix, that would open the door for Paul’s potential reunion with the Suns,” they continued.</p><p>There were many questions on where <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-chris-paul-reunion-suns-clippers-possibility">Paul might land this offseason</a>, and teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers have come up. The Suns is where Paul made it to the NBA Finals in 2021, and he was a good fit for what they were trying to do, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he returned there.</p><h2><b>Magic looking to make a move for Tyus Jones</b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/nba-rumors-magic-interested-signing-desmond-banes-ex-grizzlies-teammate">Jones has been connected to the Magic</a> for about a week now, and it makes sense with their need for a solid backup guard.</p><p>“Sources say that the Orlando Magic are among the teams to express interest in Jones, who played alongside new Magic marquee acquisition Desmond Bane for three seasons in Memphis. Bane posted on Twitter in April 2024 that ‘doors [are] always open’ for a reunification with Jones,” Jake Fischer wrote.</p><p>Jones has been a solid backup guard for most of his career, and last season he was put in a starting role with the Suns. That experience was probably up and down for him, especially with the Suns not having a great season. If Jones decides to sign with the Magic, hopefully, he’s put in a role that works best for him, and he can help the second unit. It’ll be interesting to see what Jones decides to do when free agency opens.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: How Magic’s contract decisions impact Tyus Jones, Suns’ Chris Paul reunion

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-tyus-jones-mike-budenholzer-disagree-energy-pressure-mounting');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tyus Jones, Mike Budenholzer disagree on Suns ‘energy’ with pressure mounting');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Tyus-Jones-and-Mike-Budenholzer.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Tyus Jones, Mike Budenholzer disagree on Suns ‘energy’ with pressure mounting</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-06T15:44:50-07:00">April 6th, 3:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-06T15:44:50-07:00">April 6th, 3:44pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/suns-vs-knicks-prediction-odds-pick-spread-4-6-2025">Phoenix Suns game against the New York Knicks</a>, they are riding a five-game losing streak. It hasn’t pleased point guard Tyus Jones and head coach Mike Budenholzer at all.</p><p>Following Friday’s game, Jones thinks that his team <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1908371726666264884" rel="noopener">has a ways to go</a> to get back to winning ways.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"We were obviously trying to run them off the 3-point line, trying to make them play inside the 3-point line, but we just ended up just giving them straight lines to the rim, too many layups."  </p><p>Tyus Jones after Suns 20-point loss to Celtics.</p><p>On play-in chase: "We can't afford… <a href="https://t.co/22pYVc8A8c">pic.twitter.com/22pYVc8A8c</a></p><p>— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1908371726666264884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“We can’t afford to lose any games to moving forward honestly when you’re playing catch up,” Jones said via AZCentral’s Duane Rankin. “But we’ve been saying that for a couple of weeks now. Something has got to change.</p><p>“We’ve got to play better ball on both ends of the floor. The level we’re playing at right now just isn’t cutting it.”</p><p>Meanwhile, when Budenholzer got wind of that word, he <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1909003014062453032" rel="noopener">didn’t see eye to eye</a> with his point guard.</p><p>“Don’t know if I agree with him,” Budenholzer said before Sunday’s game via Rankin. “I think we just got to play with each other. We’ve got to get in and out of actions. We’ve got to move together, we’ve got to cover for each other, do other things.”</p><p>That sentiment has been some of the same coach speak the entire season. There hasn’t been much consistency on the court. However, the answers by Budenholzer have been.</p><p>He’s talked about playing better, but his players might’ve had enough of that talk. After all, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-somber-admission-1st-losing-season-5-years">Devin Booker was somber about the Suns losing record</a> for the first time since the 2019-20 season.</p><p>The losing ways, with as talented of a team as they have, don’t make too much sense.</p><h2><b>Suns’ Tyus Jones and Mike Budenholzer don’t see eye to eye</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Tyus-Jones-dribbling.jpg"><figcaption>© Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s often for a player and a head coach to disagree on a point. However, if anyone has a right to complain, it would be Jones. After he was promised to be a starter, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-tyus-jones-reacts-getting-benched-favor-bradley-beal">Jones was benched in favor of Bradley Beal</a>, and then for Collin Gillespie.</p><p>While there were strategic basketball moves behind it, it wasn’t a good look for the team. The point guard himself said that this has been the most challenging season of his career.</p><p>Even after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-tyus-jones-gets-real-playoff-hopes-win-kings">Jones got real about the Suns playoff chances</a> in March, that seems to be a distant memory.</p><p>Regardless, he wants to win and is a winner. In his lone season with Duke basketball, Jones hoisted the 2015 national championship trophy. Since then, he hasn’t won an NBA title yet but is a valuable asset many teams would want.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Don't know if I agree with him."</p><p>Mike Budenholzer when told Tyus Jones said the Suns having been lacking in terms of energy and focus and was asked how can the Suns get back to that.</p><p>"I think we just got to play with each other. We've got to get in and out of actions. We've… <a href="https://t.co/wFlTtdjEVV">pic.twitter.com/wFlTtdjEVV</a></p><p>— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1909003014062453032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>With five games remaining in the season, now is the time for that change to take place. Still, a difference of opinion this late in the season is a microcosm of what has transpired this season.</p><p>Either way, the Suns will take on the Knicks and hope to snap their five-game skid. If not, their 2024-25 season might officially come to a close.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tyus Jones, Mike Budenholzer disagree on Suns ‘energy’ with pressure mounting

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-oso-ighodaro-funny-explanation-constant-communication-tyus-jones');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Oso Ighodaro has funny explanation for ‘constant’ communication with Tyus Jones');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Suns-news-Tyus-Jones-on-Oso-Ighodaro-NOT-FINAL-HL.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns’ Oso Ighodaro has funny explanation for ‘constant’ communication with Tyus Jones</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-23T17:21:10-07:00">March 23rd, 5:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-23T17:21:10-07:00">March 23rd, 5:21pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the games go along, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/suns-news-how-young-hungry-rookies-impressed-devin-booker">Oso Ighodaro has become one of the most impactful players on the Phoenix Suns</a>. Meanwhile, it’s caught the eye of point guard, Tyus Jones.</p><p>After the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-tyus-jones-agrees-to-3-3-million-contract">Suns signed Jones to a $3.3 million deal</a> in the offseason, the former Duke basketball star was expected to run the offense. He’s run both the starting unit, as well as the second unit.</p><p>Even though his role has fluctuated, one thing hasn’t changed. The trust he has in Ighodaro.</p><p>Throughout the season, both players go over coverages, matchups, as well as anything they see. With Jones being one of the most efficient playmakers in the league, Ighodaro took immediate interest.</p><p>He immediately starting picking Jones’s brain on defensive schemes, coverages, and offensive looks. How to get guys like Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker more space.</p><p>Regardless of that, Ighodaro gave <a href="https://x.com/HaydenCilley/status/1903917678114611379" rel="noopener">a funny explanation</a> for his relationship with Jones.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Me and Tyus talk all the time… sometimes he tells me not to talk to him.” 😂<a href="https://twitter.com/GeraldBourguet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GeraldBourguet</a> asked Oso Ighodaro about his relationship with Tyus Jones, and how the two are constantly communicating.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SunsUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SunsUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/TE4XTonV8a">pic.twitter.com/TE4XTonV8a</a></p><p>— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) <a href="https://twitter.com/HaydenCilley/status/1903917678114611379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Me and Tyus talk all the time… sometimes he tells me not to talk to him anymore,” Ighodaro said, jokingly. “He says I ask too many questions, but he’s always looking out for me.</p><p>“Always tells me anything that comes to his mind that he thinks would help me, he tells me. So I feel like we do a good job, especially in the games communicating at a high level.”</p><p>The four-year man at Marquette made tremendous progress each year. One of the more peculiar elements of his game is the playmaking. For someone his size, it’s uncommon.</p><h2><b>Oso Ighodaro’s skill set is unique for the Suns</b></h2><p>He’ll find guys in the right spot and even thread the needle. The confidence to make the right read comes from Ighodaro’s trust in his point guard. Luckily for him, the trust is reciprocated on all fronts.</p><p>Much like his teammates, Jones <a href="https://x.com/HaydenCilley/status/1903915207157768677" rel="noopener">echoed a similar sentiment</a> about his teammate’s IQ.</p><p>“It’s not super common… He’s ahead of the learning curve, for sure,” Jones said.</p><p>Even the guys in the Suns’ Big 3 were initially shocked at his demeanor, poise, and confidence. Not to mention, all of the inconsistencies he’s faced with playing time aren’t for the faint of heart.</p><p>In February, he <a href="https://x.com/PHNX_Suns/status/1903336838871552198" rel="noopener">played a combined 21 minutes</a>. On Friday, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-devin-booker-oso-ighodaro-cavs">Ighodaro played 44 minutes and was a massive part of the Suns win</a>. Once again, he did plenty of the things he’s done all year.</p><p>He is a quality defender and a smart passer, and he uses his basketball IQ and instincts extremely effectively. However, the grassroots of those skills comes from the work behind the scenes.</p><p>Jones explained more of what the duo will do to prepare for a game.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Anything I see that I’m going to implement in my game, I’ll try to break down the defense and I’ll go talk to him as well.”<a href="https://twitter.com/GeraldBourguet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GeraldBourguet</a> asked Tyus Jones regarding how he and Oso Ighodaro are constantly communicating.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SunsUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SunsUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/eE5935DUNt">pic.twitter.com/eE5935DUNt</a></p><p>— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) <a href="https://twitter.com/HaydenCilley/status/1903915207157768677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“A lot of time in practice it’ll be usually (looking at) the scout (team),” Jones said. “Understanding what the defense and our opponent are going to be doing. Then throughout games, we’re in constant communication. Oso is a high IQ player and he makes a lot of passes. A great passer.</p><p>“So for me, anything I see that I’m going to implement in my game or try to help myself break down the defense, I’m talking to him as well. Then talking through pick and roll stuff with him as well. We’re just in constant communication, and we’re just going to continue to build on that.”</p><h2><b>Tyus Jones loves Oso Ighodaro’s mindset for the Suns</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oso-Ighodaro-and-Tyus-Jones.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Staying ready has been the mantra of the Suns rookies the entire year. If a random person watched Friday’s game, they would likely not guess that Ighodaro played only 21 minutes in February.</p><p>Regardless of that, the former All-Big East team member has stamped his presence on the Suns. It has caught everyone’s attention in a positive way.</p><p>Phoenix will take on the reeling Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. After Nick Richards was ruled out of Friday’s contest, Ighodaro might be in line for another start.</p><p>Overall, the confidence and trust from his teammates could give him some much-needed clarity heading into the game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Oso Ighodaro has funny explanation for ‘constant’ communication with Tyus Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-tyus-jones-gets-real-playoff-hopes-win-kings');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tyus Jones gets real on Suns’ playoff hopes after win over Kings');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Suns-news-Tyus-Jones-gets-real-on-Phoenixs-playoff-hopes-after-win-over-Kings.jpg"></figure><h1>Tyus Jones gets real on Suns’ playoff hopes after win over Kings</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-15T09:06:58-07:00">March 15th, 9:06am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-15T09:06:58-07:00">March 15th, 9:06am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After a 122-106 win against the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns guard Tyus Jones opened up about his team’s playoff hopes this season. His team improved to 31-36, the eleventh-best record in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Suns owner <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-mat-ishbia-slaps-phoenix-with-harsh-disappointing-reality">Matt Ishbia </a><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-mat-ishbia-slaps-phoenix-with-harsh-disappointing-reality" rel="noopener">recently reacted to the disappointing season</a>. Jones didn’t hold back on the team’s high expectations heading into 2024-25.</p><p>However, for Jones, there’s no looking back. Instead, <a href="https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1900909860885070306" rel="noopener">he’s looking ahead</a> to what he hopes will be a playoff berth for the Suns despite their lackluster campaign, per AZ Central’s Duane Rankin.</p><p>“There’s a natural mental fatigue that comes with every season. It’s a long season. A lot of games. A lot of travel. Naturally, there’s a mental fatigue, but we just got to push through. There’s no excuses. Every team is facing the same mental fatigue.”</p><p>After beating the Kings, Jones hopes the Suns’ best basketball lies ahead in 2024-25.</p><p>“We had high expectations. We held ourselves to a high standard as well,” Jones added. “The season hasn’t gone as planned, but at the same time, there’s still season left, and there’s still postseason ball ahead, and that’s what we’re chasing and trying to achieve. We can’t dwell on the past. Can’t dwell on what the season’s been so far. All we can focus on is these next 15 games and try to make it in the postseason.”</p><p>Suns All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker both led with 22 points. Jones led the bench with 20 points and four assists, and Ryan Dunn added 16 points. DeMar DeRozan’s 23 points led the Kings. Zach LaVine finished with 21 points, and Malik Monk added 18 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.</p><h2><b>Matt Ishbia on the Suns’ ‘disappointing’ 2024-25 campaign</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Suns-owner-Matt-Ishbia.jpg"><figcaption>Dale Young-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Suns’ Tyus Jones isn’t the only one speaking out. Team owner <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-mat-ishbia-slaps-phoenix-with-harsh-disappointing-reality">Matt Ishbia slapped the Suns with a harsh reality</a>. However, it wasn’t shocking for a team with such high hopes entering the regular season. Ishbia didn’t hold back while delivering his honest opinion on this year’s Suns, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon</p><p>“It’s been a really disappointing year. Very disappointed,” Ishbia said. “There’s not a person in the organization that doesn’t feel that way. We had high expectations. We felt really good about where [we were] going into the season and we’ve not met any of those expectations. We’ve been well below what we all expected, and it’s not anything close.”</p><p>“If we get in the playoffs, I don’t think that we’re an easy out for anybody,” Ishbia concluded.</p><p>The Suns will face the Lakers on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tyus Jones gets real on Suns’ playoff hopes after win over Kings

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-collin-gillespie-unlikely-hero-more-minutes-tyus-jones');   ga('set', 'title', 'The Suns’ unlikely hero that deserves more minutes over Tyus Jones');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Suns-unlikely-hero-that-deserves-more-minutes-over-Tyus-Jones.jpg"></figure><h1>The Suns’ unlikely hero that deserves more minutes over Tyus Jones</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-07T15:05:44-08:00">March 7th, 3:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-07T15:05:44-08:00">March 7th, 3:05pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns’ home arena became unglued on Tuesday after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/suns-news-unsung-guard-kevin-durant-praise-following-win">Collin Gillespie drained his eighth, ninth, and tenth points</a> of the night with almost 30 seconds left. That 3-pointer sealed the 119-117 win, as Gillespie was in for point guard Tyus Jones.</p><p>During the game, it seemed likely that Gillespie would receive any playing time. Once <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-woes-worsen-bradley-beal-leaves-clippers-game-injury">Suns guard Bradley Beal aggravated his left calf</a> that forced him out of the game, however, the team needed a spark.</p><p>After being outscored 41-19 in the second quarter by the Los Angeles Clippers, a change had to happen. The Suns started to claw their way back, but it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Gillespie made his presence known.</p><p>The former Villanova basketball standout was great on both sides. He had the tough task of guarding James Harden, who still had his way as a playmaker.</p><p>Still, offensively was where Gillespie shined. He ran the offense but, most importantly, showed the hustle, grit, and feistiness that the Suns needed. Numerous times, he was wrestling with Clippers center Ivica Zubac for a rebound. Moments like those truly inspired the team to crank it up another gear.</p><p>However, 19 fourth-quarter points from Kevin Durant didn’t hurt either. He had his way with the Clippers, making them look silly. Regardless of his performance, the focus was on Gillespie during the game’s final moments.</p><p>His 3-pointer had the Suns’ bench hyped, Durant hyped, and the fanbase as ecstatic as much as they had been in weeks, if not months. Following the game, the Gillespie had plenty of praise from Durant.</p><p>However, Jones remains the de facto point guard moving forward. Despite head coach Mike Budenholzer saying that a game like that <a href="https://x.com/GeraldBourguet/status/1897758618256392290" rel="noopener">won’t make him a starter</a>, he’s earned a place in the rotation.</p><h2><b>Can Collin Gillespie get more run than the Suns’ Tyus Jones?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Collin-Gillespie-and-Kevin-Durant.jpg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>A great performance is a great performance. Still, Budenholzer hasn’t been afraid to give players an opportunity if they’ve been on a roll. For instance, Bol Bol became a starter because of some legitimate performances off of the bench.</p><p>The same could happen for Gillespie. Again, the head coach shot down the idea of Gillespie starting, but providing quality minutes off the bench is a good start.</p><p>The efficiency, defense, and hustle have been a major point of emphasis. Not to mention his size. The 6-foot-2 guard is bigger than Jones and less of a defensive ability.</p><p>While the latter is more offensively sound, the Suns have been <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/ask?query=suns+defensive+rating&amp;preferred_domain=&amp;direct=true&amp;l=&amp;t=1741387370875" rel="noopener">getting killed defensively when he’s on the court</a>. Bringing someone like Gillespie to play meaningful minutes can establish some consistency on that side of the ball.</p><p>With all of the experimental rotations this season, now might not be the ideal time to try another lineup. There might be a chance for Gillespie to make a statement.</p><h2><b>Collin Gillespie has proven to be a part of the Suns’ rotation</b></h2><p>In the last two games, he’s played 18 minutes or more, and he’s shown elite efficiency. When the Suns were losing to the New Orleans Pelicans on February 27, the guard had a quality game.</p><p>He had <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/collin-gillespie-game-log" rel="noopener">nine points while shooting 80%</a> from the field. He also had four assists, a steal, and a +9 rating in the box score. The statistics are fun to take a gander at.</p><p>However, Durant brought up something interesting in Tuesday’s press conference. He mentioned <a href="https://x.com/GeraldBourguet/status/1897176368393412853" rel="noopener">how furious his teammate was</a> at the loss to the Pelicans. That alone can be a spark for a team like Phoenix. Capitalizing on that might be the key.</p><p>Jones himself has been consistent and has filled his role perfectly. Still, the Suns have dug themselves into a hole. Even with the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks fighting for that play-in spot, Phoenix is trying to get into the mix.</p><p>Plenty of teams have isolated Jones on defense and have made it a point to attack him. Despite moving to the bench, Gillespie might’ve been a better fit, at least for Tuesday’s game.</p><p>The Clippers weren’t able to single him out at any point, even with Harden being matched up with Gillespie. The schedule isn’t in the Suns’ favor by any means. Defenses will continue to be tough, and  Jones might be the odd man out. With being a defensive liability, his offense isn’t elite enough to keep him on the floor. As a result, maximizing Gillespie’s skill set and hot hand could be essential.</p><p>Gillespie might not start, but increasing his minutes is a must. Then, Budenholzer and the rest of the Suns coaching staff can make a determination from there.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The Suns’ unlikely hero that deserves more minutes over Tyus Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-tyus-jones-reacts-getting-benched-favor-bradley-beal');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Tyus Jones reacts to getting benched in favor of Bradley Beal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Suns-news-Tyus-Jones-reacts-to-getting-getting-benched-in-favor-of-Bradley-Beal.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns’ Tyus Jones reacts to getting benched in favor of Bradley Beal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-22T19:31:18-08:00">February 22nd, 7:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-22T19:31:18-08:00">February 22nd, 7:31pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns made a big decision involving the rotation roles of guards Tyus Jones and Bradley Beal.</p><p>Heading into <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/suns-vs-bulls-prediction-odds-pick-spread-2-22-2025">Saturday’s matchup with the Chicago Bulls, the Suns</a> revealed they are benching Jones in favor of Beal. This means instead of having Jones in the starting lineup as the point guard, Beal will now have the starting duties instead.</p><p>Jones gave his thoughts on the team’s decision, being receptive as he <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1893477504159035534" rel="noopener">understands why they made the move</a>, per Suns reporter Duane Rankin.</p><p>“We’re trying to right the ship, trying to figure it out. Coach came to me, let me know that’s what we were going to do. All for it,” Jones said.</p><p>He played 20 minutes off the bench, finishing with two points, six assists, three rebounds, and a steal.</p><h2><b>How Tyus Jones, Suns performed against Bulls</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Feb-20-2025-Austin-Texas-USA-Phoenix-Suns-guard-Tyus-Jones-21-shoots-over-San-Antonio-Spurs-guard-DeAron-Fox-4-during-the-second-half-at-Moody-Center.-Mandatory-Credit-Scott-Wa.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The move to bench Tyus Jones in favor of Bradley Beal seemed to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/suns-news-kenny-smith-incomplete-suns-arent-living-up-to-hype">work out for the Phoenix Suns</a>.</p><p>They beat the Chicago Bulls 121-117 on Saturday night. Phoenix fended off the home side’s advances throughout the second half, nabbing a solid win on the road.</p><p>The Suns had three players score 20 or more points each. Devin Booker led the way with 29 points and eight assists on 10-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Kevin Durant came next with 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Beal provided 25 points and six rebounds.</p><p>Phoenix improved to 27-29 on the season, holding the 11th spot in the Western Conference standings. They are one game behind the Sacramento Kings and two games behind the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>Following the win, the Suns will prepare for their next matchup, being on the road. They face the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Tyus Jones reacts to getting benched in favor of Bradley Beal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-tyus-jones-strong-chauncey-billups-endorsement-blazers-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Tyus Jones earns strong Chauncey Billups endorsement after Blazers win');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Tyus-Jones-earns-strong-Chauncey-Billups-endorsement-after-Trail-Blazers-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns’ Tyus Jones earns strong Chauncey Billups endorsement after Blazers win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-16T17:24:51-08:00">December 16th, 5:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-16T17:24:51-08:00">December 16th, 5:24pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In an era of score-first point guards, Phoenix Suns point guard Tyus Jones still fits the mold of a traditional point guard. He’s a consistent playmaker and someone who caught the eye of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Before Monday’s game, Billups <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1868445457825079399" rel="noopener">gave a strong endorsement</a> to the Suns starting point guard.<br><br>“I’ve been a huge fan of Tyus (Jones) for years, man,” Billups said via AZCentral’s Duane Rankin. “I just think that he makes everybody better. He plays with a level of humility that you love from your point guard. He’s so smart, so crafty. This situation is tailor-made for him, it is. He is a big shot-maker. <br><br>“He knows who he is more than anything, and he knows who he’s playing with. That’s what they needed. I think he’s tailor-made for this situation, but I’ve been a huge fan of Tyus. He’s also a very scrappy defender. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for that, but a lot of teams attack him and go after him, and you have to fight on your hands when you do that. I’m proud and happy for the entire team for the price they got him at.”<br><br>Billups is referencing the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-tyus-jones-agrees-to-3-3-million-contract">Suns landing Jones for $3.3 million</a> in free agency. That bargain of contract has resulted in the Duke basketball alums best season of his career. He’s averaging a career-high 12.8 points, 6.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. His savviness and veteran leadership have been essential while Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal have battled injuries.</p><h2><b>Chauncey Billups sees Tyus Jones’s impact on the Suns </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Suns-Tyus-Jones.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Also, what the Trail Blazers head coach said was indeed true. Jones posted <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jonesty01/gamelog/2025" rel="noopener">19 points on 8-9 shooting</a> and knocked down all three of his three-pointers. Although the Phoenix guard isn’t known as a prolific scorer, that role has been changed. Even <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-devin-booker-gushes-tyus-jones-underrated-skill-suns-defeat-blazers">Devin Booker gushed over Jones’ underrated skill</a> in the win.<br><br>When he made his way to the press conference room, Jones was asked about the compliments from the Portland head coach. That came as a surprise to Jones, and he broke down what those words of affirmation meant to him.<br><br>“That’s a huge compliment to myself,” Jones said. “I was a huge fan of Chauncey growing up. Still a big fan of his to this day. One of the guys I watched a lot growing up, just how he played the game, set the table, made big shots in his career, and did everything on the court. His demeanor is something that I try to imitate. I don’t take that lately to speak highly of me in that matter.”<br><br>The basketball world is beginning to see how dynamic of a player Jones is. On a team with Booker, Beal, and Durant, he often shines. Luckily for him, defenses have a pick-your-poison with those three. As a result, it leaves someone like Jones all alone. He’s been capitalizing on those opportunities.</p><h2><b>Tyus Jones is averaging career-highs in multiple categories</b></h2><p>For instance, he’s averaging the three-point makes and attempts of his career by a wide margin. Also, he’s shooting 44.1% from that range. Regardless of the scoring influx, it doesn’t take away from how the Suns guard aspires to play every night. <br><br>“It’s just how I’ve always kind of played… trying to set the table,” Jones said. “Trying to understand the offensive system. I’m trying to understand the time and score. There’s so much that goes into being a point guard, especially at this level. It’s not for the weak, but it’s the best job in the world, and I don’t take it for granted. I don’t take it lightly. <br><br>“I continue to work on my craft. Physically and mentally, and having the guys we have on this team, having the coaches that we have, and getting the confidence to continue to be myself. (As well as) giving me the green light to make plays, make calls on the fly, or whatever I see, just use my instincts.”<br><br><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-free-agency-grades-for-every-team">One of the most underrated signings in NBA free agency</a> is leaving his mark and will continue to leave his mark. On a team loaded with superstars, Jones is thriving as a scorer while keeping his identity as the floor general.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Tyus Jones earns strong Chauncey Billups endorsement after Blazers win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-devin-booker-gushes-tyus-jones-underrated-skill-suns-defeat-blazers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Devin Booker gushes over Tyus Jones’ ‘underrated’ skill after Suns defeat Blazers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Devin-Booker-gushes-over-Tyus-Jones-underrated-skill-after-Suns-defeat-Blazers.jpg"></figure><h1>Devin Booker gushes over Tyus Jones’ ‘underrated’ skill after Suns defeat Blazers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-15T21:43:31-08:00">December 15th, 9:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-15T21:43:31-08:00">December 15th, 9:43pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/trail-blazers-vs-suns-prediction-odds-pick-12-15-2024">Phoenix Suns secured their second consecutive win</a>, this time against the Portland Trail Blazers. Tyus Jones and Devin Booker were at the forefront of it for Phoenix in that contest.</p><p>Although Booker posted 28 points, it was Jones who stole the show. He had 19 points on 8-9 shooting and knocked down all three of his three-point attempts. Following the win, Booker spoke to reporters and broke down how Jones was successful in <a href="https://x.com/HaydenCilley/status/1868510137989976333" rel="noopener">all facets of the basketball court</a>.</p><p>“He’s mastered that since the sixth grade,” Booker said. “I keep telling y’all to watch him be super punctual. Since then, he’s always had a pace on the open floor and his scoring, which is so underrated. I’m glad that he is on our side.”</p><p>The first season of a Jones and Booker backcourt seems to be paying dividends. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-tyus-jones-unlocking-best-version-devin-booker-team">Jones is having a career season</a> alongside Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant. He’s averaging a career-high 12.5 points, seven assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game. However, he’s averaging a career-high in three-point makes and attempts. Not to mention, Jones is connecting on 42.9% of those. While some can say it’s a byproduct of playing alongside the Suns Big 3, there’s more to it than that.</p><h2><b>Mike Budenholzer and Devin Booker love what Tyus Jones brings</b></h2><p>Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer has an offensive system that emphasizes the three-pointer more than any shot. The Suns are sixth in total threes made and seventh in total threes attempted. That trickles down to every player, from Jones to Booker to Durant. Luckily, the influx of threes wasn’t a lone-season revelation. Jones explained postgame about <a href="https://x.com/HaydenCilley/status/1868510934345367851" rel="noopener">a conversation he had that sparked that influx</a>.</p><p>“That third year (in Memphis), it was in the off-season talking with Taylor Jenkins about just being a little bit more aggressive shooting the ball, especially from the three-point line. So that’s been something they’ve been on me about here as well. Everyone knows about Bud’s system. He wants us to get up threes. Also, with the gravity that KD, Book, and Brad create, everyone else is getting an open look. So just being ready to fire them and knock them down.”</p><p>The Phoenix point guard has been the X-factor heading into the season. It was evident before his first game with the team. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-mike-budenholzer-grayson-allen-tyus-jones-free-agency">Grayson Allen and Budenholzer convinced Jones to join the Suns</a>. 25 games into the season, and it hasn’t disappointed. He’s been the floor general that they missed all of last season. His impact opens up the floor for Booker, Beal, and Durant. For the Suns head coach, he sees that as well as anyone. </p><p>While Jones explained how his three-point emphasis grew, Budenholzer echoed that sentiment. He detailed how he’s been on Jones about taking those shots throughout the game and the season.</p><p>“We probably just have to stay on him and be in his ear more,” Budenholzer said. The more aggressive he is, the better we are as a team. I think that’s harder for him to wrap around with his basketball intellect and his point guard kind of nature. When he’s aggressive, I think we are at our best. He’s done that some recently, and we need more of it.”</p><h2>Tyus Jones has been the Suns’ X-factor this season</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Tyus-Jones-with-Mike-Budenholzer.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Budenholzer isn’t exaggerating about the Suns’ need for more scoring from Jones. In the past eight games, he’s scored 10+ points. In all of those games, he’s shot <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jonesty01/gamelog/2025" rel="noopener">37% from three or better</a> while taking a minimum of three attempts. Plus, it unlocks another dimension to the offenses.</p><p>Defenses will sag off of guys like Jones to focus on the three stars. As a result, it allows Jones consistent, open looks. Phoenix has been encouraged by his increased scoring production. As Jones described it, his mentality is about making the right decision every play.</p><p>“It’s finding in the flow, trying not to pass up shots that they’re just taking,” Jones said. “I’m not hesitating to make my reads. Whatever the defense is giving me in the last couple of games, it’s been some early looks and just getting in a rhythm early on, and that’s been helping me.</p><p>“I’m not coming in saying, ‘I’m going to shoot X amount of times tonight’ or anything like that. I’m just taking what the defense gives me, looking to try to be a playmaker. That’s scoring or creating for others and just taking my shots with confidence.”</p><p>Beal remains out with right knee swelling. It could mean that Tyus Jones will be in line for another scoring opportunity. After all, he’s been in that position for the first 25 games and will likely be in that same spot for the remainder of the season. The emphasis from Devin Booker, Mike Budenholzer, and other teammates and coaches should result in a dead-eye shooter that teams will respect and pay serious attention to.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Devin Booker gushes over Tyus Jones’ ‘underrated’ skill after Suns defeat Blazers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-tyus-jones-royce-oneale-identify-issues-hurting-skid');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tyus Jones, Royce O’Neale identify issues hurting Suns amid skid');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Suns-Tyus-Jones-Royce-ONeale-identify-issues-hurting-Phoenix-amid-skid.jpg"></figure><h1>Tyus Jones, Royce O’Neale identify issues hurting Suns amid skid</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-10T22:42:28-08:00">December 10th, 10:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T22:42:28-08:00">December 10th, 10:42pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns are amid a three-game losing skid, and it hasn’t been encouraging for some to see. Regardless, point guard Tyus Jones and forward Royce O’Neale have a different outlook on their losing streak. Both players spoke after Tuesday’s practice and explained what <a href="https://x.com/PHNX_Suns/status/1866589691333554342" rel="noopener">they believe the underlying issue is</a>.</p><p>“We’re not playing a complete 48 minutes,” Jones said via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. “I think we’re playing well enough to win, but we’re not playing a full 48. We have stretches throughout the game where we get careless. Too many turnovers and not getting the stops that we need.</p><p>“If we can kind of eliminate those stretches, then it’ll help the other parts of the game. We’re playing well, we’re generating good shots, we’re connected on defense. Now, it’s just about putting together longer stretches of good basketball.”</p><p>The Suns have put together solid stretches during the season, most notably at the beginning. For instance, they began the campaign with a 9-2 record. Although those 11 games were with Kevin Durant, it’s been a story with him out. He’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-kevin-durant-injury-return-target-date">missed the past three Suns games with an ankle injury</a>. While Durant has a target return date, it hasn’t prevented Phoenix from making mistakes throughout these games.</p><p>In every game, they had the lead in the second half. Unlike the first 11 games, they weren’t able to sustain the lead. The first game against the New Orleans Pelicans was the exception to the rule. Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram caught fire and scored 21 points in the third quarter. That catapulted the rest of the team to score. However, the last two games could have been key wins for the Suns.</p><h2><b>Tyus Jones and Royce O’Neale have benefited the Suns during this stretch</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Tyus-Jones-dribbling.jpg"><figcaption>© Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Luckily, both <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-resilient-mindset-full-effect-four-game-skid">Jones and O’Neale have performed well and risen to the occasion for Phoenix</a>. Still, the loss doesn’t come as a result of one or two players. Although Bradley Beal and Devin Booker haven’t performed like their fellow teammates during this stretch, it’s unfair to place all the blame on them.</p><p>For instance, the point guard is averaging 15.7 points and 5.3 assists a night on 47.8 percent shooting from deep. O’Neale has been a monster, averaging 19.3 points per game over this stretch. Not to mention, he’s shooting an absurd 58.8 percent from the floor and 63.6 percent from three.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-unheralded-bench-player-drops-career-high-loss-vs-heat">O’Neale even dropped a career-high 23 points</a> against the Miami Heat on Saturday. Regardless, those two have done what they can, but it isn’t enough. Jones echoed a calm sentiment despite the current Suns skid.</p><p>“This road trip was tough because we felt like we played overall pretty well,” Jones said. “We were competing, we were together. We just had stretches where we didn’t make shots, or we let the defensive pressure kind of get to us and turn the ball over too many times. There are things like that, but we just have to learn from it. Stay with it; it’s a long season. It’s just room to grow.”</p><p>Jones is right. Phoenix has only played 23 games so far, which is a little more than a quarter of the season. Still, after starting with a 9-2 record, the Suns have fallen pretty far. Without Durant, the team simply looks lost. With either Friday or Sunday set to be Durant’s return, the Suns have time before their next game. As O’Neale mentioned to AZCentral’s Duane Rankin, the team is <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1866581471231684747" rel="noopener">picking apart components from each game</a> as to why they lost.<br><br>“I think it’s different things throughout each game,” O’Neale said. “It’s different stretches of the game where maybe we had a bad stretch of how the other team went on the run or us having a couple of costing turnovers or simply us just missing shots. We’re doing all the right things, making the right plays. It’s just about sticking with them.”</p><p>When KD is on the floor, they’re <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/suns-record-with-durant-this-season" rel="noopener">11-2 on the season</a>. The shortcomings aren’t reflective of Durant, but they play a key component. Jones and O’Neale have done all they can to step up to the plate. However, getting back to the basics and playing a consistent 48 minutes, with or without Durant, will prove crucial in the thick of the Suns season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tyus Jones, Royce O’Neale identify issues hurting Suns amid skid

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-mike-budenholzer-grayson-allen-tyus-jones-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Mike Budenholzer, Grayson Allen convinced Tyus Jones to sign with the Suns');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/How-Suns-Kevin-Durant-Mike-Budenholzer-helped-Tyus-Jones-to-sign-with-Phoenix.jpg"></figure><h1>How Mike Budenholzer, Grayson Allen convinced Tyus Jones to sign with the Suns</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-30T18:08:08-07:00">September 30th, 6:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-30T18:08:08-07:00">September 30th, 6:08pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the Phoenix Suns signed <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-tyus-jones-agrees-to-3-3-million-contract">Tyus Jones to a one-year, $3.3 million contract</a>, both head coach Mike Budenholzer and guard Grayson Allen were smiling from ear to ear. During the Suns’ media day, Jones explained what the message was when he met with the ownership group.</p><p>“That’s what they brought me here for, just to be me, play my game, be the leader that I am,” Jones said. “The guys allow me to do that. That’s huge for me of having and given that confidence to, you know, go out there and play my game and communicate whatever I see or feel out there.”</p><p>Jones has played with many NBA greats, past and present. He played with Kevin Garnett, Derrick Rose, and Jimmy Butler when they were on the Minnesota Timberwolves. When Jones signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, he backed up point guard Ja Morant. Fast forward to Phoenix, he is playing with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, three of the top stars in the NBA.</p><p>However, it wasn’t only the star power and the ownership group that influenced Jones to sign with the Suns. Grayson Allen was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-tyus-jones-major-factor-join-suns">one of the major factors</a> when Jones signed with the Suns. There were questions about who would be in the starting lineup, between the two. Regardless of the lineup change, Allen remained optimistic about the team’s improvement.</p><p>“Me looking at Ty being a starter, I just feel like our team got a lot better,” Allen said. “I’m still the same, same player, a better player. I’m happy our team got a lot better, I’m happy Tyus is on our team, and I’m looking forward to how we look out there with having him. So I could be more excited to have him on our team and I’m ok with what comes with that.”</p><p>Meanwhile, Durant and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-devin-booker-called-his-shot-with-gold-medal">Booker called their shot for the gold medal</a> while they were in Paris representing USA Basketball. Throughout the preparation for each game, the duo was shocked to learn that the Suns had landed Jones. Even though the two all-stars have played with a plethora of key players, Jones stands out as one they can truly benefit from.<br><br>“Tyus was just another veteran presence that been around great players throughout his career,” Durant said. “He played in different roles where he was coming off the bench, had the feeling for guys that were injured, got traded to a Washington team where he had to assume a starting role. So he’s been in different situations and so a guy who’s seen a lot in this league is always good. Being around the last two weeks, seeing this game, being able to figure out what, and how I can help as well has been fun.”</p><p>Rewinding to Jones’s conversation with upper management, they were unsure if they could sign the point guard. After all, many contending teams were willing to spend extra money.</p><p>“I understand it’s going to be really tough for someone to take less money to come play for the organization,” Ishbia said. “He got a chance to talk to Coach Bud, and he talked to Kevin, Devin, and Brad. Tyus knew Grayson from college, all these guys know what we’re about here, and they were able to communicate that.”</p><h2><b>Will Mike Budenholzer and Grayson Allen make the Tyus Jones signing worth it for the Suns? </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Tyus-Jones-made-an-impression-on-Mike-Budenholzer.jpg"><figcaption>© Rhona Wise-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Jones was one of the hottest names on the free agent market. Although he may not have the superstar aura, his impact cannot be understated. The former Duke Blue Devil had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.35 last season, the highest of any player in a season since individual turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78. Throughout that time, Jones has the three highest marks in a season with 7.04 in 2021-22 and 6.96 in 2018-19.</p><p>He also produced one of the best seasons of his career with the Washington Wizards. Jones averaged <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jonesty01.html" rel="noopener">12 points, 7.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and only 1.3 turnovers</a> per game. For the first time, he started every single game and proved why he deserved to be in that spot. Jones had <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jonesty01/gamelog/2024" rel="noopener">21 of his 66 games with zero turnovers</a>. </p><p>Playing with Durant and Booker seems like a dream come true for Jones. Two players who can score about as well as anybody. However, the Suns still have Beal, who is an exceptional scorer in his own right. Beal had been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-celtics-joe-mazzulla-bradley-beal">playing somewhat of a point guard role</a> throughout the previous season. </p><p>He only played in 53 games and <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bealbr01.html" rel="noopener">averaged 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds</a>, and five assists in 33.3 minutes per game. While Beal was extremely efficient, he was consistently injured and could never find a true rhythm. That, combined with the added pressure of being a playmaker made matters worse. As Beal found out about the signing, he shared his initial reaction to Jones joining the squad.<br><br>“All smiles… that’s it though,” Beal said. “It’s exciting though, man. I get to be a two guard, a combo guard, which is what I was for 12 years of my career. To continue to thrive in that role, I’m just super excited with the team we have. Tyus and Monte (Morris) help everybody, it doesn’t just help me. I’m excited I get to be Brad.”</p><p>The Suns will begin their preseason on October 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Suns fans and the entire NBA can see the impact Jones will have on the Big 3.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Mike Budenholzer, Grayson Allen convinced Tyus Jones to sign with the Suns

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/best-nba-free-agents-remaining-tyus-jones-luke-kennard-gordon-hayward-off-board');   ga('set', 'title', 'Best NBA free agents remaining with Tyus Jones, Luke Kennard, Gordon Hayward off board');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Best-NBA-free-agents-remaining-with-Tyus-Jones-Luke-Kennard-Gordon-Hayward-off-board.jpg"></figure><h1>Best NBA free agents remaining with Tyus Jones, Luke Kennard, Gordon Hayward off board</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-01T13:44:31-07:00">August 1st, 1:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-01T13:51:33-07:00">August 1st, 1:51pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>How is it already August? It seems like the 2023-24 NBA season just ended, yet here we are just over a month away from players reporting back to their teams for preseason practices and training camp in preparation for the 2024-25 season. Still, several key free agents remain available for NBA teams to negotiate with, even after Tyus Jones, Luke Kennard, and others recently came off the board.</p><p>Jones was one of the best free agents remaining after NBA Summer League in Las Vegas concluded. With the market quiet and virtually no teams having the ability to offer him a long-term deal, Jones opted to take a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-tyus-jones-agrees-to-3-3-million-contract">one-year, minimum deal</a> to prove his worth with a contending team. The 28-year-old point guard is among the best in the league when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, and he will now aid Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal in their pursuit of a title with the Phoenix Suns.</p><p>Kennard was another big name to recently come off the board as a free agent late in the NBA offseason, as he ultimately returned to the Memphis Grizzlies. In June, the Grizzlies declined Kennard’s $14.8 million team option in hopes of finding common ground on a deal that would save them some money in luxury taxes. On Wednesday, the two sides came to an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-luke-kennard-returns-11-million-contract">agreement on a $11 million contract</a> for the 2024-25 season. He will become an unrestricted free agent once again next summer.</p><p>While Jones and Kennard decided to sign new contracts, Gordon Hayward didn’t receive much interest this offseason. As a result, the 34-year-old veteran forward has decided to call it quits. On Thursday, Hayward announced on social media that he was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/gordon-hayward-makes-emotional-retirement-announcement-after-14-seasons">going to be retiring</a>, ending his 14-year NBA career. Hayward, a 2017 All-Star, never fully recovered after a devastating leg injury he suffered at the start of the 2017-18 season with the Boston Celtics, as his time with the Charlotte Hornets shortly after was also cut short due to injuries.</p><p>Entering the month of August, very few impactful talents remain available for teams to negotiate with ahead of training camp. However, players like Isaac Okoro and Markelle Fultz still remain on the open market, searching for new contracts before the 2024-25 season.</p><h2><b>Isaac Okoro – Restricted free agent</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Okoro-Celebrates-Three.jpg"><figcaption>Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers have spent a ton of money on their core group this offseason. Donovan Mitchell received a $150 million extension, Evan Mobley received a $224 million maximum rookie contract extension, and Jarrett Allen recently got a $91 million extension. With Darius Garland also under contract after signing a max deal last summer, the Cavs now have their focal points through the 2027-28 season. The only question mark remaining is Isaac Okoro, who remains a restricted free agent this summer.</p><p>Okoro has made a name for himself in Cleveland due to his 3-and-D capabilities while shooting a career-high 39.1 percent from the perimeter during the 2023-24 season. The Cavs have been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/isaac-okoro-cavs-tenure-writing-on-the-wall">exploring all of their options</a> pertaining to bringing Okoro back, as well as possibly including him in a sign-and-trade to upgrade their talent on the wing. It is not hard to imagine that the Cavs will bring him back on a team-friendly contract at this stage, a deal that could set the Cavs up for a roster move ahead of the trade deadline.</p><h2><b>Markelle Fultz – Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><p>After signing both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cory Joseph this offseason, it appears as if Markelle Fultz’s time with the Orlando Magic has come to an end. Despite the label of being a “bust” as the No. 1 overall pick in 2017, Fultz has averaged 11.6 points and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the floor over the last five seasons in Orlando.</p><p>The 26-year-old point guard hasn’t commanded much attention in free agency around the NBA to this point, yet it would be surprising if he isn’t on a roster at the start of training camp. Fultz can still bring a lot to the table as a backup guard for a team that already has an established presence in their backcourt. Keep an eye on playoff-contending teams having interest in Fultz pertaining to one of their final roster spots and a minimum deal.</p><h2><b>Lonnie Walker IV – </b><b>Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Lonnie-Walker-IV-shooting.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>There may not be a better scoring weapon available in free agency right now than Lonnie Walker IV. With a variety of teams interested in his services last offseason, Walker opted to sign a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets. He averaged 9.7 points per game while shooting 38.4 percent from beyond the arc in 58 games with Brooklyn. Any team looking to bolster their bench scoring should want to gamble on Walker with a minimum contract, especially since he is still only 25 years old. Walker is yet another example of how the new financial rules in the CBA have impacted middle-class NBA free agents.</p><h2><b>Talen Horton-Tucker – </b><b>Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><p>Talen Horton-Tucker hasn’t received any real offers from NBA teams in free agency this offseason. The Dallas Mavericks were rumored to have interest in him, but they recently signed Spencer Dinwiddie to round out their roster.</p><p>Last season with the Utah Jazz, Horton-Tucker averaged 10.1 points and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the floor in 51 total games. Do not be surprised if there are quite a few European teams that show interest in the former Los Angeles Lakers second-round pick.</p><h2>Marcus Morris Sr. – <b>Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Marcus-Morris-shoots-over-Jrue-Holiday.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Marcus Morris Sr. will be 35 by the time the 2024-25 season begins. Still, he has proven year-after-year to be a dependable scorer. Throughout the entirety of his career, Morris has always been known for being a shooter, and he shot over 40 percent from three-point range with the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers last season.</p><p>The Cavs still have open roster spots, one of which could go to Morris, and it is possible that the 76ers could explore the possibility of bringing back the veteran. In fact, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer recently <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-marcus-morris-dvis-bertns-nba-free-agency-cleveland-cavaliers-20240801.html?utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_campaign=edit_social_share_twitter_traffic&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=&amp;int_promo=" rel="noopener">flirted</a> with this idea. No matter where Morris ends up, he will be a reliable scorer on the bench.</p><h2><b>Danilo Gallinari – </b><b>Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><p>If there is one area in which Danilo Gallinari can still help a team as he gets set to turn 36 years old, it is three-point shooting. For his career, the Italian big man has shot 38.1 percent from three-point range. Do not let his 32.3 percent shooting from deep last season with the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and Milwaukee Bucks fool you. Even though knee injuries have limited Gallinari’s usage through the years, he is still an experienced offensive weapon who is an excellent option for a contending team to have on their bench. Should Gallinari’s time in the NBA be over, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him return to Italy and play in the EuroLeague.</p><h2><b>Evan Fournier – </b><b>Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Pistons-Evan-Fournier-drives-against-the-Celtics.jpg"><figcaption>Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Much like Gallinari, Evan Fournier is a seasoned veteran who understands his role as a perimeter shooter in this league. Despite the 2023-24 season not being his best, Fournier has still managed to shoot 37.4 percent from three-point range for his career. Any team needing an extra spot-up shooter should look no further than the Frenchman on the wing. It doesn’t appear as if the veteran is having thoughts of leaving the NBA right now.</p><h2><b>Jae Crowder – </b><b>Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><p>It wasn’t too long ago that Jae Crowder was playing a pivotal role for the 2019-20 Miami Heat and the 2020-21 Phoenix Suns. Interestingly enough, both teams ended up making it to the NBA Finals. Known for his abilities as a 3-and-D wing who can guard virtually any position, Crowder brings toughness and experience to his organization. That is why the Milwaukee Bucks have valued his leadership over the last two seasons. However, the Bucks brought in others like Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince this offseason, signaling that Crowder will need to look for a new team. The 34-year-old may wind up being a mid-season addition for any team that runs into injury problems.</p><h2><b>Robert Covington – </b><b>Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Robert-Covington-shooting.jpg"><figcaption>Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>There are so many experienced forwards still remaining on the pen market that are viable three-point shooting options. Robert Covington is another one of those players, but he stands out because of his defensive versatility as a small-ball center. He has the size to still be a rotational defender in this league, and Covington has always been a pretty reliable three-point shooter. Everyone who talks about Covington always discusses what a great locker room leader he is as well. Between playing on the wing and in the frontcourt, Covington is likely to receive a minimum contract from a team.</p><h2><b>Cedi Osman – </b><b>Unrestricted free agent</b></h2><p>When LeBron James departed from the Cavs in 2018, Cedi Osman saw his role on the wing increase. Osman averaged double-digit scoring numbers for four straight seasons in Cleveland, and then he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in 2023. Last season, Osman saw his lowest minutes since his rookie year, resulting in lower than expected scoring and shooting averages. Although Osman is not an electric or athletic finisher, he is a steady presence on the wing that can get going from deep. Out of all the players on this list, he is probably one of the most deserving to remain in the NBA. At the same time, concerns over his defensive effort loom large as to why he remains a free agent late this NBA offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Best NBA free agents remaining with Tyus Jones, Luke Kennard, Gordon Hayward off board

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-tyus-jones-major-factor-join-suns');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tyus Jones reveals major factor in decision to join Suns');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tyus-Jones-reveals-major-factor-in-decision-to-join-Phoenix.jpg"></figure><h1>Tyus Jones reveals major factor in decision to join Suns</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-31T20:37:41-07:00">July 31st, 8:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-31T20:37:41-07:00">July 31st, 8:37pm</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Mike Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns hope to bounce back in the Western Conference after last season’s crushing 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. To that end, the team has filled a major gap in their roster by signing the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-nba-teams-that-will-regret-not-signing-tyus-jones">28-year-old guard Tyus Jones.</a></p><p>During his press introduction, Jones explained why he decided to sign with the Suns in free agency and revealed it was his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-real-reason-why-phoenix-big-3-never-meshed-2023-24-per-grayson-allen">former Duke teammate Grayson Allen</a> who brought him on board.</p><h2>Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tyus-Jones-bringing-the-ball-up-the-court.jpg"><figcaption>© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>“He was definitely on board with me coming here, and recruiting me as well,” Jones <a href="https://x.com/YoungNBA/status/1818771697102995561">told the reporters</a> at his introduction. He also added that Allen made him feel welcome to the team headlined by its Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. Moreover, Jones fondly remembered his days at Duke with Allen.</p><p>“That’s my guy, we go way back,” Jones said. After their conversations during free agency, Allen convinced <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-tyus-jones-agrees-to-3-3-million-contract">Jones to sign with the Suns</a>, he added, “I’m really looking forward to sharing the court with [Allen] again, both on and off the court.”</p><p>Moreover, Jones had nothing but praise for Allen’s work ethic and attitude inside and outside basketball. “It’s what he stands for, how he competes, he’s the ultimate winner,” Jones said, referring to his playing days with Allen at Duke where they won the NCAA National Championship in 2015.</p><h2>Jones’ fit on the Suns</h2><p>Despite boosting their offensive firepower with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-devin-booker-dlo-camp-bradley-beal-offseason">the addition of Bradley Beal</a>, the Suns failed to reach the promised land in 2024. They had posted a record of 49-33 under previous head coach Frank Vogel, but their weaknesses got exposed in the postseason. For instance, they performed poorly in the clutch and they needed a point guard to run their offense.</p><p>The Suns were 25th in turnovers and were the worst fourth-quarter team in the NBA last season. Jones’ skill in running the offense, protecting the ball, and finding the right guys in the right spots should complement a team heavy with shooting and shot creating.</p><p>In his career, Jones averages 7.4 points, 4.3 assists, and 601 career games with the Wolves, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Washington Wizards. He has also <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jonesty01/gamelog-playoffs/" rel="noopener">reached the playoffs four times</a>, averaging 5.8 points and 3.3 assists in 27 playoff games. New coach Mike Budenholzer should feel a lighter load with Jones running the point for a squad hoping to return to the Finals after losing to Budenholzer’s Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tyus Jones reveals major factor in decision to join Suns

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/3-nba-teams-that-will-regret-not-signing-tyus-jones');   ga('set', 'title', '3 NBA teams that will regret not signing Tyus Jones');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/3-teams-that-will-regret-not-signing-Tyus-Jones.jpg"></figure><h1>3 NBA teams that will regret not signing Tyus Jones</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-28T05:42:54-07:00">July 28th, 5:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-28T05:42:54-07:00">July 28th, 5:42am</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, Fansided, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After nearly a month on the open market, Tyus Jones has officially found his next NBA team in the Phoenix Suns, who signed the veteran point guard to a<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-tyus-jones-agrees-to-3-3-million-contract"> one-year, $3.3 million contract</a> that truly shocked fans across the NBA.</p><p>Now, for fans of the Suns, this was the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-2024-nba-free-agency-grades-for-every-signing"> best mid-summer surprise they could imagine</a>, as Phoenix was somehow able to secure a starting-caliber player without so much as a mid-level exception to play with, even if they had to promise the 28-year-old a starting spot to secure his services. But one team’s treasure is every other team’s mistaken non-signing, with fans of seemingly all 29 other NBA teams coming out of the woodwork to complain that their GM didn’t secure Jones’ services.</p><p>Are some of these fanbases overreacting? Sure, but there are a few who should be genuinely upset about losing out on Jones, as he would have been an ideal fit with their respective team.</p><h2><b>3 teams that should have signed Tyus Jones</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tyus-Jones-playing-against-the-Suns.jpg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h2><b>1. Los Angeles Lakers</b></h2><p>When news broke that Tyus Jones had agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million contract with the Suns, the one fanbase that immediately took to social media to air out their disgust with the situation was the Los Angeles Lakers, who haven’t done much of anything in free agency thus far.</p><p>Now on paper, some may argue that a point guard like Jones might not have been the ideal addition to the Lakers, as he’s one of the smaller point guards in the NBA, position un-versatile, and would force the team to shuffle around their starting five should they have retained the rest of their rotation. Then again, Jones is absolutely a playoff-caliber performer who could have helped to make LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ lives easier, all the while freeing up the potential to reshape the roster even further with subsequent trades.</p><p>Would the Lakers look better today with Jones and, say, Jerami Grant – who, for better or worse, has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/zach-lowes-jerami-grant-lakers-remark-has-fans-buzzing">been linked to the team repeatedly</a> – if they could swap out D’Angelo Russell in a three-team trade that also includes a team like the Brooklyn Nets, who <a href="https://lakersnation.com/lakers-rumors-nets-open-to-reunion-with-dangelo-russell/" rel="noopener">reportedly would like to reunite</a> with D-Lo? Debatable, but unfortunately, that option is no longer on the table.</p><h2><b>2. Miami Heat</b></h2><p>If Lakers fans were the most disappointed fanbase in the NBA after the Tyus Jones news broke, the second-most discouraged collection of supporters has to belong to the Miami Heat, who, like LA, is darn disappointed with how their offseason is shaking out.</p><p>Much like the Lakers, the Heat do technically have a point guard in Terry Rozier, who they traded for last season in a PG swap with the Charlotte Hornets involving Kyle Lowry, but after losing Caleb Martin in a situation best described as a contractual snafu, the team could seriously use another top-8 player to fill out the roster, especially one who can run the offense, moving forward. With little money to spend but a serious need to get better, adding Jones for under $4 million could have presented the Heat with an easy way to do just that and more.</p><p>While Jones is a tad undersized for the position at 6-foot, 196 pounds, he is coming off the best season of his professional career, scoring 12 points and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3 on solid volume. Play him alongside Tyler Hero, Josh Richardson, or even Rozier in the starting five, rotate him onto the court whenever Jimmy Butler needs a break, no matter how the Heat decided to use him, Jones felt like a perfect fit with the Heat and his presence will be missed as a result.</p><h2><b>3. Washington Wizards</b></h2><p>Of all the teams in the NBA seemingly in the market for a starting point guard, the team who knew Tyus Jones best of all was the team that could have theoretically brought him back at a much higher value than $3.3 million: the Washington Wizards.</p><p>Originally acquiring Jones from the Memphis Grizzlies last season after the former first-round pick out of Duke turned in a fantastic run in place of Ja Morant in the starting lineup, the veteran point guard seemingly found a home in the nation’s capital, hitting new career highs virtually across the board while helping to make life easier for young players like Bilal Coulibaly.</p><p>With Alexandre Sarr now in place as the Wizards’ new face of the franchise, Jones seemingly could have been even more valuable for the Wizards this season and likely would have drawn a contract worth four-to-six times as much as he will earn from the Phoenix Suns; unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be, even if the pairing was arguably the best in the NBA considering the financial circumstances teams are facing around the association.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
1.5	1.5	2.0	0.5	0.5

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
1.5	1.5	2.0	0.5	0.5