James Jones as EOY candidate

[bigfoot]

I'll leave out moving Oubre and Rubio for CP3 since that would likely be the winner ... choose your top two

[spanishninja]

At least one of Monty or Jones needs to get an award for COTY and/or EOY

[bwgood77]

I guess I will go with the two options that happened this year which might be considered as EOY candidate. Will probably go to Brooklyn though. Their trade was a steal...as was signing Blake Griffin for nothing.

[bwgood77]

Also, if you were just considering James Jones overall moves, I think hiring Monty is probably top two.

[bigfoot]

Also, if you were just considering James Jones overall moves, I think hiring Monty is probably top two.

Almost put that on the list too. I should have been specific and said player moves.

[Saberestar]

Looking how bad Culver is playing, Cam Johnson and Saric for him look an steal.

[bwgood77]

Looking how bad Culver is playing, Cam Johnson and Saric for him look an steal.

We may have taken someone else though, like Coby White, though I'd still rather have Cam I think.

I'm sure Coby's reaction, especially had he heard this before the draft though, would have been:

[lilfishi22]

I think for me it's the Oubre trade which basically was his move which we came out a clear winner in and everyone loved. Ariza gave the Wizards absolutely nothing but empty stats after the team failed to make the playoffs and didn't even play the final half dozen games. In return we got a young guy in Oubre who was still up and coming and helped us in kick starting our new fun and exciting culture.

The other move for me is the Jae Crowder signing. Not just because it was a super savvy pick up, not just because we got him on a solid deal, not just because he's the perfect fit on a team but mainly because it was confirmation that the Phoenix Suns are a team with credibility now.

The Monty hiring, the human management of players rather than as assets, the Rubio move which helped end the mediocrity and the Bubble performance all lead to CP3 wanting to come here and enough for Crowder to leave a Finals team to come here. Yes we offered Crowder an extra year vs Heat but he's not leaving the Heat for an extra year on some rat team.

[Qwigglez]

Trading a terrible Ariza signing into a young player still on their rookie contract in Oubre. And then the Cam Johnson and Saric deal was nice too. James Jones has done a pretty good job at cutting losses where I could see others trying to salvage the investment the Suns already put in in regards to trading Warren, Jackson, Bender. Even doing right by players like letting Tyson Chandler choose where he wanted to play are good traits of a player GM.

It's really the small details that make a difference IMO though, like getting Nader included in the CP3 deal, getting Craig for cash, dumping Jackson and getting Carter (though I liked Melton). Also I liked that we brought back Frank, it's good to keep chemistry guys on the team.

[Crives]

Monty #1
Cam and Dario trade #2

[Keith_myath]

While the lack of hiring a second above-the-rim big man is concerning, his recruiting of culture guys far out-weighs any non-signings or weird trades that have happened.

[bwgood77]

I think for me it's the Oubre trade which basically was his move which we came out a clear winner in and everyone loved. Ariza gave the Wizards absolutely nothing but empty stats after the team failed to make the playoffs and didn't even play the final half dozen games. In return we got a young guy in Oubre who was still up and coming and helped us in kick starting our new fun and exciting culture.

The other move for me is the Jae Crowder signing. Not just because it was a super savvy pick up, not just because we got him on a solid deal, not just because he's the perfect fit on a team but mainly because it was confirmation that the Phoenix Suns are a team with credibility now.

The Monty hiring, the human management of players rather than as assets, the Rubio move which helped end the mediocrity and the Bubble performance all lead to CP3 wanting to come here and enough for Crowder to leave a Finals team to come here. Yes we offered Crowder an extra year vs Heat but he's not leaving the Heat for an extra year on some rat team.

Trading a terrible Ariza signing into a young player still on their rookie contract in Oubre. And then the Cam Johnson and Saric deal was nice too. James Jones has done a pretty good job at cutting losses where I could see others trying to salvage the investment the Suns already put in in regards to trading Warren, Jackson, Bender. Even doing right by players like letting Tyson Chandler choose where he wanted to play are good traits of a player GM.

It's really the small details that make a difference IMO though, like getting Nader included in the CP3 deal, getting Craig for cash, dumping Jackson and getting Carter (though I liked Melton). Also I liked that we brought back Frank, it's good to keep chemistry guys on the team.

The Oubre trade was great, though of course it wasn't our original trade....though trading Ariza for Dillon Brooks would have been great too...he would have been a very nice Booker backup and I see why that was his original preference. Trading Ariza for anything useful would have been a win though.

[Bogyo]

While the lack of hiring a second above-the-rim big man is concerning, his recruiting of culture guys far out-weighs any non-signings or weird trades that have happened.

Agreeable - although I'd say that the weird trades and the non-signings were managed a bit better we would be REAL contenders, which would be the goal with CP on board (for the next couple years). We'll see how we go from here. If those get "corrected" and we are in the Finals / WCF then I'm happy.

[RedIndian]

Jones is a great culture-setter clearly, and has made a ton of good moves. That said, trading for Chris Paul or signing Jae Crowder hardly requires some genius level executive intelligence.

The small-market contenders consistently draft well, develop young talent and execute creative trades with an eye not just on culture but also on extracting maximum value.

Jury is still out on Jones being able to do that.

[Bogyo]

Jones is a great culture-setter clearly, and has made a ton of good moves. That said, trading for Chris Paul or signing Jae Crowder hardly requires some genius level executive intelligence.

The small-market contenders consistently draft well, develop young talent and execute creative trades with an eye not just on culture but also on extracting maximum value.

Jury is still out on Jones being able to do that.

Yeah, but almost every other year someone wins it with the same kind of "track-record", so I got no problem with us winning it this time like that. JJ was good for culture for sure. If stars/players convince each other (and in this case, CP convincing JJ too ) to join forces and the GM gets the recognition its not the worst thing in the world. It was like this, will be like this.

[RunDogGun]

I like all the small stuff like getting Payne and Craig. I still wanted Clarke last draft. I think he would have fit our culture we built. I like Smith, but I was hoping for more development this year.

[bwgood77]

I like all the small stuff like getting Payne and Craig. I still wanted Clarke last draft. I think he would have fit our culture we built. I like Smith, but I was hoping for more development this year.

Clarke would have been a great defender, finisher and his 3 pt shooting was better than advertised his rookie year. Even though it has come down, his overall efficiency (TS%) is near identical, though Clarke's defense has been much better (though Cam has been much better than anticipated here), his BPM is much better (1.3 to -.6), and net rating is 10 to Cam's -1.

Clarke would make a nice bench player since Dario can hit 3s so Clarke could be a great finisher there and help with better defense to join the guards who are solid.

I can see reasons for both, but I like Cam more than I expected at the draft, and I think his relationship with Bridges and fit with the team is good, though I think Clarke's would have ben as well.

[RunDogGun]

I like all the small stuff like getting Payne and Craig. I still wanted Clarke last draft. I think he would have fit our culture we built. I like Smith, but I was hoping for more development this year.

Clarke would have been a great defender, finisher and his 3 pt shooting was better than advertised his rookie year. Even though it has come down, his overall efficiency (TS%) is near identical, though Clarke's defense has been much better (though Cam has been much better than anticipated here), his BPM is much better (1.3 to -.6), and net rating is 10 to Cam's -1.

Clarke would make a nice bench player since Dario can hit 3s so Clarke could be a great finisher there and help with better defense to join the guards who are solid.

I can see reasons for both, but I like Cam more than I expected at the draft, and I think his relationship with Bridges and fit with the team is good, though I think Clarke's would have ben as well.

I like that Cam has taken it to the hoop more this season, and he seems smart about his drives. Clarke has a lot more athleticism, and at times we really need that. I hope Cam's shot comes back.

[Slim Charless]

Looking how bad Culver is playing, Cam Johnson and Saric for him look an steal.

We may have taken someone else though, like Coby White, though I'd still rather have Cam I think.

I'm sure Coby's reaction, especially had he heard this before the draft though, would have been:

Still wouldn't mind trading a low 1st for him if for whatever reason we can't bring Cam Payne back. He's still very young and unlike a lot of players his age, he does care. He's just outta control sometimes. CP3 university could change his whole mindset.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Jones is a great culture-setter clearly, and has made a ton of good moves. That said, trading for Chris Paul or signing Jae Crowder hardly requires some genius level executive intelligence.

The small-market contenders consistently draft well, develop young talent and execute creative trades with an eye not just on culture but also on extracting maximum value.

Jury is still out on Jones being able to do that.

The Paul and Crowder moves don't happen if Jones hadn't laid the foundation to make the suns a respectable team the year before. It's all connected.

Jones hasn't been perfect, no GM is. He definitely takes the approach that having the roster he wants is more important than squeezing every ounce of asset value out of a deal. So while it's true from a 'value' standpoint some of the moves in the summer of 19 weren't great he prioritized getting the group he wanted immediately vs being patient and squeezing value out while possiblity having another year of a roster that didn't fit what he envisioned both culture and skill wise. Looking back I think he was right that the suns couldn't afford another misserable year.

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