Rate Suns GM James Jones offseason

bigfoot · Post #1 » by **bigfoot** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 1:53 am

OUTGOING:
Ricky Rubio (starter)
Kelly Oubre (did not play in 8-0 bubble run)
Aaron Baynes (did not play in 8-0 bubble run)
Frank Kaminsky (played a minor role in the bubble)
Ellie Okobo (bench scrub)
Ty Jerome (bench scrub)
Cheick Diallo (bench scrub)
Jalen Lecque (bench scrub)
2021 1st round pick, protected

INCOMING:
Chris Paul (Led OKC to a playoff berth)
Jae Crowder (Starter for Miami Heat in Finals) ... $29M MLE over three years
Abdel Nadar (Bench role on OKC playoff team)
E'Twaun Moore (Bench guard for Pelicans) ... vet min
Langston Galloway (Bench guard for Pistons) ... vet min
Damian Jones (Part-time starting center, bench role for Hawks) - vet min non-guaranteed
Jalen Smith (rookie draft pick #10)

RETAINED FREE AGENTS:
Jevon Carter (major bench SG role in 8-0 bubble run) ... $11.5M over three years
Dario Saric (major bench C role in 8-0 bubble run) ... $27M over three years

RETURNING PLAYERS
Devin Booker (starting SG)
Mikal Bridges (starting SF)
Deandre Ayton (starting C)
Cameron Johnson (major starting PF role in 8-0 bubble run)
Cameron Payne (major bench PG role in 8-0 bubble run)

Projected depth chart

PG: Paul/Booker/Payne/Galloway/Moore
SG: Booker/Carter/Moore/Galloway/Bridges
SF: Bridges/Johnson/Crowder/Nader
PF: Crowder/Johnson/Saric/Bridges/Smith
C: Ayton/Saric/Smith/Jones

azcatz11 · Post #2 » by **azcatz11** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:02 am

Voted A - landing Crowder with that contract was a steal. CP3 on the team for the next 2 years is going to be amazing.

Tor_Raps · Post #3 » by **Tor_Raps** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:08 am

I gave an A but man... can your post be anymore biased lol. I'm pulling for them in the West.

JB2 · Post #4 » by **JB2** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:31 am

Jalen Smith was the only questionable move but the entire draft, especially this year, is a giant crap shoot. Also lost some size but that wasn't a huge thing.

A-

IAMZOOTED2 · Post #5 » by **IAMZOOTED2** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:34 am

I said B, but on paper it's an A. Gotta see how these pieces fit together first

Meeksology · Post #6 » by **Meeksology** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:36 am

Tor_Raps wrote:I gave an A but man... can your post be anymore biased lol. I'm pulling for them in the West.

Lol I was just about to say the same thing. He ain't even tryin to hide it.

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Crives · Post #7 » by **Crives** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:39 am

I am really curious to see Jalen Smith. The kid has had a ton of time to train (like all of the rookies). Really excited about this pick, not many athletic bigs that can dribble, rebound, block shots and hit the three (not just set shots)

Lukeem · Post #8 » by **Lukeem** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:52 am

D. For desperation of op

AussieCeltic · Post #9 » by **AussieCeltic** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:54 am

Solid off season. I would've drafted Haliburton. Would've been great to learn from CP3 then eventually take the reigns in a few years, but I don't hate the Smith pick.

realball · Post #10 » by **realball** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 2:57 am

Meeksology wrote:
Tor_Raps wrote:I gave an A but man... can your post be anymore biased lol. I'm pulling for them in the West.
Lol I was just about to say the same thing. He ain't even tryin to hide it.

Sent from my SM-N950W using RealGM mobile app

We had a poster named RaptorsPride make a thread on the general board about how the Raps are the best drafting team. Calm yourselves.

The Suns arguably had the best off-season of any team, James Jones deserves credit for making the Suns a playoff team again.

Tor_Raps · Post #11 » by **Tor_Raps** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 3:12 am

realball wrote:
Meeksology wrote:
Tor_Raps wrote:I gave an A but man... can your post be anymore biased lol. I'm pulling for them in the West.
Lol I was just about to say the same thing. He ain't even tryin to hide it.

Sent from my SM-N950W using RealGM mobile app

We had a poster named RaptorsPride make a thread on the general board about how the Raps are the best drafting team. Calm yourselves.

The Suns arguably had the best off-season of any team, James Jones deserves credit for making the Suns a playoff team again.

I said I gave the Suns an A and I am pulling for them. Ive gone as far as saying they're a dark horse to win a title this year depending on the improvement Ayton makes.

Still doesn't change the level of bias in your post. Just embrace the homerism lol.

Post #12 » by **zimpy27** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 3:33 am

B

Probably 7th or 8th best off-season in the league.

HotelVitale · Post #13 » by **HotelVitale** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 3:35 am

Tor_Raps wrote:I gave an A but man... can your post be anymore biased lol.

LOL I couldn't get past that. Imagining various trades presented like that:
--James Harden (bench player/ choke artist in last year's PO) for Kevin Martin (stud scorer), J Lamb (exhilarating young prospect), and a motherlode of blue-chip draft picks
--Gail Goodrich (ex all star and dominating awesomeness) for Magic Johnson (fat college player who's too tall not to get the ball stolen every time) and two 1sts (most 1sts bust anyway)

bigfoot · Post #14 » by **bigfoot** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 3:38 am

realball wrote:
Meeksology wrote:
Tor_Raps wrote:I gave an A but man... can your post be anymore biased lol. I'm pulling for them in the West.
Lol I was just about to say the same thing. He ain't even tryin to hide it.

Sent from my SM-N950W using RealGM mobile app

We had a poster named RaptorsPride make a thread on the general board about how the Raps are the best drafting team. Calm yourselves.

The Suns arguably had the best off-season of any team, James Jones deserves credit for making the Suns a playoff team again.

Appreciate the positive comment realball.

To the others ... I'm happy to admit the post may be biased but nothing I said was untrue or exaggerated. James Jones kept the core of the winning bubble team together and added veterans with playoff experience, which the team sorely lacks. If I wanted to make it more biased I could have pointed out the cumulative number of games of playoff experience the Suns have now compared to last season. Also, he added a lot of three-point shooting to the roster with the new additions.

I personally liked Rubio a lot and have missed a cerebral point guard leading the team after watching years of Westphal, KJ, Kidd, and Nash. Oubre was also fun to watch and Jones probably made a mistake only offering him a two-year contract last year. It certainly forced his hand to move him, although that may have been his plan all along.

Sadly Rubio was a casualty of that decision. Apparently, Rubio was told he wasn't on the block and then heard from a teammate he had been traded. In the future, that can impact front-office perception by players in the league. Certainly, there are risks bringing in CP3 because of his very large contract, age, and the possibility for injury. Likewise, Jalen Smith may only see minutes in blowout wins or losses unless we have an injury to Ayton or Saric. Those types of things could fairly be reflected in an offseason grade for Jones.

JJ_PR · Post #15 » by **JJ_PR** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 3:41 am

I'd give him a B+. He got Chris Paul for cheap. Jalen Smith was a slight reach, but he can stretch the floor & is very athletic. He fits well in the modern NBA.

youngthegiant · Post #16 » by **youngthegiant** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 4:53 am

Contract negotiations/signings: C+

Trades: A

Draft: C-

Overall: B-

Monky15 · Post #17 » by **Monky15** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 5:20 am

I like the Smith pick, seems to have some real boom/ bust potential and I remember people laughing at Jones at last years draft saying he reached for Johnson and that's turned out well. I think Jones is one of the best up and coming roster builders in the league.

Merc_Porto · Post #18 » by **Merc_Porto** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 5:38 am

One question...
Is Cam Johnson coming off the bench?

He's a stud, love his game and he should't be coming off the bench. Stay with what you have and just replace Paul for Ricky in that lineup.

76ciology · Post #19 » by **76ciology** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 5:55 am

Not a fan of the CP3 trade. It’s quite expensive for a 2 year rental IMO.

Why not just trade for a younger player like Jrue?

You get to be competitive longer. I mean, it’s not like the Suns have a small window and has to win it in the next 2 years.

He also overpaid for Crowder. If you look at the numbers, Crowder has been a bad 3pt shooter except for the 8 games he played for the Heat. He was even a below average shooter for the Heat in the play-offs.

bigfoot · Post #20 » by **bigfoot** » Wed Dec 2, 2020 6:24 am

mercgold3 wrote:One question...
Is Cam Johnson coming off the bench?

He's a stud, love his game and he should't be coming off the bench. Stay with what you have and just replace Paul for Ricky in that lineup.

In James Jones press/zoom conference yesterday he said everything would come down to positional battles except for Paul and Booker. Hard to imagine Ayton or Bridges not being the starter but ... Monty and Jones have been really espousing competition for playing time. Must say It nice after watching years of gifted playing time for youngsters like Bender, Chriss, and Jackson.

Give James Jones a 2020 offseason grade