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Suns agree to deal Tyus Jones, plan to start new point guard

Theo

The Phoenix Suns have reached an agreement with free agent Tyus Jones and Jones is expected to be Phoenix’s new starting point guard next season, according to Arizona Sports Jean Gambadoro.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal is for one year and $3.3 million.

Gambadoro said Grayson Allen was expected to be moved to the bench. Jones has received other offers from teams including the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies, according to Gambadoro.

Jones established himself as a top backup point guard in the NBA the past two seasons before starting for the Washington Wizards last season. He averaged 12.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3-point range. Both shooting percentages were also the best of his nine-year career.

Jones resembles new Suns point guard Monte Morris, a smaller point guard known for his ability to manage the game as a point guard. Jones led the league in assists-to-turnovers ratio for five straight seasons.

This is a huge acquisition for the Suns in free agency, as the team can only sign players at the veteran minimum salary. Jones was likely looking for a decent salary, but he was still a free agent and decided to take a discount to come to Phoenix.

Jones’ move to the starting five would pose obvious defensive questions on the perimeter. Phoenix was already facing those with Allen in the starting five, but Allen has more size and toughness than Jones and handled those duties admirably throughout last season. Allen is also responsible for a good portion of the Suns’ three-point volume and has thrived with all that extra space, leading the league in three-point percentage at 46.1 percent.

But Jones will bring direction and organization to a team that sorely lacked it last season. Much of that is due to the lack of a natural point guard and the coaching staff’s inability to connect with the roster. Now, the Suns will enter the season with two of those leaders and have also replaced former head coach Frank Vogel with Mike Budenholzer.

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