The Phoenix Suns may be shoring up their most glaring area of weakness.
Longtime Phoenix sportswriter John Gambadoro reported on Saturday that the Suns have a “real chance” of signing guard Tyus Jones in free agency. Gambadoro notes that the two sides have already had talks and that a signing could happen “very quickly” before the end of the weekend.
The 28-year-old Jones, still available as an unrestricted free agent, would be an enormous get for Phoenix. He was one of the NBA’s top assists leaders last season, averaging 7.3 of them per game for the Washington Wizards (ranking him ninth in the league overall). Jones also put in 12.0 points a game on very efficient 49/41/80 shooting splits.
The point guard position was a major deficiency for the Suns last season as they failed to get the results that they wanted from a starting backcourt of Bradley Beal and Devin Booker (two true shooting guards). As a second-apron team, Phoenix would only be able to offer Jones, a former NCAA champion at Duke as well, the veteran’s minimum. But with Jones still unsigned almost a month now into free agency, the chance for a starting spot as well as to potentially compete for an NBA title with the Suns may make up for the pay cut. Jones would also serve as a sizable upgrade over the other point guard Phoenix recently signed in free agency.
