Suns GM James Jones Ranks as One of Best Execs in NBA

The Phoenix Suns received a lot of praise behind their strong offseason, with much of the attention going towards new owner Mat Ishbia.

Perhaps rightfully so, as Ishbia took over and immediately injected a new sense of life into the organization, flexing not only his financial muscles that previous owner Robert Sarver never possessed but also the intent to smartly spend that money in order to compete for a championship.

For Ishbia, the second apron of the luxury tax means nothing if the Suns can capture a franchise-first championship this season.

Ishbia should continue to receive praise, though general manager James Jones is seemingly free from the hindrance and limitations set by previous ownership - and he's done a great job since taking over the role in 2018. 

Jones helped assemble a squad that nearly won the 2021 NBA Finals while also piecing together an entirely new squad (sub Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton) that should again carry expectations of going the distance with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in town.

In Yahoo!'s ranking of each NBA team's top executive, Jones landed at No. 4 on the list behind Danny Ainge, Masai Ujiri and Brain Wright. 

The system was based on baseball's Sabermetrics that graded transactions for drafts, free agency and trades. Jones was the No. 1 exec when grading free-agent signings. 

Grading Key

HR: Bona fide All-Stars

3B: Top-flight performers

2B: Front-end rotation players

1B: Other noteworthy contributors

BB: Lateral and inconclusive moves

K: Diminished returns

Jones' Grade

Draft picks (OBP: .333 • SLG: .667 • OPS: 1.000)

• 2B: Cameron Johnson (11th, 2019)
• K: Ty Jerome (24th, 2019) • Jalen Smith (10th, 2020)

Trades (OBP: .667 • SLG: 1.000 • OPS: 1.667)

• HR: Chris Paul [2020]
• 2B: Kevin Durant [2023]
• 1B: Tyler Johnson [2019] • Torrey Craig [2021] • Jock Landale [2022]
• BB: Trevor Ariza [2018] • Aaron Holiday [2022] • Darius Bazley [2023]
• K: T.J. Warren [2019] • De'Anthony Melton [2019] • Landry Shamet [2021] • Jalen Smith [2022]

Free agents (OBP: .750 • SLG: 1.000 • OPS: 1.750)

• 2B: Ricky Rubio (2019) • Jae Crowder (2020)
• 1B: Cameron Payne (2020) • Bismack Biyombo (2022) • Damion Lee (2022) • Josh Okogie (2022)
• K: Frank Kaminsky (2019) • JaVale McGee (2021)

TOTALS ... OBP: .652 • SLG: .950 • OPS: 1.602