Meet the Suns’ newest addition from the Wizards: point guard Tyus Jones
The Phoenix Suns introduce their new point guard Tyus Jones to the media.
The Phoenix Suns officially announced on Tuesday that they have waived Nassir Little and EJ Liddell, leaving them with 14 standard players and three two-way players.
The Suns plan to extend the remaining $22 million of Little’s contract to three years, sources confirmed to The Arizona Republic earlier this month, and they now have a spot open on the standard roster.
Here are one-line projections for each player about a month before training camp begins. The Suns will likely hold their media day in late September, followed by training camp. Phoenix opens the 2024-25 regular season on Oct. 23 at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Devin Booker – His career year is upon us, and he will break the franchise’s all-time points record in the first year of a supermax contract following his Olympic gold medal run.
Kevin Durant – The Suns cannot afford to waste another great season from the soon-to-be 36-year-old future Hall of Famer by losing again in the first round of the playoffs.
Bradley Beal – Can Beal, who shot 43% from 3-point range in his career year, be a catch-and-shoot player like Ray Allen at the end of his career?
Tyus Jones – Phoenix is lucky to find such an answer with a point guard who led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio for years and shot threes (41.4% from distance last season in his career) for the minimum until deep into free agency.
Jusuf Nurkic – The now slimmer and leaner 7-foot-4 player can also once again pose a threat on 3-point shots, as he can finish in the box and defend better against more athletic tall players.
Grayson Allen – After leading the league in 3-point shooting last season and scoring a career-high 13.5 points in 75 games (74 starts), Allen will likely begin the season as a substitute as the Suns play with three guards, Booker, Beal and Jones.
Royce O’Neale – The Suns need him to have a year of success on defense and hit at least 40% of his 3-point shots.
Bol Bol – Can the talented, 7-foot-tall player and crowd favorite become a rotation player on a playoff team?
Mason Plumlee – He protects the basket and has the ability to finish from deep, but can the veteran player stay healthy after playing in 80 games over the last two seasons (playoffs included)?
Monte Morris – Perfect backup point guard who protects the ball (0.8 career turnovers average) and shoots threes (39.1% three-point shooting over his career).
Josh Okogie – It might be difficult to find minutes, especially if he doesn’t improve his 3-point shooting, but the athletic winger plays hard, defends and makes energetic plays.
Damion Lee – After missing the entirety of last season with a knee injury, Lee returns looking to create more room for play and basketball IQ.
Ryan Dunn – The first-round pick from Virginia will get a chance because of his athletic and defensive versatility, but he will need to be a threat on offense to see action in the second half of the season.
Ighodaro Bear – Special skills for a big man who could cause a surprise in his first year.
Collin Gillespie (two-sided) – A third-string point guard who was part of a championship team in his rookie year in Denver.
Jalen Bridges (two-way) – Showed the ability to control play, make good decisions and shoot threes in Summer League.
TyTy Washington Jr. (two-sided) – Like Ighodaro, a local talent with some skills.
Have an opinion on the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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