Evaluating James Jones as acting GM

[AzStevenCal]

Bump. It is Sunday the 23rd and an unnamed MGP has kept himself out of the news.

And the Suns won four in a row, lost a close game in triple overtime and came up short less than 24 hours later. A ray of Suns-shine.

Unfortunately, without the addition of a skilled distributor and a Head Coach who can react to situations and then create, we are (as everyone knows) not yet staffed to make too much happen.

But it feels better now than before.

I think it's better to refer to him as "owner" because that's what he is in the NBA world. As far as I know, he doesn't get invited to the MGP meetings. Besides, far too many people will read this and go HUH.

I'm happy with where we are right now including our coaching. I could care less about wins once the game is over, it's more important to me that we continue to see progress from our young guys. We aren't tanking but there's every reason to expect us to be looking at a top 8 pick so hopefully we can add either the PG or the PF we need.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think it's better to refer to him as "owner" because that's what he is in the NBA world. As far as I know, he doesn't get invited to the MGP meetings. Besides, far too many people will read this and go HUH.

I'm happy with where we are right now including our coaching. I could care less about wins once the game is over, it's more important to me that we continue to see progress from our young guys. We aren't tanking but there's every reason to expect us to be looking at a top 8 pick so hopefully we can add either the PG or the PF we need.

Agree with all of this.

 

[Hoop Head]

I think it's better to refer to him as "owner" because that's what he is in the NBA world. As far as I know, he doesn't get invited to the MGP meetings. Besides, far too many people will read this and go HUH.

I'm happy with where we are right now including our coaching. I could care less about wins once the game is over, it's more important to me that we continue to see progress from our young guys. We aren't tanking but there's every reason to expect us to be looking at a top 8 pick so hopefully we can add either the PG or the PF we need.

I agree with this for the most part. The only issue I have is with the "care less about wins" part. I think they're more important than you view them, not just for creating a better culture with our young players but also to know what we have in Igor. Wins matter when it comes to evaluating him. We don't need to go 500, it would be nice if we did but that's just not going to happen right now. I believe our winning percentage needs to improve every month of this season though. We went 1-6 with a .167% winning percentage in October, 3-12 in November with a .20 winning percentage, and in December we're 4-7 for a .364 winning percentage. If we can stay around 35% this month and get it close to 40% in January, 45% in February, and 50% in March then I think that shows steady improvement across the board and should help us enter next year with a little bit of momentum.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I agree with this for the most part. The only issue I have is with the "care less about wins" part. I think they're more important than you view them, not just for creating a better culture with our young players but also to know what we have in Igor. Wins matter when it comes to evaluating him. We don't need to go 500, it would be nice if we did but that's just not going to happen right now. I believe our winning percentage needs to improve every month of this season though. We went 1-6 with a .167% winning percentage in October, 3-12 in November with a .20 winning percentage, and in December we're 4-7 for a .364 winning percentage. If we can stay around 35% this month and get it close to 40% in January, 45% in February, and 50% in March then I think that shows steady improvement across the board and should help us enter next year with a little bit of momentum.

I could have worded that better. I just meant that once the game has ended, whether we won or lose means little to me. I think we're going to win somewhere around 25 games and I'm fine with that as long as we are focused primarily on developing the players.

 

[Hoop Head]

I could have worded that better. I just meant that once the game has ended, whether we won or lose means little to me. I think we're going to win somewhere around 25 games and I'm fine with that as long as we are focused primarily on developing the players.

I had a feeling that you weren't in the "who cares about our record" camp, which is why I didn't really question the stance that much and just added how I hope things turn out, or would be happy with them turning out.

 

[Cheesebeef]

That's an exaggeration, but I think it is true that he let his celebrity get to his head, and he's now more interested in getting his name out there than he is in knowing what he's talking about.

his rewatchables podcast is pretty entertaining.

that's all I got.

 

[BC867]

I think it's better to refer to him as "owner" because that's what he is in the NBA world. As far as I know, he doesn't get invited to the MGP meetings. Besides, far too many people will read this and go HUH.

I'm happy with where we are right now including our coaching. I could care less about wins once the game is over, it's more important to me that we continue to see progress from our young guys. We aren't tanking but there's every reason to expect us to be looking at a top 8 pick so hopefully we can add either the PG or the PF we need.

A question, Steve. Do you think the hope of a rookie Point Guard will make the rest of the team better?

Ot to put it another way, I truly believe that a skilled role-playing Point Guard -- the sooner, the better -- is essential.

Someone who has NBA experience running the Point and a track record that can be evaluated to determine how what he can do fits the rest of the roster.

A draftee would be a crap shoot, wouldn't he? While Booker still has to play out of position. And Ayton still has to drive twenty feet to score. For how many more years?

P.S.: The Managing General Partner doesn't get invited to Managing General Partner meetings?

 

[AzStevenCal]

A question, Steve. Do you think the hope of a rookie Point Guard will make the rest of the team better?

Ot to put it another way, I truly believe that a skilled role-playing Point Guard -- the sooner, the better -- is essential.

Someone who has NBA experience running the Point and a track record that can be evaluated to determine how what he can do fits the rest of the roster.

A draftee would be a crap shoot, wouldn't he? While Booker still has to play out of position. And Ayton still has to drive twenty feet to score. For how many more years?

P.S.: The Managing General Partner doesn't get invited to Managing General Partner meetings?

I'm not fond of role playing point guards in today's game. Almost every team that starts one immediately starts looking to upgrade and for a very good reason. I've said it many times before but it's worth repeating, the rules of the game today favor a scoring perimeter ball-handler. If you don't have one of those, you're behind the times.

Now, with a great scoring center, the right role playing point guard just might be enough for us but there simply aren't very many of them (skilled role playing PGs). We have at least as good of a chance of developing one from the draft as we do acquiring one by other means. But if we get one some other way, great, as long as it doesn't take too much of a bite out of our assets. We all want everything to happen as soon as possible but for the next few years, IMO, our success will be both propelled by and hindered by our youth.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Bill Simmons is unarguably the most incompetent NBA "journalist"

If you value solid information the best thing to do is to blacklist Bill Simmons.

Bill Simmons probably thought the Suns should trade Ayton and a 1st for that overrated horrible shooting PG on the Celtics.

It's hilarious, every time he talks about the Celtics, every player is like the best at their position. Jaylen Brown is better than Booker! Jayson Tatum is a top five player!

I think a few people on this board have nailed the Celtics, the sum is greater than the whole. The only really good player in that team is Kyrie. The rest feed off of Stevens coaching and playing around a team that doesn't have any bad players.

 

[taz02]

Jame Jones has done a great/good job so far if for no other reason than removing players to force on court adjustments.

The addition of good attitude and personality guys (Oubre and Crawford) and the shipping out of the negative crap Tyson, Ariza and possibly Rivers are all good signs. We just have to see if he can add the right PG.

 

[Mainstreet]

Jame Jones has done a great/good job so far if for no other reason than removing players to force on court adjustments.

The addition of good attitude and personality guys (Oubre and Crawford) and the shipping out of the negative crap Tyson, Ariza and possibly Rivers are all good signs. We just have to see if he can add the right PG.

I'm sort of where you are at. I like the moves James Jones has made thus far but I am waiting to see how he handles the trade deadline, the draft and free agency before reaching an opinion.

 

[sunsfan88]

Bill Simmons probably thought the Suns should trade Ayton and a 1st for that overrated horrible shooting PG on the Celtics.

It's hilarious, every time he talks about the Celtics, every player is like the best at their position. Jaylen Brown is better than Booker! Jayson Tatum is a top five player!

I think a few people on this board have nailed the Celtics, the sum is greater than the whole. The only really good player in that team is Kyrie. The rest feed off of Stevens coaching and playing around a team that doesn't have any bad players.

Yeah Bill Simmons is probably one of the most overrated basketball guys in the media. This is pretty entertaining for good measure;

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[Krangodnzr]

Yeah Bill Simmons is probably one of the most overrated basketball guys in the media. This is pretty entertaining for good measure;

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What a fool.

 

[Western Font]

I love to make fun of Simmons, and he earns it, but his podcast really shouldn't be minimized. It's one of the original successes of the medium and still on top. He's doing at least two a week, not including the Rewatchables and appearances on other pods. As many have said, The Ringer is really a podcast network with a website component. He pokes fun at himself for not writing anymore, but I'm guessing his time is much better spent on pods from a financial standpoint.

Growing up he aspired to be a major sports columnist, but clearly also loved sports radio personalities (just listen to him talk about WEEI and WFAN). In the end the latter is what he's become, just tailored more for the podcast audience than the typical drive-time audience.

But back to James Jones ... things are coming together but it's hard to evaluate right now. One of McD's problems IMO was to make a bad move, undo it with a good move, then somehow undo that move. With Jones, I would have liked to have gotten something for Chandler, but the Ariza-for-Oubre net correction has been good. But whatever we say, how the PG situation is ultimately addressed will trump everything.

 

[AzStevenCal]

With Jones, I would have liked to have gotten something for Chandler, but the Ariza-for-Oubre net correction has been good. But whatever we say, how the PG situation is ultimately addressed will trump everything.

Sure but what team out there was willing to eat that salary for a mediocre backup big man in total coast mode and on the decline? Supposedly we were looking for a trade partner for a season and a half with no takers. Getting him and then Ariza off the roster are huge plusses in my book even if we hadn't netted Oubre from one of those moves.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Sure but what team out there was willing to eat that salary for a mediocre backup big man in total coast mode and on the decline? Supposedly we were looking for a trade partner for a season and a half with no takers. Getting him and then Ariza off the roster are huge plusses in my book even if we hadn't netted Oubre from one of those moves.

Agreed. We had been trying to get something for Chandler for two years. No one was biting. We finally just had to waive him. It was hurting the team too badly. As far as I am concerned I am not interested in any more veteran "mentors". That is what coaches are for.

 

[Krangodnzr]

One thing that really stands out about signing Chandler in the first place: how crappy of a plan was it for this team to expect that signing Aldridge would have put this team in contention.

I think adding Aldridge would not have made this team very good.

The big question I have: was McD being pressured to make this team competitive ASAP? If so, Sarver is a total fool.

 

[Hoop Head]

Agreed. We had been trying to get something for Chandler for two years. No one was biting. We finally just had to waive him. It was hurting the team too badly. As far as I am concerned I am not interested in any more veteran "mentors". That is what coaches are for.

So what do you make of Crawford? I think that signing was great, although I was against it at the time. If we're going to bring in "mentors" then they should be cheap like Crawford. Spending anymore than the bi-annual exception that is like $2-3 million is too much. Ideally they could be had for the veteran minimum but I think it would be ok to use a little more to bring one of them but not enough to make a real difference in the large scope of things.

 

[Mainstreet]

Chandler's value to the Suns was to use as filler to make a trade work. Apparently the Suns were not thinking along those lines.

 

[AzStevenCal]

One thing that really stands out about signing Chandler in the first place: how crappy of a plan was it for this team to expect that signing Aldridge would have put this team in contention.

I think adding Aldridge would not have made this team very good.

The big question I have: was McD being pressured to make this team competitive ASAP? If so, Sarver is a total fool.

I'm sure he was, Sarver was up against it financially and needed the team to be at least somewhat successful. I'm quite sure that had ESPN and TNT not given the league a huge windfall with the TV contract Ryan would have been fired more than a season earlier than we was because we were not going to be competitive with that roster.

Not that it could have happened but had we been able to sign Aldridge the season before we might have been able to keep that trio of guards together and happy. Dragic would have worked well with LMA and hopefully wouldn't have torn that team apart. We probably wouldn't be in the championship conversation but we'd have been playoff bound at least.

 

[JCSunsfan]

One thing that really stands out about signing Chandler in the first place: how crappy of a plan was it for this team to expect that signing Aldridge would have put this team in contention.

I think adding Aldridge would not have made this team very good.

The big question I have: was McD being pressured to make this team competitive ASAP? If so, Sarver is a total fool.

Listen. Sarver is not a great owner, but making the assumption that every bad decision McD made was on Sarver is probably not wise.

 

[JCSunsfan]

So what do you make of Crawford? I think that signing was great, although I was against it at the time. If we're going to bring in "mentors" then they should be cheap like Crawford. Spending anymore than the bi-annual exception that is like $2-3 million is too much. Ideally they could be had for the veteran minimum but I think it would be ok to use a little more to bring one of them but not enough to make a real difference in the large scope of things.

Low risk, end of the roster. Not a worry. Paying $14 - $15 million a year on the other hand has been proven a fool's idea.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Listen. Sarver is not a great owner, but making the assumption that every bad decision McD made was on Sarver is probably not wise.

That's true but in this particular case, I'm pretty certain he's correct. It wouldn't necessarily have been Chandler/LMA but Sarver was definitely pushing Ryan to make the team competitive as quickly as possible. When they found out about the new TV money, McD got a reprieve and Sarver's agreement/support to go the full rebuild route.

 

[Mainstreet]

If the Suns had signed Aldridge in the summer of 2015 the Suns course might have been different. They may have not entered rebuild mode.

In addition to Aldridge, the Suns would have had Bledsoe, Warren Tucker and Booker on the team.

 

[Sunburn]

If the Suns had signed Aldridge in the summer of 2015 the Suns course might have been different. They may have not entered rebuild mode.

In addition to Aldridge, the Suns would have had Bledsoe, Warren Tucker and Booker on the team.

We're better off. We'd just be kicking the can down the road.