Tyus Jones expected to start at point guard for Suns

Tyus Jones is expected to take over the lead Sun tanning‘ starting point guard after reaching an agreement with the team on Saturday, writes Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports. Jones will make $3 million on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, opting to accept less money for the chance to play for a contender.

In the same story, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports hears that Grayson Allen will likely be moved to a bench role to free up a starting spot for Jones. Allen was the NBA’s leading three-pointer last season, shooting 46.1% on 5.9 attempts per game.

Jones, who has led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio over the past five seasons, will be a stabilizing presence for a Phoenix team that played without a true point guard last season. He will assume some of the ballhandling duties of Kevin Durant, Devin Boeker And Bradley Bealallowing them to concentrate on their traditional roles in attack.

The Suns also signed Monte Morris this summer and added Collin Gillespie on a two-way agreement, which will see the appointment of a new head coach Mike Budenholzer Lots of depth at the point guard position.

Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic examines Phoenix’s options post-signing and notes that a team with Jones, Beal and Booker in the starting lineup would have issues with both size and defense. That’s a bigger concern because Jusuf Nurkic isn’t really a shot blocker up the middle, Rankin said, and Durant would be called the best defender in the starting unit at 36.

Rankin suggests that another option is to start Royce O’Nealewho excels as a perimeter defender, but that would likely mean Beal would have to come off the bench. Beal could attack right away in a sixth-man role, but it would be tough to sell him on that considering he’s making $50 million this season and has been a starter his entire career.