James Jones tells why there was ‘noise’ around Suns at trade deadline
James Jones talks about Kevin Durant trade rumors and the Phoenix Suns’ NBA trade deadline acquisitions.
James Jones enjoyed his largely successful run as general manager of the Phoenix Suns, but he also knows the NBA is a business.
So, he has no problem speaking on how things ended in Phoenix with Brian Gregory replacing him after a 36-win season in 2024-25.
“My time in Phoenix was phenomenal,” Jones said on an NBA media zoom call Thursday, Oct. 16. “I couldn’t have imagined as a kid going into the NBA and being a player and eventually being an executive that has the opportunity to lead a team. That experience is something that I pinch myself about. It’s unreal to think about that journey.”
The Suns announced Jones, 45, was shifting to senior adviser May 1.
“The fact remains that when you’re a general manager in the NBA, if you don’t win, time comes for you,” Jones continued. “So, it’s just my time and I was excited about the opportunity to transition to the NBA because like all things, you want a learning challenge and this has been that.”
Jones landed a position with the NBA in July as executive vice president and head of basketball operations.
“I think this is a beautiful spot or time to be involved in the NBA because we’re talking about this fusion between established talent and established teams and emerging talent and emerging teams,” Jones said. “Established partners fused with our emerging partners. There’s just so much excited for our game locally, domestically and globally, there’s no better time than to be involved in the NBA than today.”
Jones said he hopes to offer a “basketball perspective” from someone who has been in the NBA as a player and in the front office.
“He will do a tremendous, tremendous job,” Gregory said during Phoenix’s media day last month. “He knows the game, he knows the league, he’s great with people. All the things are so critical in the role that he has now with the NBA and we’re going to spend a lot of time together working on stuff because one, there’s the connection and two, just in terms the job description, our paths cross quite a bit.”
Jones played 14 NBA seasons and served as the Suns general manager from 2018, when starting as an interim GM, to 2025.
“I think my perspective is unique in the sense that I can see all the individual desires and goals, but I’m really locked into the collective goal of making our game the global game and the global standard for sport and entertainment,” said Jones, who previously was an executive in the National Basketball Players Association. “That’s pretty unique, that’s pretty cool.”
Jones already has seen how his previous experiences have translated into this new role.
“We’ve had our general manger calls, we’ve had our competition committee calls and we’ve had some really robust discussions about the rules, the interpretation of the game, how we call the game. Why we interpret things a certain way and what will be the response or the actual impacts to a team if you, for instance, something like we did around the ‘High 5’ — what are those competitive impacts.”
NBA officials are looking to call fouls on defenders who hit a shooter’s hand, wrist or arm during or on the follow-through of a shot attempt.
“I’ve had an opportunity to weigh in on that and give that perspective of on, hey, if I was a player, would this create a competitive disadvantage if we were to consider this?” Jones said. “Would I take advantage of that? Would I exploit it or if I was an executive, how would I actually communicate to this team? How would I actually apply these things that we’re talking about changing from a competitive standpoint?”
Jones said he had “great dialogue” with the board of governors, general managers and team executives in providing them necessary context that explains the inner workings of the NBA.
“It’s all in the vein of trying to make sure when we get to the on-court product, the things that create friction, we minimize or eliminate them so that our performers can go out there and perform and make memorable experiences for our fans and people across the world.”
Jones and Gregory have already had interactions in their new roles.
New Suns GM Brian Gregory on his relationship with James Jones, Devin Booker
Brian Gregory has a “great relationship” with former Suns GM James Jones.
“I get just as many emails from James now as I did before,” Gregory said. “Congratulations to him. I learned a lot under him over the last two years.”
Gregory was elevated from vice president of player programming, a position he held for a year in Phoenix, to general manager. He initially joined the Suns in 2023 as consultant after working 19 seasons as a head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.
“We spent a lot of time together,” Gregory said. “Not only in terms of our team, but with the draft and the evaluation process and different things like that. Have a ton of respect for him and what he did here during his time. I was excited about the role he was going to play with the Phoenix Suns. To his credit and to the organization’s credit, he’s now been able to move into the new role with the NBA.”
The Suns now have Steve Nash as their senior adviser. Nash won two MVPs as a player in Phoenix in orchestrating the “Seven Seconds or Less” offense under Mike D’Antoni.
While Nash has returned home, Jones is continuing his post-playing career in the league office.
“It speaks volumes to who James Jones is as a person and in this business and the respect that he has throughout the league,” Gregory added.
Jones was named 2020-21 NBA executive of the year when the Suns reached the finals that season for the first time since 1993. He created a roster highlighted by trading for point guard Chris Paul going into the shortened 72-game season.
Phoenix won a franchise-record 64 games the following season in earning the top overall seed in the playoffs. The Suns then made a move to land Kevin Durant in a blockbuster deal, but they didn’t return to the finals and missed the playoffs last season.
Nicknamed “Champ,” the three-time NBA champion (Miami 2012 and ’13; Cleveland 2016) has experienced quite a bit on multiple levels that makes him a welcome addition to the NBA in this new role.
“Just the value that he brings given all that he encompasses,” said NBA president of league operations, Byron Spruell.
Jones reports to Spruell and is replacing Joe Dumars, who now is vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans.
“Joe Dumars and James Jones just don’t grow on trees,” Spruell said. “Multi-champions. Great players. Great executives. Great connections with players and the player’s association. So his voice in the league office is so, so heavy, but he brings it with the right tone, the right approach and the right teamwork aspect. I’m learning every day just like I did with Joe.”
Jones started in Phoenix as a vice president of basketball operations in 2017. Jones then replaced Ryan McDonough as general manager. McDonough was fired by then-owner Robert Sarver going into the 2018-19 season.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
