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Ramona Shelburne, ESPN senior essayist
FOR MOST OF In his 13 years in the NBA, Bradley Beal has had a very good sense of who he is as a player. An elite shooter and scorer. A prepared passer and a flexible defender. The three All-Megastar video games validated that concept of itself. So did the annual passion in him during the contenders week he starred for the Washington Wizards.
But this week the pace was extraordinary for Beal. Not simply because, after all, he had been requested and traded to the Phoenix Suns in late August. But because he had been asked to play in a completely different spot for the Suns than the one he had played for most of his career: level defense.
“They were using me more as a facilitator than a scorer and, honestly, that kind of shit with my head,” Beal reported to ESPN. “Literally this entire summer, I had a complete reflection, like, ‘Who are you?’
“I wanted to have real communication with myself, you know? One day I had to look in the mirror to answer, ‘What do I want to do better? Who am I?’ And then let’s get back to it.”
Around the same time Beal was reflecting on his first year in Phoenix, the Suns were doing the same thing. How can a team with three superstars (Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker) come so close in the playoffs? Why had they fallen so short on their collective parts?
Neither Frank Vogel nor the Suns had chosen Beal and Booker as point guard because they believed it was the best role for them. Doing so was a consequence of having to trade Chris Paul to the Wizards to acquire Beal and his $46.7 million salary, and being one of five teams to go through the NBA’s new “apron of the moment.” , which greatly restricts a team’s ability to make trades or fill out its roster with players earning more than the veteran minimum.
All season long, Beal, Booker and Vogel said they were committed to making the best of the situation. But it became clear early in the season (and after) that the experiment was unsustainable. The numbers told it. Beal averaged 18.2 points per game last season, his lowest since 2015-16, and 72% of his touches ended in a pass, according to Second Spectrum. Its usage rate (22.4%) was the lowest since 2014-15.
Booker, for his part, brought the ball up the floor on nearly 30% of the Suns’ possessions per game, according to Second Spectrum, the highest rate of his career, while racking up his lowest overall usage (29.4% ) since 2016-17. Only 25.5 of his touches resulted in a shot, the lowest rate of his career.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, the Suns’ first-round playoff opponent, took full advantage.
During the Suns’ final five games against the Wolves (their final regular-season game and four-game sweep), Minnesota pressured the ball picker on a total of 157 possessions, the most the Suns faced. in five games. covers last season.
“I’m ruthless, it used to be just another position, a special duty,” Booker told ESPN. “It was something that none of us were aware of, but we were willing to be told and do it.”
Vogel was replaced after just one season by Mike Budenholzer. But the Suns knew they needed more than just a coaching change to turn their fortunes around, team sources said. They needed a player who could return Beal and Booker to the positions where they would become superstars.
“I think the rhythm we figured out was about optimizing those three guys,” Suns president of basketball operations Josh Bartelstein told ESPN. “I’m ruthless, Bradley Beal has led the league in scoring. Let’s get him back to that. “It doesn’t mean there won’t be times this year where Brad and Devin are the guards, but when we took a step back to look at things, the most What was important was if we have these three guys, how can we make them be the best version of themselves?”
Those questions were quietly but firmly answered, just four weeks into sovereign agency, when the Suns spent $3 million on a player they believe will unlock the yet-unseen championship potential of basketball’s most tantalizing Heavy 3.
IN ANY CASE, THE The illnesses became even more difficult for Phoenix to manage this summer because the unused collective bargaining oath went into full effect in July.
Phoenix couldn’t even find the money to keep its supplemental-level defender, Cameron Payne, buying and selling his $6.5 salary and a second-round pick late in the offseason to San Antonio to save money, which used to be old in the supplementary heart. Bowl.
New owner Mat Ishbia told ESPN in late March that his cure, if one existed, would be to create a tradition in which veteran players would opt for additional salaries elsewhere.
“I understand all the rules that come with the second apron. I understand exactly what the CBA tried to do,” he said. “I read it, I know him inside and out, and we made a calculated decision: We believe the team with the best players wins. Would I rather have Brad Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker than just two of those guys? I’d rather have the three hundred times out of a hundred, and I don’t think there’s another general manager, owner or CEO who wouldn’t say exactly the same thing.
“So how do you get around that? Well, it’s important to differentiate yourself… I have to create a way in which [we’re] “We seek to be the best franchise in sports where players want to come play.”
It was an idealistic feeling. And Ishbia understood that other owners or managements thought he would soon be humbled by the harsh realities of the NBA, just as other enthusiastic new owners have been.
But he also believed it would only take one veteran player to prove him right.
That player, ultimately, was Tyus Jones.
THE 10TH YEAR GUARD Duke has ranked in the top five in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio for eight consecutive seasons. He has led the league in five of them and, last season, had the best ratio (7.35) since individual turnovers were first recorded in 1977-78.
In any other year, Jones would have been paid handsomely as the top point guard on the free agent market with a reputation as a mature leader. And in fact, Jones weighed more lucrative interests from the Wizards, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets, league sources said, with offers ranging from $8 million to $12 million annually.
But none of those teams offered the type of role and ceiling that the Suns offered.
“The first conversation I had with my agent, I said, ‘Boy, I wish they had more money from basketball; the fit was great,'” Jones told ESPN.
That conversation took place before free agency began. After the first week of free agency, during which the Spurs signed Paul to a one-year, $11 million contract and his other suitors began pressing him for answers, Jones’ choice became clear: take the money in a losing situation and make the best of the case. Or sign a veteran minimum deal with a contender and test free agency again next summer.
Bartelstein pitched the idea to Jones’ agent, Kevin Bradbury, over drinks at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas, thinking he was, at best, just doing due diligence.
“That’s where it went from a zero.1% outlook to a 1% outlook,” Bartelstein said. “We just opened the door roughly… and then it turned into something like school recruiting.”
Bartelstein spoke by phone with Ishbia and Jones and his wife, Carrie, after which they met in person in Phoenix with general manager James Jones. Tre Jones then sat down with Budenholzer to discuss the role he would play and the coaches’ vision for how the team would play with Jones as the floor general.
“To tell you the truth, she used to be in the conversations with Josh, Bud and Mat,” Jones said. “Because this was more than just a decision for me. It’s about her and the crowd too. Just deciding where we want to be, what would be a good place for them in terms of living at the same time and organizationally.
“Honestly, the fact that they include her and understand our family is a big part of the decision. We considered everything for our children and what helps her feel comfortable ultimately helped me feel comfortable with the decision”.
Beal is not ashamed of the touchdown a player like Jones makes for him on the field. He definitely could have skipped all that soul-searching and self-reflection if he’d known the Suns would land to some extent defending like Jones in sovereign company.
In the Suns’ first four games this season, Jones is averaging 10 points, 6 assists and no more than one pass depending on the game, but he is having an impact far beyond his individual production, easing the offensive load on both Booker. and Beal arrived at the end of the season.
Beal is dribbling 30 percent less before attempting a shot at this speed, and is shooting 42.1% from three, nearly a career high, the week Booker is dribbling 51% less before shooting, and shooting 41.9% from deep, which is by far the most productive mark of his career.
“I think anyone who watched from the outside last year understood that they were asked to do more than what they normally do. And that’s where I felt like I could help,” Jones said. “I try to make their job easier. I try to lay the groundwork for them, put them in good positions to score the ball and do what they do at an extremely elite level.”
If that would be enough to help the Suns gain a name to be visible, however, for the first hour, this Heavy 3 now has a setup man.
“Tyus makes our lives so much easier,” Beal said. “A lot more weight has been lifted off my shoulders. We can just do what everyone knows us for.”
