(WSVN) - He hit the basketball court as a Miami Hurricane and later as a member of the Miami Heat, but South Floridian James Jones now has a different gig with its own sets of challenges and rewards: general manager of the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns are headed into the All-Star break with the second best record in the NBA.
Speaking with 7Sports via Zoom last week, Jones said this was a hard-fought victory.
“My team is ecstatic. They’re doing well, and that makes me happy,” he said.
Who can blame Jones for not enjoying this ride?
Two years ago, he inherited a Phoenix roster that would only win 19 games.
“I just felt that if we took a slow approach in building our spaces with guys that have a similar mindset — just try to improve, try to beat — that we’d have success,” he said.
Even former Heat teammate LeBron James has taken notice.
“Personally, he’s a great man, great family man, great person, and he’s damn good at what he does,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of people have talked about that coming into the season, the job that James Jones has done in Phoenix.”
Jones had All-Star Devin Booker paired with Deandre Ayton to begin the turnaround. He then paired them with veteran All-Star guard Chris Paul.
“Looking at Booker and Deandre, you find out that they are young players who just lack experience. They know how to play the game. The guys in our locker room always need ‘team first, win first,'” he said, “so I needed him to be up close and personal to them. I needed them to be around Chris Paul.”
Jones has been a part of three championship teams, two with the Miami Heat. He talked about the influence of Pat Riley.
“I credit Riley with being accessible, so that I could get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what it takes to be successful in the front office,” he said.
With that championship DNA, here is how Jones approaches the second half of the current season.
“We’re focused on performing well in the regular season, but beyond that, you have to perform well in the playoffs,” he said, “and I understand that, outside of our top guys, our younger guys haven’t experienced that yet. They haven’t seen it. Until you’re the hunted, you don’t know whether or not you can take your opponent’s best shot. You think you can, but you don’t know until they actually give it to you, so being the hunted is what forces you to grow.”
Jones said he looks forward to talking with his mentor Riley when the Suns play against the Heat at the AmericanAirlines Arena later this month.
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