Ryan McDonough couldn’t find a trade for a starting point guard. It was a blemish on an otherwise decent Suns summer.
The Phoenix Sunsannounced the firing of general manager Ryan McDonough on Monday, and according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Suns owner Robert Sarver is “leaning toward” internally promoting James Jones to GM full-time.
Story soon on ESPN: Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver is leaning toward the eventual hiring of interim general manager James Jones as the franchise’s full-time GM, league sources tell ESPN. Jones had been VP of Basketball Operations under former GM Ryan McDonough.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 9, 2018
The firing comes at an odd time, a year after a McDonough’s contract extension through the 2019-20 season and just nine days before their Oct. 17 regular season opener against the Dallas Mavericks. It’s also creates more questions about the Suns franchise after an offseason many felt pushed Phoenix in the right direction.
The Suns won the NBA draft lottery and McDonough selected star center Deandre Ayton No. 1 overall. Marvin Bagley III and Luka Doncic went No. 2 and 3 to Sacramento and Dallas, respectively. The Ayton pick will have to stand the test of time.
McDonough also traded the 16th-overall pick, Zhaire Smith, and Miami’s 2021 first-round pick to Philadelphia for pick No. 10: Mikal Bridges. In free agency, he signed veteran wing Trevor Ariza to a one-year, $15 million deal. And McDonough re-signed Devin Booker at the five-year, $158 million super max after Booker said he was done not making the playoffs last season.
It’s unclear how much of Booker’s extension is McDonough’s doing: No player on a rookie scale contract has ever turned down the super max extension, and it would take a terrible situation for someone to become the first.
But McDonough didn’t deliver on a desperate team need: Point Guard
The Suns entered the offseason with one glaring hole: the starting point guard slot. Booker is a capable ball-handler and playmaker, but he’s a scoring guard before anything else. The only point guards on the roster entering free agency were rookies Elie Okobo and DeAnthony Melton. Isaiah Canaan is on the roster, too, but he’s recovering from ankle surgery and on a non-guaranteed deal.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, McDonough had been actively pursuing trades options but met opposing GMs who sought an unprotected first-round pick in a deal. No deal ever materialized. Barring a trade for a point guard, and soon, Booker could return from hand surgery with the role.
Suns brass might believe assistant GM Trevor Bukstein — tabbed “the primary contact for player transactions” — has better odds finding an attractive deal. They also made a move like this last year, too, firing former head coach Earl Watson just three games into the 2017-18 season.
Who could replace McDonough?
McDonough held the GM position for five seasons, and Suns managing partner Robert Sarver is known to be one of the owners who prefer to be more involved in basketball decision-making.
James Jones is an early internal hiring candidate. He’s well-regarded in basketball circles and competed for and won three NBA championships with LeBron James in Miami and Cleveland.
Other candidates to watch are former Celtics legend and Rockets head coach Kevin McHale and former Cavaliers general manager David Griffin.