James Jones

James Jones was named General Manager of Suns' Basketball Operations in 2019. Jones oversees all basketball operations for the team with Bower and Bukstein reporting to him.

Jones has spent the last two seasons as the Suns’ vice president of basketball operations, sharing general manager duties with Bukstein this past season where the two collaborated on trades which brought Kelly Oubre Jr. and Tyler Johnson to Phoenix. Since joining the Suns, Jones has lead the evaluation and evolution of team operations, and helped to build a stronger connection between the front office, players and team personnel. Jones joined the Suns’ front office in 2017 following 14 seasons as a player where he was a three-time NBA Champion and reached the NBA Finals in each of his final seven seasons. During his playing career, Jones was one of the top executives with the National Basketball Players Association, spending several years on the NBPA’s executive committee as secretary-treasurer.

As a player, Jones spent two seasons with the Suns and they were two of the most successful in franchise history as he was a member of the 2005-06 team that won 54 games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, as well as the 2006-07 team that won 61 games and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals. He contributed to two Pacific Division titles in his two seasons in Phoenix, averaging 7.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 151 regular-season games with the team while shooting 38.2% from three-point range.

Overall, Jones appeared in 709 career regular-season games and 148 career playoff games over 14 seasons with Indiana (2003-2005), Phoenix (2005-2007), Portland (2007-08), Miami (2008-2014) and Cleveland (2014-2017). He never played for a team that finished below .500 and only once missed the playoffs, winning NBA titles with the Heat in 2012 and 2013, and with the Cavaliers in 2016. A member of the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame, Jones starred collegiately for the Hurricanes while earning a degree in finance.