The NBA is full of sliding door moments and taking advantage of opportunities when they come your way, so spare a thought for former Phoenix Suns point guard Tyus Jones.
His lone season in The Valley last year didn’t go as planned, but it wasn’t that bad, was it? The Orlando Magic certainly thought they got a steal when they landed him to run the show there.
Jones traded twice at the deadline
In case you didn’t know, things went from bad to worse for the 29-year-old in Orlando. Their season has also fallen flat on its face, which didn’t help his own role there.
It wasn’t a surprise that Jones traded to the Charlotte Hornets for money reasons while the Magic were forced to make a number of second-round picks earlier this week, but the story doesn’t end there.
Instead of keeping him around, the suddenly frisky Hornets traded him again to the Dallas Mavericks for Malaki Branham, though this might have a happy ending.
Fun fact: Tyus Jones has the highest AST/TOV ratio in NBA history.
Mavs has a PG for Coop. pic.twitter.com/vfGiZhBn1n
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 5, 2026
The Mavericks are down on Anthony Davis and are currently in need of a floor general until Kyrie Irving returns from his ACL tear. It’s also fair to say there are no expectations in Dallas right now.
That’s the perfect situation for Jones to rebuild his trade value (and confidence), while in Phoenix another point guard has had a sliding door moment of his own.
Jamaree Bouyea became the big winner when the Suns struck a deal to release them from the tax, most likely converting Bouyea’s contract to a full-time contract.
Had Jones still been in The Valley, things could have been different, although it’s hard to see how head coach Jordan Ott could have gotten more out of him than the Magic.
Both teams are built on solid defensive structures, with the undersized Jones struggling to make a consistent impact.
It also continues what has been a whirlwind 18 months for the former Memphis Grizzlies guard, as a one-year stop with the Washington Wizards, during which he made big starts and had career highs in many categories, turned into an opportunity to join a winner in the Suns.
That didn’t happen, although going to the Magic made sense on paper. Once again, Jones failed to adapt, leading to this unfortunate position of being traded twice a week.
He didn’t deserve that, but here’s hoping his career with the Mavericks gets his career back on track because it was derailed.
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