Report: Suns GM's Future 'Murky' with Phoenix

The Phoenix Suns are going to make a lot of changes this offseason, as owner Mat Ishbia told the media Thursday, and many suspect a front office shakeup could be next after first-year coach Mike Budenholzer was fired Monday.

General manager and president of basketball operations James Jones and CEO Josh Bartelstein are the two biggest basketball decision makers in Phoenix's front office, and their futures both seem unclear after the Suns finished the 2024-25 season 36-46 despite having the highest payroll in NBA history.

According to The Athletic, Jones' contract expires in June. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto gave a more telling update on the status of Jones' future with the team:

"Another interesting subplot amid Phoenix’s coaching search is the future of general manager James Jones, who delivered the news along with Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein to Budenholzer that he was out as coach.

"Jones is on an expiring contract, and the belief is that his future is murky in Phoenix."

What Did Ishbia, Jones and Bartelstein Say About Their Futures?

Jones has been with the Suns since way back in 2017 and was promoted to general manager in 2019. Bartelstein was hired a month after Ishbia took over as owner in Feb. 2023.

Both have been involved in big moves since Ishbia became owner, highlighted by the trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and trading away Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara. Phoenix has no remaining players other than Devin Booker from the 2021 team that reached the NBA Finals, which was also the same season Jones was named the NBA Executive of the Year.

Ishbia was asked about the roles of Jones and Bartelstein moving forward at his end-of-season media availability.

"There's gonna be a lot of change," Ishbia said. "Here's what I'll say, Coach Bud, that change was made, that didn't need more evaluation.

"Everything's gonna be evaluated, but it's gonna start with me being accountable and setting an identity, and then making sure that the identity we set for Phoenix Suns is set from the ownership. The fans are going to love it and be proud of it. The front office is aligned, the coaches are aligned, the players are aligned.

"And there's gonna be players that sometimes we don't take the most talented player because they don't align with what we believe in. And so those are the changes I'm gonna be focused on right now, and then they'll all fall into line, and we are going to be making changes.

"Things are going to be different ... We will be better. You will enjoy watching our team much better next year. And that's my job."

Ishbia took a lot of accountability for the team's shortcomings throughout his press conference, but did refute the notion that he is the one making basketball decisions, as many had thought.

"I don't watch film. I don't scout players," Ishbia said. "We got great scouts, great front office. My role is to enable. First off, my role is to put those people in those positions right. Putting the right people in the positions to make the right decisions, and then empowering them.

"... You can blame me. I'm fine taking the blame, but my job is to set the tone at the top, and I've done it. You can blame me for that, because I've done a bad job. I think I did a great job with the culture, the fan experience, the community, and setting the tone.

"But I also listen to a lot of the media people and say, 'Oh, new owner. He's not supposed to get involved.' So I almost let the NBA be the NBA, and I'm going to change that, where I'm going to set the tone on the vision of what Phoenix Suns basketball is about."

Jones also answered a question in this press conference about if there had been any conversations about his role changing moving forward.

"My job is to make sure we continue to improve, we change in the right ways," Jones said. "And if that means changing roles, if that means changing responsibilities from year to year, those things change from moment to moment. But ultimately, whatever is best for the team is what we do."

Bartelstein, meanwhile, said he feels "comfortable" in his role, which he described as carrying out Ishbia's vision.

"I feel comfortable in my role, because I know that what he wants to do my job is to be every single day doing it, but we got to do better here, and we will," Bartelstein said.

The press conference was overall not that telling of the future of Jones and Bartelstein, so we will see what ends up happening.