On the day the Phoenix Suns played their first Western Conference Finals game in more than a decade, Suns general manager James Jones was honored as the league's executive of the year.
In a tight vote, which is conducted by league officials, Jones received nine first-place votes and a total of 65 points, simply ousting Utah Jazz vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsay, who had nine first-place votes and Ended with 61 points.
Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks finished third with five first-place votes and 51 points, while several other executives – including Leon Rose (Knicks), Tim Connelly (Nuggets), Travis Schlenk (Hawks), Mitch Kupchak (Hornets) , Sam included. Presti (Thunder) and Neil Olsche (Blazer) - each took at least one first place.
Jones, who took over as the team's head of basketball operations in 2018, was part of the brain trust that laid the foundation for this Phoenix team, which collapsed after missing the playoffs throughout the past decade. The Suns finished the season with the NBA's second-best record and beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets in the first two rounds of the playoffs before hosting the LA Clippers in Game 1 of the West Finals on Sunday afternoon.
Since taking over at Phoenix, Jones has taken a number of steps to propel the Suns to where they are, starting with the appointment of Monty Williams as coach prior to last season. Jones then beat several teams to sign free agent Jae Crowder, giving Phoenix a two-way lead, with young stars Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton on the frontcourt. They then made the off-season blockbuster move to acquire Chris Paul to give the Young Sons the on-court leadership and organization they need.
The NBA concluded its off-season awards program last week by handing out six individual awards — Most Valuable Player (Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic), Defensive Player of the Year (Jazz center Rudy Gobert), Sixth Man of the Year (Jazz). . Guard Jordan Clarkson), Rookie of the Year (Charlotte Hornets guard LaMello Ball), Most Improved Player (New York Knicks forward Julius Randall) and Coach of the Year (Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau) - as well as All-NBA, All-Rookie and All -Defensive teams.