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Suns' Jones named Executive of the Year

Barry Gossage / National Basketball Association / Getty

Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones has been named the NBA Executive of the Year for the 2020-21 season.

James was given the honor prior to the Suns' Western Conference finals opener against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

He narrowly edged out Dennis Lindsey, the Utah Jazz's executive vice president of basketball operations.

Executives around the league vote on the award.

Jones authored the blockbuster trade in November that brought Chris Paul to Phoenix from the Oklahoma City Thunder. He followed that with the free-agent signing of Jae Crowder. The two joined the Suns' core of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton to lead the team to a 51-21 record, the club's best winning percentage (70.8%) since the 2006-07 campaign.

Jones first moved into a front-office role with the Suns in 2017 when he was named vice president of basketball operations. The 40-year-old was shifted to interim GM after Phoenix fired Ryan McDonough in October 2018, sharing duties with assistant Trevor Bukstein. The Suns then removed the interim tag from Jones' title in April 2019.

He played 14 NBA seasons from 2003 to 2017, spending time with the Indiana Pacers, Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Jones won two championships with the Heat and one with the Cavs.

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