Lakers sending dangerous mixed signals after losing Tyus Jones to rival

The general consensus throughout the 2024 period of free agency has been that the Los Angeles Lakers are too limited in their resources to make a meaningful move. Los Angeles is already over the first salary cap apron and is reluctant to face the consequences of becoming a second apron team.

Unfortunately, the latest free agency news has shown the Lakers the downside of a reluctance to spend, even if there are financial justifications.

It's difficult to disagree with Los Angeles' free agency strategy, as the second apron carries a number of costly penalties, including freezing a future first-round draft pick it still hopes to be able to trade. The harsh reality, however, is that the Lakers just lost a perfect fit to a rival for a bargain of a cost.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, coveted free agent point guard Tyus Jones has signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix Suns for just $3.3 million.

In other words: The Lakers could've afforded Jones, but ultimately missed out on perhaps the best pure point guard on the open market this offseason.

Tyus Jones signs with Suns, leaving Lakers depth chart in flux

Jones, 28, is one of the most efficient offensive players in the NBA. This past season, he averaged 12.0 points, 7.3 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.6 three-point field goals made while posting a slash line of .489/.414/.800 and an eFG% of .569—2.2 percent higher than the league average.

In addition to shooting efficiently, Jones boasts a career average of just 1.4 turnovers per 36 minutes—and tallied an NBA record assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.35 in 2023-24.

Due to his production, efficiency, and uncanny ability to create offense without committing turnovers, the inevitable expectation was that Jones would sign a multi-year contract. Tyrese Maxey and James Harden were heralded as the top two point guards on the open market, but both re-signed with their original teams.

That left Jones as arguably the best point guard available—and the Lakers remain in need of a player who could create depth at the position.

Instead of signing Jones for the veteran's minimum, or even the taxpayer mid-level exception, the Lakers lost out on yet another intriguing talent. As such, Los Angeles will enter the 2024-25 season with D'Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent as the top two point guards on its depth chart.

That two-man rotation is complicated by the fact that the Lakers have been attempting to trade Russell since he accepted his player option. Furthermore, Vincent appeared in just 11 games in 2023-24.

Jones could've been signed as a low-cost resolution, but the Lakers have instead opted to continue a silent summer in free agency. Up to this point, the Lakers haven't signed a new player or completed a trade. The only roster alterations have come via the 2024 NBA Draft.

Perhaps Jones simply wasn't a fit for what Redick and the Lakers are looking to build, but seeing a high-level point guard sign with a rival for an affordable cost throws salt in the wound.

The pressure to pull a meaningful trade off is more palpable than ever.