All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton was a little bit confused why Stephon Marbury brought his name up in relation to the Suns earlier this week.
Marbury, who made the 2003 All-Star game with Phoenix, said to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on Scoop B Radio that the Suns needed a “scoring point guard” to complement the likes of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Marbury added that Haliburton in particular would be ideal for Phoenix.
“I like him with Phoenix,” Marbury said of Haliburton. “If he plays with Phoenix, I think he’d definitely be different because he’s definitely DIFFERENT because he runs the ball up the court, he knows how to handle the ball. Sometimes he jumps in the air too much but he’ll get out of that habit because he’ll learn everybody’s habits where he’ll see who knows how to play defense, who can steal the ball, who doesn’t steal the ball.”
This statement puzzled Haliburton, given that Phoenix signed Tyus Jones this offseason. Haliburton talked on The Pat McAfee Show about this comment on Wednesday after also discussing how other Team USA players were trying to recruit him at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He said he told all of them they would have to come to Indiana and play on the Pacers with him because he wasn’t leaving.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Haliburton said. “The Marbury comment, it’s a little weird. Why does Phoenix need me? They got Tyus Jones, (got) a good squad over there. I’m good in Indy, they’re good in Phoenix.”
Phoenix added Jones on a veteran-minimum contract in July to be its starting point guard, while also signing Monte Morris to a veteran-minimum contract and Collin Gillespie to a two-way deal. These moves give the Suns flexibility at the point guard spot, a position they didn’t even utilize last season, as they tried out a multi-ball handler attack centered around Beal, Booker and Durant. In the end, this strategy did not work, as Phoenix finished as the sixth seed in the Western Conference and was swept in the first round of the playoffs.
Haliburton, a two-time All-Star who averaged 20.1 points and a league-leading 10.9 assists in 2023-24 with the Pacers, who made the Eastern Conference Finals, joined Booker and Durant on Team USA this summer and gave Suns fans a big “what if” to see him play alongside these two. The Suns drafted Jalen Smith over him with the 10th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, while Haliburton fell to the 12th pick.
At this point, because of the caliber of player he has become, Haliburton would be a pipe dream for the Suns to get, given that they are severely handcuffed in making moves and will have the first-ever payroll exceeding $400 million next season.
Nobody has seen how the Suns will look with their additions at point guard and in a new system under Mike Budenholzer. Despite injuries and a lack of consistent flow on offense last season, the Suns still managed to win 49 games and kept their same core while filling much-need holes at point guard and with Budenholzer.
Haliburton seems to have immense respect for the Suns and Jones, so we will see how the move pays off in the 2024-25 season.
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