Thursday was anything but easy for Orlando Magic Guard Jalen Suggs after Tyus Jones — his mentor and close friend — was traded to the Charlotte Hornets the night before. It led to a career night.
ORLANDO — Thursday was not an easy day for Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs and his teammates after the organization chose to trade Tyus Jones to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.
Though his results on the court left a lot to be desired, Jones meant a lot to the locker room. However, the Magic had to overcome their emotions and take care of business at home against the Brooklyn Nets after dropping consecutive road games to the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Suggs and his teammates answered the call with a 118-98 win over Brooklyn in which Suggs recorded his first career triple-double.
“Everyone was focused today,” Suggs said after the game. “Everyone was locked in. Obviously, there's a heaviness around today, but I think we did a good job in rallying together, picking each other up internally and keeping everybody locked in on a task at hand.”
Suggs is one of the players on the roster who had an especially close connection with Jones. Both are natives of Minnesota, and Jones — who is five years older than Suggs — has acted as a mentor to him for years.
“I'm still hurting,” Suggs said. “I ain't going to lie to you. Like I said, bigger than hoop on that one.
I've been around him and his family since before all this was a reality. I'm watching him hoop and trying to chase his legacy and the path that he blazed. So yeah, like I said, he knows I love him.”
Suggs finished the game with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 asssists to go along with four blocks and three steals. Despite such a big performance, he was not quick to take credit.
“I don't even be getting into individual accomplishments and stuff like that. I'd be liking to win. But, you know, it is pretty special, knowing my big brother left today.”
Suggs admitted that before Thursday’s game, the emotional component of Jones’ departure left him without energy, until a heartfelt text by veteran center Moe Wagner uplifted him.
“To be honest, I didn't have much energy today,” Suggs said. “My heart was heavy, and he sent a group message to all of us; a very heartfelt one on how to rally together, how to continue to build and down this back stretch of the season, how we can elevate and continue to chase greatness and be excellent.
So yeah, I'm heavy, I know a lot of people are, but I think Moe deserves a lot of credit for picking us up, putting us in the right mindset. I know it put me in the right mindset to come out and, regardless of feeling, accomplish the task at hand.”