Bobby Marks has a concern over the Phoenix Suns’ GM hire

Bobby Marks has a concern over the Phoenix Suns’ GM hire

So, Wolf, we have the perfect guy to talk to on the on the line right now on the Arizona Sports Line. ESPN Front Office Insider Bobby Marks is joining us. Bobby, thank you for the time. How are you doing? I’m good, man. We’ve like upgraded here. I’m on like video and not phone and you can see me in person. How’s that sound? It looks great. Fantastic. Yeah, I didn’t realize this. Very cool, man. Thank you for joining us. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Well, since we got all this technology here, can you just go ahead and solve all the sun’s issues this summer? Is that possible? Can you just kind of snap your fingers and do that for us where uh Well, I know. Yeah, it’s it’s I listen I I think it’s while as you watch these playoffs, it is a little bit disheartening because there’s a lot of work to do to get to where even some of these teams that lost in the first round like the Clippers or um you know u Houston last night of course uh there’s there’s work to do. um you know certainly the head who they hire at head coach will be probably one of the most important offseason um decisions they have that and and what happens with Kevin Durant. Um but as I said you’ve kind of you got to get I mean you can’t go 0 for three as far as the last three offseasons as far as with the head coach and uh that’s that’s probably your for for the now that and the draft are your your two most important things. So, Bobby, tell us your thoughts on Brian Gregory being hired as the GM of the Suns. Yeah, listen, you know, I think it it kind of contradicts the owner coming on and saying that there’s going to be big changes in the front office when you basically promote within. Um, you certainly want to give him the benefit of the doubt. um he’s not cut in I guess the NBA cookie cutter GM role of people who have worked in a front office and then kind of you know have been there five or six years and worked their way up and maybe served an apprentice with with a different organization. Um there is a familiarity for him being there because he was with this uh roster last year and he kind of knows the pulse which is certainly a good thing. I just thought if you’re really looking to change things up, sometimes a voice outside of within that organization, someone from the outside u maybe would have a little bit of a better perspective on that on the roster and what direction to go. But we’ll wait and see what what um what they’re able to do as far as certainly as I said with the head coach and who they hire and then how the rest of this roster is shaped shaping up. They they did extremely well. I’ll say, you know, when you drafted certainly Ryan Dunn last year and and Oso as far as getting those two players, if you can get two players like that in this year’s draft, that’s a that’s certainly a coup. Um but they but you know, Brian’s got good people around him. You know, Matt Matty Telm, who I worked with in in in um in Brooklyn for a long time, is really good at what he does. And as I said, there’s kind of the jury will still be out as far as what um you know, what what they do this summer. We’re talking to Bobby Marks. Bobby, I think you hit on one of the two main concerns a lot of people have with the the Brian Gregory hire is just that it doesn’t really on the surface s signal a lot of big change, but the other one would be he’s not experienced in this role before. And that’s fine. It doesn’t mean he’s not going to be good at it. Except they are in such a pivotal summer and they’ve got so many like fine lines. It feels like it feels like whoever the GM was is going to have to step in and walk the tight rope and now they have a guy that’s not super experienced. Do you think that’s a a concern as they head into this summer? I think the concern with with me is if the vision is from um ownership or is the vision from Brian Gregory. I think that’s that’s the concern. You know, if if you had if you had hired somebody probably from the outside, there would have probably been sweeping changes to the front office and there would have been sweeping changes to the roster. I I just I just get concerned that basically what the roster ended with is what you’re going to see minus, you know, certainly maybe we see a Kevin Durant trade and of course we’re going to see um you know probably something with with Bradley Beal perhaps here. I just I always thought of and and this is, you know, I’ve been out of the league for 10 years, but when you’re not associated with a team, it gives you so much a better perspective on h what how that team from the outside and you don’t have the blinders on and stuff, but as I said, well, I think you just you give Brian the benefit of doubt and you give ownership the benefit benefit of the doubt that this was the right decision for them and and the jurof will be what who they hire as a head coach and what they do with the roster. Yeah, Bobby, I I agree with you on that one right there. I also think too there can be some accountability there because of the familiarity that is there with Brian Gregory and Matt Ishbia. Maybe Brian Gregory can walk up to him and call him a venal petty fog and he won’t be offended by that. In other words, he can say, “This is what we’ve got to do.” And maybe because of their relationship, Mattishb is on board. Your thoughts on that, Bobby? Yeah. No, I listen, there’s a there’s a there’s a long relationship there certainly with with Brian being on Tom Mizo’s staff at Michigan State and and certainly Matt playing there um and winning a national championship. So, there is a familiarity. I I I just think you have to there’s a it’s there’s a positive with familiarity, but there’s also you have to ask the hard questions and you have to ask the hard questions and have ownership agree with you as far as what the decision you want to go whether it be Kevin Durant or Devin Booker or Bradley Beal or his philosophy as far as who the next head coach. I like for me I wouldn’t go in the nothing against Michael Malone or Taylor Jenkins like we you could they’ve done that with Bud and they did with Frank Vogle. It’s like you can go outside of an established head coach and find really good value whether it be a young upand cominging assistant coach. You know Utah did that and w up getting Will Hardy who’s done a good job and Brooklyn did it with Jordy Fernandez. like there’s good young coaches out there and where this roster probably is going to be where if you do move Durant and you’re getting some young players and you’re getting draft picks, it’s probably not a win now roster where there’s certainly going to be a heavy focus on on the development part. We’re talking to Bobby Marks. Bobby Wolf and I were talking earlier in the show and we kind of stumbled on this, but it’s like all the conversation is do you trade KD and how do you do that and are you going to buy out Bradley Beal to get rid of him? There’s not a whole lot of talk about what they’re actually going to bring in as far as players if you were the GM of this team. How what what type of players or how would you go about bringing in players around Devin Booker? I I think there’s a there’s a a threeprong checklist as far as what you’re looking for. I think the first is draft equity. You’re not going to get what you gave up in the Brooklyn trade. Um you’re not getting, you know, four or five first round picks here. Um but there has to be some draft equity, whether it be from Houston or San Antonio. Um those are pro for me those were would be the two teams that I would probably zero in on and both you guys know Houston basically controls the Suns first in the next the next few years. The second is guys on controllable rookie contracts. Guys that were drafted in the past in the first round. Houston checks the box with that. So does San Antonio when you look at um Jabari Smith or Reed Shepard. And then you have to look at, you know, listen, the philosophy that Matt Ishbia said on it is defensiveminded, tough-minded guys that fit the culture. Now, who is that? Is it Dylan Brooks? Is it Fred Van Vleet? Is it, you know, guys that maybe have shorter term contracts but can kind of thread the needle right now? But I don’t think you could be in a position where he’s like, “Okay, we just want to go out and get four first round picks.” I think if you’re going to keep Deon Booker on this roster, you do have to bring back kind of like an in between package of picks, players, young players, and then players that can kind of help you win. Now, I noticed when you said controllable rookie contracts, you did not say amend Thompson. Yeah, you did not say that. That’s I don’t that I don’t think I think the only way that he’s in play was if I don’t know. I guess if Giannis ever became available. I He’s They’re not trading him for Kevin Durant. I I don’t see that. I think if Houston would if and I don’t want to speak for Raphael Stone in Houston, but I think if you were looking at a package, you would be looking at probably Jaylen Green or, you know, you need one of those big contracts and then certainly the the rookie scale guys, whether it be Smith or Een or um Reed Shepard, guys, guys like that. Bobby, it’s always great to talk to you, especially good seeing you guys on on t on TV here. This is awesome. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Thank you, Bobby. That’s Bobby Marks joining us right there on the Arizona Sports Line. Yeah, good to good to talk to and see Bobby right there, man. Every time we talk to him, it’s like this is this is going to be an interesting summer for the Suns for sure. Thanks for watching Wolf and Luke. Tap to see more and click the button in the middle to subscribe to Arizona Sports.

ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks has a concern over the Phoenix Suns’ GM hire. He explains on Wolf & Luke.

Subscribe to the Arizona Sports daily newsletter: https://bit.ly/3QWcj1x

Read articles from Arizona Sports: https://arizonasports.com/

Download the Arizona Sports app: https://arizonasports.com/the-arizona-sports-98-7-fm-app/

Sign up for texts from Arizona Sports: https://arizonasports.com/text-alerts/

Listen live to Arizona Sports: https://arizonasports.com/listen-live/

Watch live: arizonasports.com/watch-live

Follow the team: https://bit.ly/3R0PIAJ

ARIZONA SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArizonaSports/

X: https://x.com/azsports

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@arizonasports987

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arizsports/

ARIZONA SPORTS PODCASTS: https://arizonasports.com/category/podcasts/

Video: Felisa Cárdenas and Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports

#suns #nba #kevindurant