Phoenix Suns TOP PRIORITY After Roster REVAMP Should Be THIS

Phoenix Suns TOP PRIORITY After Roster REVAMP Should Be THIS

You know, if you told me in 2018 that DeAndre Aton and Luca Donuch would be sharing the court together, I would have said you are insane. And if you tell me in 2025 that it’s going to work, I’d call you the same thing. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Psychos and sickos unite for a fun Wednesday edition of PHNX Suns coming to you live from Studio K presented by Circle K. Download the Circle K app today and join the inner circle for free. Terms and conditions apply at participating locations. We’re all participating in the show today. It’s me, Gerald, Steven, Erton, aka Juiceman, aka Freckled Mama behind the Mac, making all of the magic happen. But of course, the most important people, all of you in the chat, your names are back even though they switched back for a second there. Whatever the hell YouTube is doing, I’m glad that y’all have stuck with us throughout it all. Of course, everybody on YouTube after the fact watching us on TV and our beautiful audio listeners. Five star reviews go a long way. Hit that like button. Hit that subscribe button because the Suns off season is far from over. Yes, the draft has happened. Yes, Kevin Durant has been traded. Yes, they signed a free agent. But what’s next? That’s what we’re unpacking today. But what’s first is to remind you that we still have our intro dieard offer. $36 if you have not become a diehard yet. Like so many people have over the last couple of weeks. It is now time to make your move. $36 intro offer. Get a free t-shirt or hat when you sign up. Access all of Gerald’s articles and adree experience on our website. 20% discount to all of our events and access to our Die Hard Discord, which by my money is the best part of it all, especially recently because the Diehard Discord has been popping. But what’s popping with y’all? How you doing? Doing great. ready for something to happen.
I mean, DeAndre’s a Laker, man, so something definitely happened.
Yeah, I guess that’s true. We’re getting news that kind of trickles in and then we go hours without anything and then we get like Spencer did what he’s going to the Hornets. So,
league shifting
crazy DeAndre A DeAndre A. Spencer Denwitty and Mason Plumbley pick and roll.
Oh man.
In Charlotte. In Charlotte. Yeah, that might be the saddest saddest sentence I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Listen, we got
them checks though. We got a lot going on obviously in the NBA land. At the end of the show, we’re going to be talking about DeAndre in a little bit. Jaylen Bridg’s news, of course, we’ll be talking about. We’re going to kind of go through what the game plan is for the Suns and what’s up next. Now, we don’t know if they’re done in free agency, Gerald, because the Kobe Brea contract is kind of a hinging piece here as if the Suns can make another signing or not.
Yeah, we haven’t gotten clarification on that whether it’s a standard contract, whether it’s a two-way. If it is a standard contract, then that would be 15 for the Suns. Um, and they would, if they have, if they’re adding more players, would have to figure out how to get back to 15 by the time, you know, the season starts. So, that’s something to keep an eye on. I honestly think they might not have made a decision yet. I think it might be a fluid situation where they’re waiting to see, okay, who can we sign in free agency, and if we can get somebody that fits what we need, then maybe we put this second round rookie on a two-way deal. Um, but if not, maybe they bump him up to a full-time standard contract. You don’t trade up to number 41, take this guy, and then keep him. Uh, unless you’re pretty high on what he might be able to offer you. So, I I think for now they’re kind of maintaining that flexibility by not committing one way or another.
Yeah, it feels it feels fluid for me as well. Um, it seems like they’re trying to figure some things out, whether it be transactions as far as trades go, whether it just be figuring out what’s next with Bradley Bill.
Feels like they want to keep their options open in some capacity. Uh, so I feel like they’re they’re exhausting all options that are on the table for them, which is kind of the lens that I anticipated seeing them through throughout the entirety of the offseason.
So, let’s just talk about who could fill that 15th roster spot because that and then Bradley Beal feel like it’s the it’s the two decisions right now that are coming up first. Is it only something that you would keep open for a specific player like Chris Paul or would you kind of take any free agent that’s played in the NBA at this point to bump Kobe down to a two-way? Uh, that’s a good question. For me, it would depend on the free agent. I still think you could use a little bit more at the point guard spot because as much as it’s good that they like Colin Gillespie and are clearly believers in him in terms of what his role could be, if Colin Gillespie gets hurt, you don’t have a single point guard on your roster outside of Devin Booker kind of pigeon holeing him in that spot. So, that would be nice. I I think even some more wing depth just in case Nigel Hayes Davis doesn’t pan out would be good. For me, it’s either like a one or a four. So, I think if it’s someone that fits that archetype, then maybe we could talk. But like we talked about yesterday when I wrote about 25 free agents that would fit with the Suns, more than half of them are gone now. So, it’s not necessarily like we have to fill it with an NBA caliber player. I’d be interested in seeing what Kobe Brick can bring to the table, but there are a couple of guys that if they’re still out there, if they’re interested in the Suns, if you can land them, I would probably take that over a second round rookie.
Yeah, for me it’s definitely it’s definitely between the one and the four. Mhm.
Um, if it’s not Chris Paul for the intangible, the intangibles before anything skill-wise that he brings to the court, I’ I’m curious what they look at at the four because I feel like they need a more surehanded uh pop option at the four because you got a bunch of players that are athletes getting downhill, but what about having another counter to that? Now, obviously, I think Rashir Fleming plays into that and by that same token, I think that Nigel Hayes Davis does so as well. How sustainable is it though that those two hit to the level that you need to to get the most out of the pick and roll or pick and pop um experience with Devin Booker and Jaylen Green? They have a pop option in the mix with the size and all of the athleticism that they have going downhill. It’s different for me. And also in tandem with those guys popping, if one of those guys is screening and rolling, others got to be spaced in some capacity. Are those guys in a dunker spot? Are those guys trying to set exit screens and pinins? Or are those guys able to just space and leverage the spacing outside of that in that capacity?
So to your point, would you be good with a Trey Lyles or a Chris Bouchet in terms of that type of pop option?
Because those guys are some of the few on my list that are still out there at this point.
Yeah. And to your point, which is what I was going to get to, that’s not the market is dry on that front.
I would be willing, as we talked about a couple weeks ago, Eric, um we’re talking about the Bouche um bowl archetype because of the shot profile that Buché has shown to be consistent with and his willingness to be a little bit more of a screener in terms of hitting guys than B show to be. I’ll be willing to take a flyer on Buché. He obviously has potential to pop out of the role that he’s going to be playing for the team, which naturally you need for role players on any team that’s trying to go back to the playoffs. But I would be willing to roll that dice and it’s getting towards that time of that time of year as far as free agency goes. I would say out of those two, I’m 100% leaning towards Buché. Split his minutes at at the four and the five for Toronto. Can definitely step out and hit the three. I think that that’s a good pairing piece next to a Malawatch, next to a Mark Williams, next to an Oso Igadaro if you want to stretch him down to the five and put Oso at the four sizewise. I think Buché would actually be a pretty good pickup for this team and and definitely the best shooting option that you would have from a big man. And you know, there’s another way that you can add somebody and that’s if Bradley Beal is no longer on the team, either via trade or via buyout and then having some money to offer and a roster spot to offer. How imperative would you say it is Gerald that we get a resolution whether it’s trading be keeping be stretching and waving be how imperative is that we get a decision on that this week I don’t know cuz the market has like a lot of these guys we’ve talked about have been gone but it hasn’t been you know rapid fire like hurry up or all the good ones are going to be gone there are still some decent names that are out there so I’m not sure if it has to happen this week and and I feel like if there was that timeline we probably would have heard something about it by this point. I do think if you are going to, you know, buy Beal out and wave and stretch his contract, that does need to be taken care of pretty quickly because the whole point of that would be to duck under the aprons, free up your MLE and be able to grab one of these guys. Like, you know, we talked about some options at the four. At the one, like Chris Paul’s the name that keeps coming up. I still like DeAnthony Melton. I still like Malcolm Brogden even if he’s available at that point. So you do there is a sense of urgency there because these guys are taking meetings with other teams. They’re weighing their options. You kind of got to throw your ring in the hat. If you are able to offer MLE money, the only way you’re going to do that is by figuring out Bill’s contract one way or another. So I I am curious what the Sun’s focus is right now. Whether it’s trying to find an unlikely trade, which we went through options yesterday, they’re not great. There’s not a ton out there. Or whether they’re in this negotiating process with Beiel as we speak. like what what is going on behind the scenes? What are they working on? Um that’s kind of the big question mark and normally we hear a lot more about what the Suns are planning or who they’re targeting uh than we’ve heard at this point.
Yeah. Uh and to kind of to that point, but to a point you made a little earlier too. Question for y’all.
Do you do you think it’s less likely with each day that passes that Bill is um bought out
more likely a trade happens? I think the farther away or the farther into the off season you get, the more likely either keeping him or uh or trading him is the the stretch in the wave like like you said, Gerald, it feels like that’s the decision that if if you’re making that, it needs to be sooner rather than later. But to play devil’s advocate, you don’t want to do that until you’ve exhausted all your options. And obviously a lot of the reporting around LeBron right now and him not being happy in LA. There are things that change from today, Wednesday, from Monday. So it’s kind of like a damned if you do, damned if you don’t. You don’t want to miss out on the free agents and wait to to buy him out and then offer something. But you also don’t want to handicap yourself for the next five years before exploring every possible option and maybe a trade partner pops up because whatever happens 24 hours later. Yeah, I I think there’s a lot of dominoes that are still waiting to fall like and and unexpected ones too because obviously the whole LeBron rich Paul statement in terms of they’re going to be monitoring what the Lakers are doing.
Uh I think Brian Windhorse reported on ESPN that that kind of like threw teams for a loop like they were caught flatfooted in terms of like being able to make pitches or whatever on LeBron or monitoring that situation, whatever you want to call it. I think people are still clinging to the hope that Giannis pushes his way out after the news from the other day. I think it was reported that Giannis was not happy about the way that they handled Dame and and getting rid of him. So, I think some people are still waiting to see, okay, does Giannis pushed his way out? Was he really that unhappy? Is LeBron really that serious about potentially leaving soon? Um, and I think that’s why things have kind of slowed to a trickle a little bit while there’s still some good names out there. So, I think teams are probably probing and monitoring a lot of different avenues right now. And you’re right, Eric. I don’t think you commit to the buyout and the wave and stretch, something that’s going to hurt you a little bit for the next five seasons unless a you have a good uh free agent lined up to use that MLE on, and B, you’re absolutely sure that you’ve exhausted every possibility on the trade market to avoid that type of scenario. Yeah, that’s what it that’s definitely what it feels like to me. Um, that’s why I kind of anticipated some bill news around the um the draft whether it be shortly before or immediately after in that kind of window before free agency got started. Um, naturally here we are on it Wednesday.
It is Wednesday. Wednesday.
Here we are on Wednesday. Bill’s still intact and there’s no news on either direction that things might be headed. But yeah, I think it’s more likely either he’s around or he gets traded as each day passes.
Yeah. And and I I’ll stand on this and I’ve said this before is as much as you can point at Bradley Beal as a liability for this team from a cap standpoint or or even at a certain point, you know, on the court as well, despite what some of the numbers might say as far as, you know, he still averaged like 17 points per game. I don’t want to stretch this problem out over five years. And so if you do get another week into free agency, two weeks into free agency, and there are no options that come up, it’s like to me just keep the guy because also you never know what’s going to happen in the season as well. LeBron might start the season on the Lakers and it might not go well and then they might be forced to make a trade and he might want to come to Phoenix if they’re young and they’re scrappy, right? And they’ve proven that it’s a better fit for him. It might not even be LeBron. like it’s a lot of salary. And then once you get past year two left on the contract, you have one year left. Not that I think that an expiring Bradley Beal is going to have value, but there’s certainly less of a downside to trade for Bradley Beal when there’s only one year left on his contract, especially if you’re like, “Oh, well, I might be able to keep this guy on a relatively reasonable deal.” To me, the worst option is buying him out now. The second worst option is buying him out in a couple of weeks because
if you’re gonna buy him out uh now then oh no the other way around.
Okay. The other worst option would be buying him out in a couple of weeks once you lose your chance on a free agent. Second worst option would be buying him out now so at least you can sign somebody. But
at the end of the day, I don’t even know if there’s anybody out there that’s like who’s MLE worthy out there.
Um I would say probably Brogden. I would say Melton. Um I don’t know about Lyles. He’s he feels like a vet minimum. Buchet Buchet might be midlevel. Um especially cuz we are talking about the taxpayer midle which is significantly less than the full MLE. So
is it like six or
it’s like five or six? Yeah.
Instead of 14 instead of 14. So there’s a big big gap there. There’s not that much of a gap between that and a vet minimum in the two to three million dollar range depending on how long that player’s been in the league. So yeah, maybe Buché, maybe Lyles, Chris Paul, Brogden, Melton. That’s kind of that’s kind of it for me at this point, unless I’m forgetting somebody.
I mean, even like some of those names, right? Like Stephen, like Brogden has a lot of the same concerns that you have with Beal as far as staying on the court, right? I I like Melton. I don’t know if it’s like we got to make a two-year problem, a fiveyear problem so that we can add DeAnthony Melton to this team.
Yeah. And that’s the there’s a little bit of risk inherent with all of the names that we’re mentioning. Um I would throw maybe not necessarily to the same extent, but I would throw Delo Ben’s name in there. I feel like would would fit if you’re not bringing in a Chris Paul or you’re not bringing in a DA Anthony Melton, have someone that you can put at the point of attack and always give you activity there. Mhm.
Um, but for Gerald, they can still do whatever they do with Bill, not have someone take up that MLE money and have it to use throughout the season, right?
They can. Obviously, it gets harder. You know, this is the kind of prime time where lots of guys are available. They’re going to get scooped up. Maybe someone gets bought out later in the season. We we’ve seen a lot more buyouts recently than in the past because of the new CBA, but I don’t know that anybody mid-season is going to come along that you want to throw that type of money at. Um, so yeah, I I don’t I don’t know. I I will say it’s not just about MLE targets for me either, though. It is like if you’re ducking below the second tax apron, it’s to free up your flexibility with trades in terms of being able to aggregate outgoing salaries. It’s to make sure that you’re not one of these repeater teams that continually is in the second tax apron because your future picks are going to get frozen. They’re going to get moved to the back of the first round. that really hurts you from a trade standpoint and from a draft, you know, capital standpoint in terms of being able to eventually put these picks to good use if you’re picking 30 or 29th every year. So, um there are some long-term ramifications beyond just okay, well, they got below the second tax apron, who they use the MLE on. There are other parts to it, but I do understand the, you know, being on the hook for about 156 million a year potentially, and that’s assuming you get them to sacrifice 30 mil on a buyout,
right? and and and I look at like the Bucks, right, and you look at buying out Dame, you could say three years down the line now when when you stretch and you wave him and you’re trying to build a team around Giannis and you’re one piece away and you’ve got a good chunk of change that could be a good player tied up to a Damen Lillard to that point might be two teams away from the Milwaukee Bucks,
a team that’s going to get you in the playoffs,
right? And and so I I I am really worried about the prospect of that. Now, the flexibility and everything, not that there’s not benefits to it, I just man I that’s a really tough line to walk. Uh Al Horford is a name that I wonder if you have like, you know, the smaller version of your MLE if he wants to go to a warm weather place. I don’t know how much he’s going to command at 39 years old, but he would be like the best stretch big option out there. He’s better than Buché. Like he’s better than Trey Lyles. Yeah, he’s 39, but he doesn’t play like he’s 39, even though he’s a little closer to that than he has been the last couple of seasons. Is that somebody that that you would be like, “Okay, I I wouldn’t mind that because he could also play the four along some of these guys, too.” For sure. And and I think he is the type of big that is experienced and and has that ability to play both front court spots that Jordan would appreciate coming from a system that had two bigs that were pretty versatile and could guard multiple positions. Obviously, Horford’s lost a step in recent years. He’s not that same dude that he was when he first joined the Celtics, but he’s still very good. He’s still a an experienced voice that I think a younger team with younger bigs could really lean on in that way. Um, so yeah, he’d be someone I’m interested in. It does worry me that we’ve heard, you know, Warriors, Lakers, Celtics, all these other teams be reported and the Suns not be in that mix. I feel like their name probably would have come up if that was something that was in the mix. But yeah, it’s it’s it’s kind of slim pickings at this point roster-wise. I would love if Horford was with the Suns just because the same dynamic of Chris with younger guards,
Al Horford, teaching how to play an active drop coverage
and also teaching the inner workings of being a screen setter.
Yeah. And the the invaluability that that would provide to everyone, including Mark Williams, who already has time in the league. Everybody will learn immensely from that.
That would be a lot of fun. Um, and obviously he can still play too and make impact, but I don’t know how likely it is that he comes to the Suns who are retooling versus teams that are more sure
and fringe contenders if not outright contenders.
People love retiring out here. That is all I’ll say. But we know
I didn’t want the Suns to go get him when he was on freeze with Oklahoma City, though. When he went to Boston and ultimately did what he did the last three, four years.
Mhm.
Yeah. Uh, listen, I think that as far as the Bradley Beal situation, it’s not cut and dry. It’s not clear-cut. The next topic we’re talking about, for me, it is, but for a lot of others, it’s not. Devin Booker’s extension is what comes after a Bradley Beal decision or a next free agency decision. Should the Suns spend a record setting amount of money per year on Devin Booker? We’re going to talk about it right after our first break. Well, you’re probably spending a record setting amount of money as far as on groceries or on gas or on diapers, Gerald. And it’s not just diapers with a baby. It’s like everything. You got to buy new clothes like every two months cuz they keep on growing. You know, you got to do a bunch when you’re having a baby or if you’re taking care of a family or if you’re living on your own. It’s expensive to live. So, why not have a credit card that works for you? Especially getting double points until July 31st. So, that’s what you get with Mountain America Credit Union, who’s committed to helping their more than 1 million members in 100 branches throughout the West. Use your Mountain America Rewards card and watch the points pile up now through July 31st. It’s perfect for gas, groceries, travel, home projects, and all other purchases. It’s an easy way to stretch your dollar since you get twice as many rewards. And you ask yourself, well, what are these rewards, Eric? Well, I’m glad that you asked. Travel rebates, gift cards, and event tickets. It’s easy to pile them up. This is for a limited time only, though. It’s been going on for a couple of weeks. There’s less than a month left. Take advantage while you can. Get details at macu.com/double. Loans are on approved. Credit offer can change or be withdrawn at any time. Limited time offer. Terms and conditions. Well, yes, they do apply. Also, if you want to not have to apply sunscreen when you’re outside on your porch, check out All Pro Shade Concepts. I’m pretty proud of that one. Listen, extend your outdoor living space with a custom fit awning. Hundreds of designs and colors to choose from to match any home with all ProShade concepts. Your roll down patio shade blocks out the sun. Good for a guy like me and my complexion and keep the patio up to 20° cooler. Hundreds of colors and durable fabrics to withstand the Arizona sun. Choose from manual or motorized. Plus, in winter, drop down shades can create an outdoor living area that keeps cold wind out and warm air in. You’re just extending your outdoor living space every single day of the year. But you’re not just doing it to do that, but you’re getting it from a trusted company. Voted number one by ranking Arizona for patio shades in 2024. Better Business Bureau, A+ rating, and over 1,000 five-star reviews on Google. Licensed, bonded, and insured. Call 623204-1476 or visit allproshadeconcepts.com right now to schedule your free estimate. Uh, good if it go says, “You look unusually pale, Eric.” That was funny. Funny to you, huh, Gerald? Really funny.
I looked up at the camera and I was like, “Oh, damn. The lights are pretty bright today, huh?”
Yeah. uh unusually pale for most. This is just
in the center of the screen.
This is usually how pale I am just in general. So stick around. Hit that like button. Hit that subscribe button. You know, people ask me like, “How do you how do you live in Arizona and you’re so pale?” And I tell them, “A, you go outside when it’s 120 and B, when I burn, I might get slightly darker, but it it I’m back to I’m back to base.” Like this is just this is who I am, okay? And I embrace it. So, uh, yeah. Uh, it’s so funny cuz I’m assuming you’re responding to a different comment from Good If It Goes, but your response to Good If It Goes says, “He’s doing great. Had a rough night, but started smiling on command.” So, that’s awesome. How did you know I had a rough night?
Come on, Gerald. Get out of my life, man. Okay. Somebody who’s not going to be out of our life anytime soon as Phoenix Suns fans is, of course, Devin Booker. We’ve seen reporting, Stephen, for a long time now from multiple different sources that everything is pointing towards a two-year $150 million extension for Devin Booker as he enters year 11. That would be a record- setting annual average uh for a player higher than Shay Gildas Alexander, who just signed his extension. Obviously, Book’s been around for longer, but do you think that Devin Booker is worth that amount of money? I mean, you you show me a player that can average 35 and N and that wouldn’t be surprising on close to 50 40 90 efficiency, be all all NBA first or second team in potential. I mean, yeah,
why not?
Why in the world would you? There’s only a handful of players that could actually in theory do that and it wouldn’t come as a surprise to people.
Yeah. I I think so. I I understand because there’s a portion of the fan base now that wants to trade Devin Booker, that wants to blow it up and doesn’t think that he can be the number one on a championship team. To which I say, it’s all about the roster construction around a player. You look through NBA history, there are a lot of championship teams that have won titles with guys that individually are not as good as Devin Booker, but as part of the team context, it all fit together perfectly. My comeback to that is whether or not Devin Booker is, you know, the number one guy on a championship contender, whether or not he’s worth 7580 million a year, what you’re going to be paying him down the line, the thing is not just the loyalty aspect, not just what he means to the Suns community, not just being the face of the franchise, but the fact that even if down the line you have to trade Deon Booker, you decide we’re not going to win a championship with Booker or Book says I want to leave and go pursue a title elsewhere, you are not going to be able to trade trade him. Let’s say they give this another two years with book. They try for two more years. He would only have one year left on his contract at that point for $61 million. If you don’t extend him now, he is suddenly an expiring contract. And the entire league knows that he wants out. There goes all your trade leverage. There goes all of your return that you could possibly get for Deon Booker if you have to trade him. So even if you are on the side of the fence that says Booker is not good enough to be the guy, we got to blow it up. blah blah blah blah blah. You need to lock him in for as many years as you possibly can because the more years you have on that contract, the more teams are going to be willing to sacrifice assets for him. What did we just learn from the Kevin Durant extension that was hanging overhead? He had all the leverage and the Suns got a terrible return for it. So, I I would argue that Devin Booker means everything to this franchise. That the loyalty that he’s shown is rare and deserves to be reciprocated and that like he is good enough to be the number one if you surround him with the right type of talent if you put him in the right role. But all of that is meaningless because even if you think you need to trade Deon Booker, extending him makes the most sense to give you the proper leverage to do so down the line.
Yeah, it it’s a win-winwin scenario for everybody. The franchise wins because they keep their all-time leading score. who’s entering his age 29 season. Yep. So, that’s a win for the franchise, right? It’s a win for the merchandise sale. It’s a win for ticket sale. And it’s a win for longtime fans who don’t want to see what many people believe to be the greatest son of all time in a different uniform. It’s a win for Devin Booker because a he gets to be one of those one franchise guys. Leo dropping a super chat yesterday saying he’s the only one from his draft class who’s still on the team that originally drafted him now that Miles Turner is a Milwaukee Buck.
So, that’s a win for him. Plus, it’s a lot of money. I mean, nobody else can pay you that much, right? Like, it pays to stay with your team financially speaking, right? And then it’s a win for the fans as well because you know that through these different eras, right? When Devin Booker comes in, the Suns are the lowest of the low. You see them get so bad they get the first number one overall pick in in Suns history. They they reach just all-time lows as a franchise. Then they get young and scrappy and fun and they make some good moves and they trade for superstars who want to come here to play with Devin Armani Booker. Yes. Right. So you saw that portion. Then you saw the portion that got you to the finals, the farthest that any Phoenix Suns team has ever gotten in the playoffs, the closest this franchise has ever been to a championship. Then you saw the moment after that where he went through the big three era. It didn’t work out. But why did they want Kevin Durant and why did Kevin Durant want to come here? Why did Bradley Beal want to come here? It all is because of Devin Booker. And with Matt Ishbia ready to spend money and make the franchise around him better as far as facilities go and make it a destination, I would not be shocked if one, two, three years from now, there’s another big name that wants to come partner here with Devin Booker. And at the end of the day, Stephen, the salary cap is just going to keep going up. So you keep on getting ahead of these extensions, you actually end up getting him for a lot smaller portion of the salary cap than if you wait until the last second and then pay him.
Yep. You got to do your work early and stay ahead of the curve. And that’s the best way to recourse and retool at the same time. Uh replenish your asset your asset stock. Also, obviously keep your best player in house on as high as big of a contract as you possibly can. And obviously for the Suns, they want to also do so while winning. in some relevant capacity. So, they’re trying they’re trying to streamline a specific route to checking off all of those boxes in succession. And naturally, this probably a good transition. One of the biggest pieces in that is Bradley Bill
and what they do with him and what they can get in return or what they can just get off of their books to open up optionality for them. Last thing on this, like you mentioned the salary cap continuing to go up. Again, I will urge people, I’ve said this yesterday, look at it as a percentage of the salary cap in that given year because that’s what it’s based on. That’s why these numbers are continuing to increase. Like because the salary cap keeps going up and Booker is still going to be making around 32, 33, 35, 36% of the salary cap in that given year. That’s how these numbers are calculated. It’s not like, oh, we just decided, well, he’s been in the league for longer, so let’s throw $80 million at him. That’s not how any of this works. Look around the league. lots of guys in his position are going to be getting paid a similar amount. Um, and then the other thing is just like if you don’t give him that extension, you are sending him the message that you don’t believe in him
and that you are considering in the near future life without Deon Booker. That is how relationships in this industry are fractured and frayed. That is how you lose trade leverage because everyone in the league then if you don’t give him this extension are going to be saying, “Ah, well, does Deon Booker want out? Do they want to trade Devon Booker? We’re not going to give our best offers. Now, it it’s just bad business. And the front office is probably well aware of this because they know how quickly they’ve lost support here in Phoenix with the moves that they made over the last two years with as bad as last season was. They’re not going to go out there and trade the face of the franchise who most fans, let’s be honest, we’re a lot of diehard fans. We’re a lot of informed fans about all the ins and outs of the salary cap. And we appreciate that all of you are here with us to talk about these types of things. The vast majority of casual fans do not know or care about any of this. They love Devin Booker. And if you trade Deon Booker away, there is a much larger portion of this fan base that is not going to be willing to sit and listen to you talk about, well, he was going to make $75 million a year. They’re not going to care. You just alienated them from their favorite sports team. And that part does matter as well, as much as we’re going to talk about onc court stuff most of the time. Well, and and not just for the fans, not just for, you know, Devin Booker or whatever, but you know, it’s a small league, right? And the Phoenix Suns acquired three at the time stars in this league, one of them being superstars, right? And Kevin Durant.
It didn’t go well, right? They tried to trade Kevin Durant behind his back at the trade deadline, backed themselves in a corner, and then he got traded for less value, which hurt him as far as like, hey, Kevin Durant, you know, you wanted to end your career here in Phoenix, like you said, you’re going somewhere else and hurt your franchise as far as a return when you could have just worked it out with him. You trade for Bradley Beal and now the fans hate him. The fans are literally booing him. They’re going at him on social media. And obviously us here as a show, half of the topics we talk about is how does this guy no longer spend time on the Phoenix Suns? So, that’s a failed experiment for somebody who was an all-star in this league who is averaging 30 points per game. If you are the franchise that stars go to to get treated poorly and stabbed in the back and discarded if they get whatever the reason is, who the hell’s going to want to stay there? But if you’re the franchise that rewards loyalty, if you’re the franchise that rewards their star guy and then builds the right team around them, Stephen, other guys are going to see that or high draft picks who are going to the Suns are going to come in and feel more comfortable committing and investing in the Phoenix Suns themselves.
Yep. And I’ll just be real quick, that’s why you had to do a great job with the owner that replaced the owner that preceded the new owner. Mhm. You had there was no way you’re going to attract the Kevin Durant even if you did like Devin Booker if you had the nonsense that was going on prior to the Matt Ishbri regime. You have to do good business to set yourself up for success and potential going forward. If you don’t or you’re towing that line, you miss out on tons of opportunities. Uh as a Chris Paul fan, I’ve heard plenty of things about players that wanted to play with him. Naturally, one of the best point guards of all time. He’s gonna get you a check in multiple respects. The issue comes with ownership and you know everything. If you know anything about Clippers history, the stuff that was going on there, not ideal.
You go and get a new owner, all of a sudden things look different and the rest is what it was. But you miss out on opportunity when things at the top aren’t being handled the ways in which they should be. I I I just enjoy this conversation because it’s interesting and I understand fans want to have their cake and eat it too. Like loyalty is a one-way street in this industry. Like fans do not care about players unless they can do something for their favorite team.
But it is interesting that we condemn players or demand their outright loyalty. But the minute that they’re traded against their will or the minute that they want to go somewhere else, suddenly the fan is affronted when we’ve got a large portion of fans that are saying, “Trade him, get rid of him, rebuild.” Cool. Let’s do another five to six years of building from the ground up. That sounds fun. Well, and and one last thing here before we we hit our break and then talk about what’s even next beyond that for the Suns. I was talking to uh somebody from a Kentucky perspective earlier today. That interview will be out later this week. Half for the public, half for dieards only. And in the die hardly portion, we talked about Devin Booker because obviously he’s a Kentucky guy. And a good point that was brought up was you could be the Damen Lillard situation, which is, you know, you you see what plays out in Portland, right? It’s Dame’s never going to leave Portland. He’s Portland’s guy. And then for whatever reason, whether it’s Dame or Portland, they decide it’s time to move on. You get traded to Milwaukee, you play through a calf strain, you play through like your blood clots, you go through really devastating injuries, and then this franchise has no loyalty to you. Cut, waved, bye, goodbye. And now Damen Lillard’s, you know, future and his legacy is a lot different than if he and Portland just worked it out and stayed. So, it’s imperative the Phoenix Suns stay committed to Deon Booker and building the right team around Devin Booker and being smart enough to build around at least one Max player. For those thinking it’s not possible, it’s absolutely possible to build a contending team around somebody who has a max contract in this league. It’s not to build around three. There’s a middle ground there. And for Devin Booker, you look at Damen Lillard and you look and say, “Is the grass always greener on the other side?” No, I don’t think it is. And he loves it here and he’s loved here. And I get that some people aren’t gonna agree with that. Some people want it differently and you’re entitled to your opinion. But realistically, I don’t see Devin Booker going anywhere, barring severely drastic changes for one of the two sides going forward.
No, not at all. It’s just bad business. No, no team in the NBA functions like that. And the one that did by trading Luca Donuch is getting flamed for it by their fan base, by the by everybody that covers the team, by pretty much everyone that isn’t named Nico Harrison. So, and I I understand Booker is not on the same level as Luca, but here in Phoenix in terms of being beloved, he absolutely is what Luca was to Dallas here.
To that point, I was just going to say really quick that sometimes some business is much bigger than basketball itself. Yeah. Yeah. You don’t you don’t want to lose the fans, especially as a new owner coming in here like you have already. You got to bring it back. And and long term, I mean, you saw what a ring for Durk did at the end of his career in Dallas. You know, there was a point where that was not guaranteed and the teams around Durk were not that great. And I’m not calling Booker Dirk, but think about how much more weight that one ring has for Durk than it does for a lot of other people or for those who literally went around other teams and never got championships like Charles Barkley or James Harden right now at this point in his career. What do you think? Drop a comment. Leave a like as well. Let’s give it a like goal. Let’s do 150 yet again. But from Booker’s contract to making trades and some development, what is next for the Phoenix Suns after their superstars and they figure out there? We’re going to talk about that after our final break. Everybody just stop and look down for a second. Look around. Look at your flooring. Is your flooring up to date? Is it up to par? Especially if you have a nice renovated home. Gerald, you don’t got to keep looking over here because we have Empire Today. Empire Today is here to make sure that you have the best flooring option. They have flooring experts. I’m talking dedicated flooring professionals who focus on flooring every single day. The same way that you want your superstar to be in the gym working on his game every day, you want your flooring professional to care and work around flooring every single day. We’ve all been to those big box stores. You wander the aisles. You haul all the materials home. You have to install it yourself or you have to go find a separate installer and coordinating everything yourself. And you actually don’t end up saving any money at all because you have to go so many different directions. Listen, that’s not what Empire Today does. clear upfront all-inclusive pricing on a same day inhome estimate and then you can schedule installation for the next day. Plus, PHNX listeners can receive a $350 off discount when using promo code phnx. $350 off discount when using promo code phnx. Restrictions apply. Visit empiretoday.com/phnx for more details. And god, I love my shady rays. I wear them every single day. What is that that I say? I love my shady rays. I got the head the headshake from Steven. You can’t shake your head at shady rays, though. Here’s the thing about me is that usually I lose or break my sunglasses, right? And luckily, since I got my Shady Rays, I’ve actually avoided that. Maybe just because they’re so near and dear to my heart. However, if I broke them or lost them, even on day number one, I get a replacement from Shady Rays, a brand new pair. No guilt trip, just replacements. So, now I can wear my sunglasses without fear. I can lose them without fear. But even knowing that I’ve got that safety net, I haven’t lost them yet. Man, I’m just rhyming a lot. Plus, we’ve teamed up with Shady Rays to bring you an exclusive offer. Head to shady.com. Use code phnx for 35% off. Once again, code phnx for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself. The shades rated five stars by over 300,000 people. And by the way, talking about saving money, you can save money on a diehard intro offer right now. Just $36 for you to become a diehard today. Go to gophnx.com/intro. It’s so worth it at $80, which is our annual price. $36 is a steal. We’ve been really bumping up our dieh hard game recently. Every film breakdown that Stephen does that goes out on YouTube, you’re going to be getting multiple minutes of diehard only content. Every interview that we’ve been doing, we’ve been doing a couple minutes of diehard only content. I’ve got 10 for y’all this weekend beyond our film session as well. But of course, the mainstay of the Diehard content is Gerald’s articles. If you wanted to get the rest of Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neal, and Nick Richards trades from yesterday, you’d have to be a diehard. And there’s no better way to get in the game than by scanning that code on the screen, becoming a diehard today, and doing it before the season at full price. Now is the perfect time to get in. It’s also the perfect time for the Suns to maybe make a couple other trades. Wait, wait, wait. You can’t skip over that man did a 360 while you were talking about looking at the floor.
Oh, yeah. Gerald. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, what? Somebody in the chat like did a 360 like what?
He was looking at the floor. I appreciate the the sponsor participation when I’m when I’m reading. I committed to the bit.
Yes. Hello to Melissa, John, Elco, Ashley. Good. If it goes, Boxing Men, also hello to Maria with a super chat. Thank you so much, Maria. I should have gotten to this sooner. My apologies. 9999 says, “Haven’t dropped a super chat in a while. Thanks for all the summer coverage.”
Thank you, Maria. Appreciate you being here because we’ve had a lot to talk about and hopefully they give us something more to talk about in the next couple of days, maybe.
I’ll say this, Stephen. This off season has been a lot juicier than I expected it to be so far. Yeah, cuz we didn’t expect to have as much fun on the draft, the two draft nights that we actually did. Mhm.
Uh that to say the least, but also obviously the the uh what ultimately was the what you want to call it the um I don’t know why I’m forgetting the name of meals right now. The appetizer was the Kevin Durant trade
a couple of days before that set the table for everything that happened Wednesday and Thursday. I’d say the post Kevin Durant era has been about as good as I could have expected it to be at this point. And granted, we’re a week and a half in, so it doesn’t really mean anything, but it kind of means something to me. And I’m I’m enjoying that we can actually have some hint hint of positivity on the show. Gerald,
it is pretty nice.
Yeah. Without a group of stands jumping down your throat every few minutes.
Man, it’s actually really funny. I see all like the the Katie going crazy on Twitter this morning and I’m seeing like Rockets fans get into it because Katie said something about Dorian Finny Smith on the the podcast of LeBron and I’m just like, you know what, we might be worse, but there’s a little bit of a piece of mind there. Uh the Suns will be trying to get better though and part of that is other trades beyond can you get rid of Bradley Beal and we talked about a couple yesterday. Where does that rank in the priority for you Gerald trading a Nick Richards, a Grayson Allen or Royce O’Neal? Is that like let’s get it done ASAP and try to fortify our roster or is that let’s see what happens with Beal maybe get under the second apron and then try to aggregate the guys?
Yeah, I’m kind of in no rush on that one. I I think there have been a couple of teams I think the Knicks, Lakers, and Pacers were reportedly interested in Nick Richards. Suns are doing their due diligence. They’re taking calls. I don’t, like we’ve said, I don’t think you’re going to get something out of a Nick Richards trade other than kind of clearing the log jam that you have at center and potentially getting like a second round pick, maybe two, maybe a young player like Daltton.
We did talk about Dalton Connect. That’s kind of like the best case scenario in terms of getting a player that is worth taking a flyer on. the rest are kind of just like, well, we shed a couple mill off our salary um and we got a second round pick. So, for me, Nick Richards, I think he might be kind of the insurance policy just in case Mark Williams is injuryprone again. Just in case, uh, you know, Model Watch isn’t ready to contribute in year one because he’s a little bit raw. Um,
bra I’m giving you the side eye this time for the first time ever. I’m giving you the side eye. You said it.
No, he is. You said it and then it brought him up. No,
no, no. You knocked over the first domino. He just fell over with you. Jeez, man.
Somehow I’m the sometime somehow I’m the adult on this program. That’s crazy.
That is crazy. Uh anyway, but yeah, that’s that’s pretty much where I am with Nick Richards. With Grayson and Royce, I feel like I feel like Royce doesn’t have as much trade value as Grayson. I feel like Grayson, someone else would be calling you about Grayson. I don’t think you’re going out there and shopping him and expecting to get something great in return. Um, unless someone was willing to give you a first round pick. We talked about Detroit maybe needing more shooting. There are some other teams that could use some shooting as well. Um, but like we said with Detroit, it’d have to be a three-te tra trade because I don’t really have you don’t want Isaiah Stewart. You have enough centers. So, every every name that we bring up, there’s like one or two obstacles or one or two drawbacks to like you’re not getting full value for these guys. Um, if somebody calls you about them and gives something good up, then great. But if not, I wouldn’t be mad or surprised if Grayson and Royce are on the roster next year and possibly even Nick, too. I just don’t see especially with the the particular positions that they filled and the the ways that each of these players playing what you can imagine and expect their minutes total to be on a per game average.
I just don’t see where where Royce factors into it all right now.
You got a bunch of young guys that do a lot of things that Royce just can’t do at this point or at least that he didn’t show last season in particular. He’s much less of a three than he is a four now, but he’s also not the biggest four. So when he is at the four, there’s a size deficit disadvantage that you’re at. And you put a bunch of younger guys with more athleticism, taller, can do a little bit more.
I don’t know. It just it feels like a roster shift that doesn’t include him
in the formula going forward.
And that’s not that’s no like slight at him. It’s just the way that things kind of eb and flow with rosters. So, it’s like the hourglass is kind of flipped over and he’s running out of time with the Suns for me.
Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if any of those players get traded. I I don’t think the Suns are in a position where they have to trade them. And I think this is most pertinent with the Nick Richards situation where you hear reports that the Lakers want Nick Richards and teams are interested is for the first time in a long time, it feels like the Suns have had a little bit of leverage here, right? So, if you can play into that leverage, use that leverage and say, you know what, we’ll hold on to Grayson Allen now, but maybe during the season a team loses a Duncan Robinson like a, you know, a Detroit or Atlanta loses a Luke Canard and they need to trade for the for a shooter because they’re competing now in a in a lesser conference, right? Maybe they’re willing to attach like a pick or something to that and you can get some good value for for Grayson when you maybe don’t need him that much. exploring those trades for them. I think the offseason’s a failure. I think the worst case scenario is you just dumped them for nothing, which I just don’t see the Suns doing because all three of those guys you could easily see in the rotation next year.
Yeah. And and I think to your point, like both of these guys, they have probably poked around to see what the value is of these guys. I I doubt they’ve just been sitting there not, you know, trying to ask teams, what would you think of Grayson? What would you think of Royce? I do think they don’t have to force the issue. Like there is a log jam at the two, but if you’re going to clear that out, it starts with trading Beal or, you know, waving and stretching him. I think Grayson provides a shooting element that you probably need next year in terms of the spacing, in terms of being able to attack off the dribble. And then as far as Royce goes, it does feel like the context of this team is much different in terms of being younger, longer, more athletic. Royce doesn’t fit in with any of that. But we have talked about who are they starting at the four next year. Is it going to be Ryan Dunn in year two? Is it going to be Rashir Fleming, a second round rookie in year one, or is it going to potentially be Royce, a more experienced option there? Like I don’t think that’s out of the question, even though we talk about Jordan and the dual bigs things a lot.
Yeah, I I think it’s going to be interesting. something we’ll continue to monitor as well of all the other things we have going on.
You know, maybe before any other trades or moves at the end of next week is summer league, right? And there are a lot of things to keep an eye on for summer league. And obviously, you have to keep an eye out. Uh we’ll have some coverage for that. Espo and I will be out in Las Vegas. Gerald and Steven will be holding it down here. And of course, there will be a lot of coverage of the games themselves and all the moments. And we’ll have a lot of people we’ll need to look at, but also somebody that we’re not going to be getting eyes on. Now, I’m not going to say this is like massive news, but I was pretty surprised to hear earlier today Jay King reporting that Jaylen Bridges has been added to the Celtics summer league roster and will go to camp with the team in the fall with a chance to make the roster. Gerald.
Mhm.
What the hell? Yeah, I mean it kind of came out of left field, but also I don’t think that Jaylen Bridges particularly blew anyone away during his first year here and most of it was in the G-League. Um, you look at his overall numbers, they’re pretty good. I think he shot like 38% from three, averaged like 14 points per game. Um, but it was kind of up and down there and I don’t think he stood out at the level that maybe they were hoping or expecting uh in the G-League. So, I I think it’s one of those situations where they either told him, “Look, we’re not bringing you back or they told him like, hey, if you have a better opportunity elsewhere, go ahead and take it.” And that’s, you know, that’s what summer league is for. So, on paper, the 3 and D, you know, prototype asset that he brought to the table was intriguing. Great size, great shooter. He looked great for the Suns in summer league last year. I don’t think he ever showed signs of being able to do that in the NBA. And if they who know better than we do from watching him in practices and all the the G-League games that I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I watched all of those, I would probably trust their inclination that they don’t think he’s going to be something here.
I think this that’s a nice indicator of how things go when you have a um like a regime change.
Yeah. specific to the faction of coaching.
One specific coaching group might value certain archetypes, certain intangibles over others based off of the system and the culture, etc., etc., that they’re trying to establish. Mhm.
Shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody that Jordan A and everybody that he’s bringing in, including Brian Gregory, not by way of Jordan A, but just with the shift that’s taking place, probably won’t see things the same way that those that preceded them did and kind of valued things um in the last even as recent as the last couple of seasons for the Suns. Mhm. Yeah. This is also interesting because it might mean more likely that Kobe Brea ends up on a two-way contract, therefore opening up a a roster spot for the Suns to fill with a with a free agent and and giving Kobe Bray the chance to still play in the bigs and possibly be converted to a full-time roster spot. I mean, we saw the Colin Gillespie story. Now, the first Valley Suns player to end up signing a guaranteed deal with the Suns and that was official earlier today. So, big shout out to to Colin. I do think that with Jaylen Bridges, not that I’m gonna freak out over it, that is the type of player with his size, his length, his skill set that you could see molded into a good rotation piece. I mean, he was somebody that was projected to go in the second round like pretty consistently last year. It was actually kind of a surprise when he ended up being an undrafted free agent. Felt like he wanted to come to Phoenix and and I do think that there is some NBA prospects for him. That being said, like you’re not getting like the G-League MVP and losing him, right? So, to me, this isn’t a decision that I guess I necessarily would have just gotten out and made myself if I’m the franchise, but if Jaylen Bridges approaches me and says, “Hey, I want to pursue something elsewhere.” It’s like I’m not going to lose my mind and and say, “No, you can’t do that.” And keep an unhappy guy in the G-League, you know? So,
I don’t think it’s fun. I was looking forward to to watching Jaylen Bridges in the G-League himself and and seeing if he could develop a little bit more off the dribble. See if he could lock in a little bit more on defense with with his size and his metrics and everything. Uh but at the end of the day, like
it is what it is, right? You you had a good draft class. You have other good young players. I’m not sure what’s up with Tai Tai Washington. I believe he’s still technically a free agent. I don’t think they’ve officially brought him back.
So all the two-way guys, they automatically become restricted free agents at the end of the season. Um, so they they could match or they could bring him back. Um, I don’t know if he still qualifies for a two-way at this point because I think he’s had his share of two-way deals at this rate, but I would need to look into that to make sure. So, and then we do know that they signed CJ Huntley to a two-way contract. So, one of their three two-ways is already uh filled up.
Tai Tai, come home. No, I’m kidding.
Again. Uh, okay. Any other thoughts on anything we’ve talked about Suns related today before we wrap up some news around the NBA and and get out of here on a hump day?
I would imagine we get some coaching assistant coaching news. We we did get word uh the other day, I think it was from Mark Stein, I don’t know if we talked about this, but in addition to Deari Carol, um Brian Randall, who has been here before, welcome back. Uh will be on the assistant coaching staff. So we have two names now.
Yeah. Uh Deari Carol, Brian Randall, Jordan I. Uh Brian Randall coach with Monty Williams. So, we’ll bring back Brian Randall. Uh, we’re going to bring back Chris Paul. We’re going to bring back the Valley jerseys. And, uh, we’ll see if we could steal Cam from the Denver Nuggets. I don’t know if that’s
if that’s going to happen. Probably not. Not that Cam. All right, that’s going to wrap up the Suns portion. Hit that like button. Hit that subscribe button. Still over 400 of you in here on a Wednesday. Just amazing the amount of turnout that we’ve had. We appreciate all of you. We can’t keep the lights on without you and we can’t keep them on without you hitting that like button as well. still a decent way away from our like goal, but let’s go ahead and smash that like button. Uh, speaking of former Suns, some news came down while we were on the show. Uh, Frank Vogle has signed on to be the lead assistant in Dallas. And then also, right before we came on the air, DeAndre Aen, a two-year deal with a player option with the Los Angeles Lakers. Uh, everywhere we look in the Western Conference, we see our exes, Gerald, pretty much.
Cam Johnson, DeAndre Aen, Frank Vogle.
Yeah,
Kamara.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, got a lot of them. probably Melton once he signs with the Lakers.
Chris Paul if he goes back to the Clippers. Yeah, they’re everywhere.
We were supposed to draft Luca.
They’re everywhere.
Anyway, uh obviously I don’t think we have a lot to say about Frank Bogle. I don’t think that voids his contract though, right?
He was
He was a consultant. So, does he now no longer get paid out by the Suns?
I don’t know. I think maybe
but it depends on his contract, honestly. I don’t know the the rules on that, whether it’s a standard head coaching thing or just buy the by the contract type of thing, but let DA to the Lakers.
First of all, Chris Haynes, shout out to you for breaking the news like four minutes before Shams, but you should have taken an extra second and spelled his name right. The capital A.
Come on, man.
It’s a lower case. He’s been in the league for seven years now.
DeAndre Hopkins, uppercase, DeAndre A and lowercase. And if you were covering sports media uh from a
not being the same.
Okay, calm down, brother. I’m just I’m just saying. All right. Oh, I’m a Ravens fan. Don’t take DeAndre. Listen, dude. I like DeAndre Athens. Okay. Uh there’s the side eye earned that one. Uh but it’s very it’s very funny. Uh somebody who covered all Arizona sports uh from a from a bigger perspective when those two were in town. It was very funny how often you to remind yourself, okay, lowercase there, uppercase there, lower case there, uppercase there, and then when you’re writing both of their names. Anyway, that’s only a problem that I had to deal with. Uh, DeAndre Ain’t on the Lakers, Stephen. There’s no chance that works, right?
I mean, if he doesn’t want to be coach hard, because if Luca can get called out, if LeBron can get called out moments after a game has ended, moments after a season has ended, if a front office can be called out by a rookie head coach,
Mhm.
multiple times.
Mhm. No one is above accountability with the Los Angeles Lakers, not even JJ himself. And I think that that’s probably the thing that stands out most to me. This is no slight disrespect to anybody that’s coached DeAndre Aiden.
I don’t know if anyone’s going to coach him as hard as JJ does
as far as not walking on eggshells to get to whatever point it is he’s trying to get to. Yes. It’s gonna very much be live and direct.
And everybody’s not built to be coached that way. No,
I don’t think that’s like breaking news in any capacity. Um, so if he’s if he’s going to shift and kind of adjust as an adult and be more receptive to
maybe a communication that is not necess that hasn’t proven to be the best for him,
he’s in as good a situation as he could be in because he’s with two all-time great playmakers
and someone that’s immediately become one of the best X’s and those head coaches in the NBA upon his first season. So, if he’s willing to adjust and adapt, he couldn’t have asked for a better situation to potentially net himself more money after this two-year deal is done. He’s either he is either going to be as good as he was during 2021 or he’s going to start being benched at the end of games by December. Like there’s there’s no in between here because between JJ Reic, between LeBron James, assuming he is still there, and between Luca Donuch, Da’s personality, I’ve said this many times, he’s one of the most like jovial, upbeat dudes I’ve ever covered on the beat, and I appreciate him for that. It doesn’t translate well to one of the most competitive sports leagues in the world. There’s a reason we’re at this point where he’s getting bought out by a losing team and now he’s joining a winning team and they’re getting him at a good value, $8 million a year. That’s pretty great to fill the hole that they very clearly needed to fill.
Eighton is going to have to fundamentally change the way he approaches his work ethic, the way he approaches the game, and the way he responds to coaching and criticism because to this point, it hasn’t been great. We we saw how it ended here playing with Monty, playing with CP3, playing with Book. We saw some of the parting jabs on both sides on the way out.
There was some real frustration there and you could see it in Portland. I think Jason Quick wrote an article that was talking about how he was late to meetings, how his attitude and his temper tantrums in the locker room were a problem when he wasn’t, you know, when they when Chanty Bilips would get on him. That’s going to be exacerbated under the bright lights of LA playing for JJ Reic playing with LeBron James and Luca Donuch, two of the highest profile athletes in the league. like it is 100% put up or shut up time. I don’t think his time in the league is going to come to an end if this stint doesn’t go well, but like this is kind of the last opportunity for DA to prove like I’m I’m still a good player. I can still contribute to a winning team in this league. And frankly, I don’t know if this is a good match. I I don’t think it is. I mean, it’s very funny that you said in order for this to work, he has to fundamentally change how hard he works. It’s like it’s like, dude, at a certain point, like you are who you are, right? And I was a DeAndre Aton defender. Uh when it came to drafting him, I was team draft DeAndre Aton, right? And yes, Gerald, I know that you were team Luca. I get it. Uh I was team give him the contract, right? Because after he manned the middle for your 2021 finals run, I was like, you don’t get there without DeAndre Aiden, right? And you have to give him credit. He was absolutely incredible on that run. His skill set is immense. But the problem is the type of center that Luca needs, the type of center the Lakers need. Well, that’s just not who DeAndre Aton is. Yeah, he puts up 14 and 10, but he doesn’t hustle hard for the boards. He doesn’t play dirty down low. He’s not a rim running lob threat. He wants to roll, and if he rolls, he wants to stop at like 12 to 15 feet out, and he wants to take a pull-up, right? He doesn’t want to be a bully. He doesn’t want to be the type of guy that I think is going to be the best type of partner with Luca, but he’s clearly better than what they had. But by the way, if you want to get better and have the party always continue and you’re watching on TV, it always continues over at gophnx.com, which means it’s time for overtime. Hit that like button. Hit that subscribe button. We’ll only be here for a couple more minutes. So, make sure you hit that like button while we are still here. Beyond DA, though,
one more thing real quick.
17 banners hanging above your head at every single home game that you play.
That’s it.
I mean, I don’t think that that motivates a guy like him. It don’t have to motivate you, but that accountability that comes with it is going to either it’s going to either it’s going to either ascend and make you raise your level of play or you going to succumb to the pressure of that. Especially for that franchise, all they know is all they know is winning. And all they know is alltime great after all time great after all time great after all time great. At that position in particular, like you could get away with being a little more inconsistent in other situations, but with the Lakers for the winning and for the position he’s playing, non-negotiables. If you’re choosing there, you didn’t get traded there. You chose to go there. You could have went elsewhere and probably got similar, if not more money because of cap space that other teams have.
Yeah. I I think for him, like all he has to do is just do the things that they need him to do. And that’s what we were saying here in Phoenix as well. All he had to do was be that defensive anchor, be the switchable big, be a good rebounder, be locked in with his rim dives and his screen setting. He wanted to do more. He wanted to shoot threes. He wanted to shoot midies. wanted to have an expanded role on offense despite not having the skill set for it in LA. Playing with Luca and LeBron and JJ Reic, hopefully the pedigree of those players and coaches will be able to kind of ground him and get him to realize, okay, this is all I need to do here and I will succeed and we will succeed. But if he’s not bought into that, like I said, this is going to implode by December and he’s not going to be closing games and we’re going to be hearing rumbles about how disjointed the locker room is. And maybe LeBron James is forcing his way out by February because yeah,
if he was looking at this off seasonason as like, let’s see what our team does, bringing in the guy who might be his biggest headache this season is an interesting way to go about that. Even if he fills some holes for you.
Yeah, I I don’t think this goes well for for the Lakers. I don’t think this goes well for DA. I listen, man. It really sucks that we’re at this point in DA’s career, but the the quotes are going to be gold coming out of him. He’s going to be like, you know, I I wanted to buy out with Portland. I’m still number one overall pick. I’m Dude, I just it got to the point like I just I couldn’t do it anymore. But some other news from around the league. The Knicks hired Mike Brown as their head coach. I feel like not like a huge upgrade over Tom Tibido. So, I’m not really sure what the Knicks off
defense philosophy for me.
Yeah,
I think that they may have looked at some of the ways in which they went about playing offense
past just the minute totals that guys were logging and probably felt like they left a lot of food on the table even with Jaylen Brunson’s heroics. M uh you see everything that that Mike Brown did with the Kings. You have uh Damont Sabonis and Darren Fox and a bunch of pieces in between. Copy and paste. Imagine him bringing those philosophies, that state of mind,
no pun intended, to New York. You’re not the only one that can run. Um, just imagine what that looks like for them. Especially with some of the ancillary pieces he has because it’s not like he doesn’t have like no disrespect to Kevin Herder, but he’s got guys like Muel Bridges, Deuce McBride, Jordan Clarkson, Gershon, Yusel, like all of these other OG Anobi, all of these other pieces that are in between those two and kind of underneath them.
I don’t know. It hits a little different and they still have the defensive personnel and continuity from last season, too. Yeah, I like the Mike Brown hire based on what he was do able to do as last stop in Sacramento. I think he got a raw deal there on the way out. Um I would like to see him get another chance with a much more talented roster heading in from day one than he had to kind of develop in Sacramento.
I think it’s funny somebody said uh Josh Hart and the boys had to learn more than five offensive sets. No more podcasting for them. And then Josh Hart co-weed and said y’all still be getting those podcasts. Uh any any free agent signings that catch your eye uh over the last day or like Trey man going back to the Hornets? Spencer Denwitti to the Hornets. I to me there’s there’s really been nothing crazy. Ramona Shelurn, I don’t know if it was a report, but she did say that it it feels like Chris Paul is going to be a Phoenix Sun. We’ll see. Um, anything else stand out to you guys from free agency or or how it might impact the Suns?
Uh, yeah. Tim Har Jr. going to Denver Nuggets after everything that they just got done doing the day before
that they’re well positioned to be right back where they were in the second round and to kick that door down to get back to at least the conference finals this upcoming season.
Mhm.
That’s probably the number one that comes to mind for me. Not the biggest name obviously, but fitwise off of the attention that every everybody else on that roster gets, that’s a problem. Yeah, I I I’m still kind of uh taken aback by how well Denver’s offseason has gone because I thought that was a team that was heading in the wrong direction. Um I criticized them pretty heavily the last two summers for ducking, you know, the tax aprons by letting Bruce Brown Jr. walk and then by letting Contavius Cowwell Pope go for basically nothing both times. Um they did a really good job of proving me wrong. It took him two years later. I think you could argue they kind of let Jokic down these last two years in terms of giving him the roster to compete for titles, but they bounced back really well this summer. Um, so there is an argument to be made that by maintaining that flexibility, staying under the tax aprons, they were able to do some of the things that they could do to get back to this point. You know, I’m all about accountability, so let me take some accountability here. I’m sorry that we talked about the Lakers and the Nuggets. I I do apologize for that. That’s going to wrap things up here on PHNX Suns. Been one hell of a week and a half here on the channel and we are not stopping anytime soon. Hit that like button, hit that subscribe button. We’ll have a live show for you tomorrow. I think we’re going to be doing a mailbag. So keep your eye out on our Twitters and our Instagram and whatever we might post it on. Also in the Die Hard Discord to submit your questions for tomorrow’s show. We will not have a live show on Friday. We have the day off for Fourth of July, but we will have something recorded coming out for you guys that day. Plus, we’ll have a film breakdown on Saturday. Plus, we’ll have an interview for you on Sunday. So, don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of content to get you through your weekend and beyond. And then we’ll be back next week as well.
Can I just say uh expect fireworks on Friday. [Laughter] Sorry. Go ahead, Derek. You can follow the show. So, so next next week, I want to let everybody know so at the end at the end of next week, uh be heading out to to summer league there. Ess will be there I think around Thursday. I’ll be there over the weekend. So you can keep your eye out for that content. These two will have you covered. I will be out at Big 12 Media at the beginning of the week. So it’s going to be the Gerald and Steven show for for most of next week. So a nice calm show with reasonable takes and reasonable volumes. You’re welcome for not having to adjust the sound uh for next week. But it’s going to be a ton of fun. I’ll still be active in the Die Hard Discord. And of course we’ve got tomorrow before we get there. So make sure all of you are back here tomorrow at 3:00 for a mailbag Thursday edition of the show. Hit that like button. Hit that subscribe button. Five star on audio goes a long way. And of course, you can follow the show at phnx_sons. That’s on Twitter and also on Instagram. We’re bringing you the latest news, updates, jokes, memes, fake trades, whatever it might be over on both of those accounts. We’ve seen a lot of growth there. So, thank you all for tapping in there. You can follow Eritton behind the Mac, aka Juiceman. You can follow him at freckledmamba. He’s also in in the chat just serving up jokes left and right, as well as a DA on the Mind the Game podcast. would go crazy mind the game
be like an 8 minute show yeah you know I’m just really good I’m just better than everybody roll credits you can follow Gerald at Gerald Borgay you can follow Stephen at Steven PG3 don’t call him Steve you can follow me at e r i kr y we will be back tomorrow with more jokes laughs and all of your questions answered [Music] [Applause] [Music]

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