Does Jonathan Kuminga Make Sense For The Suns? Could Oso Ighodaro Be A Key Trade Piece In A Deal?

Does Jonathan Kuminga Make Sense For The Suns? Could Oso Ighodaro Be A Key Trade Piece In A Deal?

On today’s show, we’re diving deep into Jonathan Kaminga. Is it actually the right move and the missing piece for the Phoenix Suns to be a playoff team next year? Or should the Suns just be done? Have they already done enough this off season without grabbing Kaminga as well? Well, let’s talk about it. You are Locked On Suns, your daily Phoenix Suns podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome back into Locked on Phoenix Suns. I am Benjamin Garcia, host of the Bengaria Show, Mornings on YouTube, and a credentialed Suns media member. Thanks for making Locked Ons your first listen on this beautiful Monday. Don’t forget Locked on Suns is free and available on all platforms including YouTube. So click that follow or subscribe button to do it. Thousands, dare I say millions of Suns fans have done already. Become an Everyday and get locked onto the Phoenix Suns here each and every day. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NBA at monarchoney.com for 50% off your first year. Joining me today, a very special guest and uh hopefully a fairly reoccurring guest. I want to nail that down with him. Probably should have pre-show, but you never really know. Joining me, managing editor of Bright Side of the Sun and host of The Sun’s Jam Session podcast, John Voida. Good morning, man. How are you? Good morning. Uh Benny G. Can I call you Benny G? Ben, dude, you know what’s kind of weird? I have been anti-nicknamed for like for a long time. When I was a kid, I called myself the answer. Like first grade, like the answer, right? And you know what people have been doing? And I told my wife this. People have been like in public been like, “Hey yo, what’s up BG?” And I’m like, “What? Where did that come from?” And so people in the comments section call me BG. And like we’ve already had Britney Grinder. We have Brian Gregory. So am I the am I the third most famous sports BG in Phoenix? Like that’s that feels a a little far. But I was like, “Okay, if you want to call me BG, I guess they can.” More of a Benjamin guy. But either way, I don’t really care. What about Benny G though? Like it’s like Kenny saxophone now. It’s like Benny G on the pod. Like dude, one thing one thing I hate being called uh which is why and now people in the comment section are going to call me it is Benny. I hate being called Benny. But listen, like like it’s not a secret anymore, right? we have a kid on the way and like we don’t know the gender we thank you and like we don’t know if uh if we have a a boy or a girl on the way and she’s like well if we named it Ben I get to call it Benny. I was like you would be the only one being allowed to call our potential son Benny and we’re not even sure if we’re going to name it after me. We don’t know. I was like but we’re not you would be the only one. No one else is allowed to call him Benny. Either way, man. Um that’s not actually what I wanted to start the show with. I wanted to start the show off with uh it’s August. There’s not a lot going on. So, I appreciate you being here. August sport or it’s almost August, I guess I should say. Uh, but it feels like it already. Um, but there’s a lot of things to talk about, man. There’s like a a decent amount of things if you’re a Suns fan. We are lucky to be able to dive into it. You know, there’s a lot of this discussion, man, between Jonathan Kamingo. We can get into the next segment about exactly what a trade would look like. Is it the right piece? Is it exactly what move the needle for the Suns? We can do that. But what what I haven’t seen a lot of is the fit for Jonathan Kaminga. I’ll go second, but I’ll let you go first. First off, where does Jonathan, like, let’s say the Suns make the trade for Jonathan Kaminga? And it does feel more concrete than ever that this is at least a possibility. Where does he fit on this team? Is it a three? Is it a four? And either way, I’m going to have an issue with it. But I’ll let you take I’ll let you take it from there. So, you know, first and foremost, thanks for having me on the first locked on Suns podcast. Post Brendan clean. You know, that’s uh that’s saying something right there. He’s an institution. RIP. You know, I’ve known Brendan for a long time. We’ve writers at Bright Side of the Sun. We used to actually post the Locked Ons podcast shows on the Bright Side of the Sun uh website because, you know, he wrote for us. So, it’s an opportunity for self-promotion. But, uh, you know, talking about Jonathan Kaminga and his fit, it’s clear that the the greatest opportunity for the Phoenix Suns is at power forward, right? We know that it’s going to be Jaylen Green and Devin Booker in the back court. Dylan Brooks should be starting for $21 million a year. He better be starting. And again, if we’re shifting this identity and changing the culture, he’s a key cog in what that is. So, he shouldn’t not be starting. And that’s where it could be him or Ryan Dunn. So, you think, okay, well, we want to see what Ryan Dunn has. He’s proven to be a competent defender. So, he would be the four and then Mark Williams would be the five. So, the acquisition of Jonathan Kaminga would slot him in at the four. That’s what a lot of people are envisioning when you talk to the members of the Phoenix Suns fan base. That’s what they think when they when the proposition of Jonathan Kaminga joining the team comes. I don’t know if I see it just because again, he’s 6’7. He’s not a overpowering dominant power forward even in today’s game where you want to have the ability to space the floor with that four. He doesn’t provide that either. So although there’s a lot of reasons why I think that people want him here relative to his ability to get to the rim, his shot creation, things that are going to be challenges for this team next year, if we’re simply talking positional basketball, he would slot in at the four. And in my opinion, that’s not an avenue you need to go down. We can talk about that a little bit later, but where do you think he would slot in the three or the four? Ben, um, I think he’s on the Suns team. I think he would be more naturally suited at the three position. However, I hate that idea because if you start a lineup of Ryan Dunn, Mark Williams, Jonathan Kaminga, Jaylen Green, Devin Booker, you are really lacking in the shooting department. Jonathan Kaminga is a he’s he’s a bad shooter. And I think this is where it comes to the overcorrecting of the Suns problems last year. They had a really hard issue getting to the rim. Outside of Kevin Durant, you thought Bradley Beal was going to fill that hole, but outside of Kevin Durant, who doesn’t really like to get to the hole anymore, I remember he had a Dwayne Rankin article about a year ago basically saying like, “I don’t do that anymore because it’s it’s what got me more injured.” Yep. And the more he does it, he’s going to get more injured. Booker, I mean, I guess could get to the rim is what we would like for him to do, but that’s not really his strong suit. Mark Williams, obviously, he’s going to be hovering around the rim. Where would Jonathan Kaminga fit in all that? So, you do you just want to have a team that is dribble driving to the basket? And if you’re kicking it out, the only the best shooter you have on the court statistically wise from three-point is Devin Booker. And Devin Booker has never been a great three-point shooter. He’s been, you can’t leave him open, but he’s never been a great three-point shooter. And then what are you going to do? Kick it out to Ryan Dunn, who really, it depends on the night if he’s going to be a good enough three-point shooter where teams have to go out on him. And then Jaylen Green, he’s an inefficient scoreer. So the Jonathan Kaminga stuff, it’s interesting and I get the idea behind it of like, well, if we just put this team together, bunch of young guns, they’ll play fast. Like there, it’s not it’s not all negatives. If you bring Jonathan Kaminga here, I think they’ll play faster. I think they will get more uh they will get to the line more. They’re going to get to the rim more. All that’s good, but there’s got to be a little bit of balance to this. And let’s say, okay, fine. Let’s slide Jonathan Kaminga at the four spot. Okay, that’s a really small lineup. You’ve got Mark Williams at 7 foot and even if you want to say Kaminga’s 6’8, which that’s what his draft profile was listed at, but he’s probably closer to 67. You got 67 and no guys there with a seven foot wingspan who could just hawk down the opposing team. Dylan Brooks is a like he’s a good defender because I think he’s a really willing defender and he’s a and he’s a he’s a strong guy. So I think there’s a lot of issues with that man. And when you talk about allocating some of your resources that we can get into in the second segment, I I just if we’re talking about a natural fit, I think he’s a more of a three than a four. Agree. Man, you just don’t play offense, right? You got to play defense, too. And what’s Kaminga going to do defensively? I mean, I guess he’s a little long. He’s got a 611 wingspan, but he’s not shutting anyone down. Then you’re talking about giving up 100 points, you know, and one half on the other end. Yeah. And that’s the challenge with this team is they are swinging the pendulum the complete other way of who they were last year. And a lot of us are applauding that because we need an identity. We need a team that’s going to fight for possessions. We need a team that’s not going to turn the ball over and be and have the opposing team shoot the ball 20 more times. But in the same breath, when you look at the construction of this team, a big question is where are the points going to come from, right? And I have an old whole article on Bright Side that published yesterday on Sunday about just that fact about how we’ve swung the p the pendulum so far the other way that’s going to be hard to score. And a lot of people look at Kaminga and they go, well, yeah, he’s going to be somebody who can actually add points to what the Suns are doing. But to your point, to my point, the guy can’t shoot. Okay. He shot 30.5% from beyond the arc last year. In his four years in Golden State, he’s 33.2%. So, yes, he’s somebody who can put pressure on the rim, but seen as the fact that he can’t shoot, seeing it as the fact that he’s not a great defender. He doesn’t have a lot of these attributes that I’ve necessarily see can fit with this team, especially for the price. And and I’m a big, you know, as you listen, if I if I become a reoccurring guest and I’m on here more often, you’re gonna hear me use a phrase quite often, Ben, and that’s price for value paid. Okay, I love DeAndre Aton until they gave him the max contract because all of a sudden, the price for value paid went in the opposite direction. It was negative because you’re paying him X amount of dollars and you’re expecting X amount of production and you’re just not seeing it. Okay, Kaminga fits a lot in that same that same boat, if you will. Okay. A top pick. Great physical intangibles. Not always the best when it comes to attitude and effort. Somebody who pouts. And that’s one of the reasons why Golden State is kind of having an issue with him is because he’s been somebody who kind of pouts when he doesn’t get his way. Reminds me of somebody else we once drafted very high who had all the physical intangibles. But the price value paid becomes the question. And what you have to give up to get him and what you’re going to be paying him. He’s a project. And projects shouldn’t be paid more than guys who can at least give you one consistent reliable attribute like a Grayson Allen can, right? Grayson Allen, you know, 16 plus million this upcoming year. He can shoot the crud out of the three ball and that’s what we know he can do. There’s nothing that Kaminga does other than put pressure on the rim that I think that he can do consistently and I and we haven’t seen it. And part of that is because Golden State hasn’t given him the opportunity and the reason they haven’t given him the opportunity is because of the attitude and effort issues that he’s displayed in the past. Well, I I I said this not too long ago with Brendan, and to Brendan’s point, the Warriors do play a different brand of basketball than everyone else. It’s very sophisticated, and the reason why they’re able to do that is because they have all sorts of continuity for like going on a decade now. Those staples of those offenses. So, I get that. However, Steve Kerr, I know, is a really good basketball coach. He’s got numerous rings. He took that Mark Jackson thing that was you know put together and then made and polished it and turned it what it was one of the better dynasties over the you know the last couple of decades. So, but when Steve Kerr says, “I can’t trust you in a playoff matchup,” how am I, even though I like Jordan Knot, how am I supposed to take Jordan not and say, “I know Steve Kerr couldn’t do this, but as a firstear head coach, I need you to deal with all the moving parts of fixing Jaylen Green, helping him be more efficient, making this offense run through Devin Booker again, keeping Mark Williams healthy, like like juggling that issue, and his never ever going to be able to shoot. I just think it’s a little too much to bite off, but we could talk about kind of some of the positives with it next cuz like I don’t think it’s all negative. Like this isn’t one of those things where if the Suns get Jonathan Kaminga, depending on the price, I’m not going to freak out over it because I do get it to some extent. But let’s talk about the price. Let’s talk about not only the what it could cost for Jonathan Kaminga, but also the price tag on a contract that you’d have to give him. Is it worth it? Is it too much? Are the suns potentially doing too much? Let’s talk about that next. First, today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Ever wish managing your money felt easier? With the Monarch Money, it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s like having your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Finances. Monarch Money is more than a budgeting app. It’s a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So, in addition to managing your money, you’re also building wealth. 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All right, let’s I’m struggling with what what needs to come first here, but I think this is where we’ll go and then we’ll talk about some of the players that could potentially be sent in a in a uh uh deal with Golden State. Is there a price tag for Jonathan Kaminga on a contract that you are absolutely like there’s no discussion. You have to give a new contract to him. That’s what a signin trade is. Is there a number per per year that you’re like, “Ah, I think I’m out on Jonathan Kaminga.” Yeah. Anything over 25 million annual average value. I think anything over that again, you’re banging on upside. And there’s nothing wrong with that. And and I’m not completely opposed to the idea of it, but I just think that again, price or value paid on a guy who, as you mentioned, you know, Steve Kerr is saying that I don’t know if you can come in. It’s funny to me that we go through two seasons with having Kevin Durant here who does nothing but excel on the basketball court, but there’s issues with the team, right? There’s intangibles outside of what’s occurring on the actual court statistics wise, and that is kind of one of the reasons why many people point to the the fact that this team wasn’t successful. We go back to the the DeAndre Aton era, if you will, and it was kind of the same thing. It’s like, yeah, he puts up numbers, but when we talk about intangibles and attitude and everything relative to that, uh, it’s it’s an it’s negative. So, we don’t want that on our team. And now the Suns are in the process of recalibrating their identity, realigning it, if you will, and bringing in gritty, tough defenders, guys who are are going to put the work in. And the one guy who everybody’s super excited to chase is a guy who’s yet to prove any of that to be true, and Jonathan Kaminga. So, anything over 25 million for a player who’s truly untested, who doesn’t have elite skills, he’s has elite athleticism, but hasn’t showcased elite skills on a consistent basis, isn’t somebody I’m lining up to hand a bunch of cash to over the next three years and see how it works out. We have guys on much more absorbable contracts. We’re in a this next year, in my opinion, is a gap year that could be focused on development. And that’s what the that that’s the direction I feel like the sun should go. So if you can get him 25 under, I’m willing to to watch that and see the gamble play out. But anything over that, if we start to talk about like $30 million for Jonathan Kaminga, that is a lot of money to an unproven guy. We already got one of those guys in Jaylen Green, right? That’s 33 million this year, 36 the next two, you know? So we don’t need to stack our contract with highpriced projects. And that’s the lens I look at it through. Ben, Jaylen Green, I would agree with you, is overpaid for what he is. He He is an overpaid player for now. However, the Suns, the reason why I don’t get upset with the Suns for taking that deal is cuz like you had to you have to you have to max you have to match contracts and trades. It was the only way the Kevin Durant deal was going to get done. But it’s not a good deal. It’s not and it hasn’t even kicked in yet. However, let me let me I I’ll tell you in a second exactly where I’m at. But let me ask you this. Would you rather have Tobias Harris or Jonathan Aminga? What’s the price? It’s uh $26 million a year. It’s 1 million over my line of demarcation. I’ll take I’ll take Kaminga. How about that? Okay. John Collins, who’s at 26 and a half million. I’d rather have Collins. Okay. Okay. He’s more of a power forward. He he fits that archetype. Okay. Let’s find Let’s find uh RJ Barrett. Who’s the shooting? No. No. Okay. So, you’d rather have Kaminga. Andrew Wiggins at 28 million. No. I’d rather have Kaminga. And let me give you one more. I’ll give you two more. Uh, that one’s not fair. CJ McCollum. I think we’d both take Kaminga. Yeah. Okay. What about Jaylen Johnson? Oh, I take Jaylen Johnson every day. I would rather have Jaylen Johnson, too. I would rather have Jaylen Johnson, too. Uh Jaylen Johnson makes $30 million a year. I think that’s the barometer, right? And so if I’m saying Jonathan Kaminga, I would I I would be okay with giving him 27 to$28 million a year. And I’ll be honest with you, if it got to depending on the price of what you’re sending out, right? If it’s Grayson Allen, and we can get to that in a second, Grayson Allen and Oso, sure. Like the the risk is worth the reward for me. uh at $28 million a year. Like when you start to get creep up to the Jaylen Green range, $33 million a year, I’m like, it’s a little much. Here, here’s kind of how I how I reference it. I’m I think you own your house. I’m assuming you own your house. But when you’re talking about a couple million dollars a year, I think of it as like buying a house. Whereas buying a house for 850 Well, that’s a lot of money. Buying a house for $450,000, right? and buying a house for 40 four $440,000. Like I see it that close because you’re pay you’re paying like $50 extra a month for that monthly payment. It seems like a lot of money because it’s $10,000. It’s really not. If you have to pay 10 $10,000 more to get a better to get a better house than pay $400,000 for a house you really don’t want. It’s like pay the $10,000 extra dollars. It’s not that much more a month when you’re bickering over that much. Like with real estate agents and customers like what are you guys doing? pay the extra $5,000, you’re gonna spend $25 extra more extra more a month and it’s house you really want. With Jonathan Kaminga, I think of it as like $30 million and I’m giving up Grayson and Oso or $25 million and and or no deal and it’s Grayson or like he won’t take that. I’m like the risk is worth the reward for me for million. But in this situation, we don’t know if the house has air conditioning or if it works or not. That’s the challenge. Like at least with Grayson Allen, you know that that the AC works correctly and the plumbing’s done correctly. You know, I don’t know if you bought your house, but when I bought mine, you know, right before the pandemic, mind you, thank the Lord. But the inspector comes in, tells you everything’s great, and the next thing you know, like the air handler doesn’t work a summer later. And that’s what and that’s what we’re having that that’s why I I get where you’re coming from. But at the same time, if we’re talking $5 million a year, you know, which is a veteran minimum contract or a player, es especially on a team that’s not going to have the ability to have $22 million every year because of the dead cap money given to uh Bradley Bill and Nir Little and EJ Liddell over the next, you know, few seasons. That 5 million means something because it could mean a player. And that’s why you have to be very astute in the way that you attack this from a roster building uh standpoint and make sure that the guy you’re bringing in does have air conditioning that works. I just I just that is a good point. I just think it’s funny when I see and I saw one of your writers say this uh yesterday. I was like 25 million or I’m not doing it. And I’m like okay R.J. Barrett makes 27 million. The cap’s going to continue to go up. It’s not going to be now if it’s a like and this can only happen with max contracts. So if it was like it if it would got more each year like it was a percentage of the cap type of thing with Devin Booker’s contract where it’s going to acrue over time he’s going to make more money like yeah then we’re going to have a problem but I think as it ages it’s going to look like a $25 million a year contract anyways. I would do that. Um running a little long here so let’s just move this in to the next segment. Let’s talk about what exactly we would give up for Jonathan Kaminga. I’ve seen some speculation about Oso Grayson. What about Ryan Dunn? Let’s talk about that next. All right, closing out the show. Very fair question. I It is kind of interesting to me to see the people on social media who are like, I get Ryan Dunn. I am the president of the Ryan Dunn fan club. I wanted that dude out of uh Virginia before he was even drafted to Phoenix looking at their spot and saying, “Oh, that that works.” Grayson Allen, we would trade, right? But the Warriors aren’t interested in Grayson Allen. It’s where that the Warriors leverage really comes into play. It’s like give them Grayson and Nick Richards and throw a ham sandwich their way and have him deal like it’s not how it’s going to work like it was with the Suns with Kevin Durant. Grayson Allen and Oso Gadara. Would you do that? Absolutely I would. But you you have to look at it all right from a contractual standpoint that equals about $19 million uh accelerators all that I think you know you can offer Kaminga a little bit more the sign trade back but that puts him right in the zone of where I want to pay him. So I think that that’s absolutely doable. I think that OSO, as much as we love Oso, and again with Ryan Dunn and OSO, I will say this here in the Valley, we overvalue them. And I think a big part of that, a big part of that is because last season was such a a comical show night in night out that when we saw guys who had skill sets or or or cared and both those guys did. I mean, those are our guys. That’s why we’re going to like a lot of guy, you know, we’re not going to be a great team maybe next year, but we’re going to like a lot of these players because they’re going to hustle and they’re going to care. OSO was a part of that. that he was also part of a youth movement that we haven’t had in Phoenix since Jaylen Smith was drafted in like 2021. So, we were excited about it. But the guy has limitations. He has a definite ceiling on who he is as a player. He can’t shoot. He’s got a a push shot and that’s like it, right? He can pass, which is great, and it’s something we’re going to need on this team is playmaking out of anybody not named Jaylen Green or Deon Booker. So those are minutes that would would be valuable and I can see that. But at the same time, if it’s him and Grayson, absolutely I would do that for Kaminga. Everything I said before is valid when it comes to who he is, his characteristics, I don’t see the fit with the team, with the attitude and all that. But if you’re doing it from a purely transactional standpoint, I would absolutely do that. Ben, would you do it? Would you give OSO? You know, it’s funny with Oso. I uh I like Oso. He’s a good passer, which I think is underrated in big men. I think he’s a good passer and overall like I just think he’s a smart basketball player. I don’t think he’s the most talented but I again I think he’s very smart and when you have a team with guys of tunnel vision like Jaylen Green who I don’t think is a dumb basketball player. That’s not what I’m saying but can sometimes get tunnel vision I think it’s nice to have that balance of a guy in Oso Gadaro who is very smart kick it out to the right guy. That being said, if I’m getting summerly godaro and I’m getting uh basically cavon Ludy rebounding the basketball offensively and just breaking the backs of other teams who can’t get a rebound and OSO is extending possessions like that is incredibly valuable and OSO is doing that in the summer league. And if I also get Oso who’s aggressive around the rim and is going to now add pressure to the rim with his push shot. All right. Like that’s a guy I want in this team and I think fits well in the four position if Kaman Malawatch is really going to become this some sort of stretch five, right? However, let’s be real, guys. He’s a second round pick. He’s probably the ninth or eighth best player on a championship level team. That’s not bad. You need eight guys in a in a championship run. Maybe not nine, but you need eight, right? And so OSO would play, but I still am a little like if you’re keeping Nick Richards, Oso Igodaro, Kam Malawatch, and uh Mark Williams, it’s getting a little crowded down there. If I could swap that out for Kaminga and then like yeah, I have an issue of like where is this guy gonna start? But it’s a good problem to have. I would move on from Oso, but I don’t think I would do it for Kaminga because I just think like if if Oso truly has this kind of value, which I think he might have some and you can package Grayson, I think I’d rather get someone who fits a little bit better with the Suns. Agreed. Now, if that’s not out there, like that might not be out there. Like maybe I’m overvaluing Oso. I would still do it for Jonathan Kaminga. Like if that’s the deal, let’s do it. However, I just with there’s a lot of question marks with Kaminga. Like the like a championship pedigree team doesn’t want him. So with those question marks, I would do it. Especially if I got Kaminga on $25 million a year. I’m like four years $25 million is not very tradable. Very tradable contract, too. Yeah, it’s not bad at all. Like especially But I here’s one thing I don’t want to I don’t want to give up any picks. I’ll give up a second rounder because they’re currency in the NBA. It’s not hard to get them. You can do that. I’m not giving up any more first rounders. And I don’t think that they’re gonna get that. Um, let’s move over to Ryan Dunn because I think we’re both going to be pretty quick about this. What if it was Grayson, Ryan Dunn? That’s it. 25. And let’s say let’s say $25 million for Kamingo. Let’s say that’s No, I wouldn’t do it, man. Like, and again, this is probably me overvaluing his worth in the NBA, but I just think that he’s a young quality uh player who’s has high upside, and that’s essentially what you’re trading for. But you have Exactly. Ryan Dunn here. Uh same size. He technically Ryan Dunn’s a better shooter from beyond the ark, you know, and he’s bigger and he’s a bigger like he’s bigger, he’s longer, better defender, better defender. Uh no attitude problems whatsoever. So, and again, you’re getting him for $20 million less a year. So, you absolutely hold on to Ryan Dunn and and you know, the only appeal of getting Kaminga is, as I briefly mentioned, is he’s a contract you could potentially flip. You know, a lot of people aren’t going after Kaminga or trying to acquire him because they don’t have the means to do so right now. with the way the cap is structured and draft picks and everything, you know, sign and trade and hard caps and things of that nature, some teams might not want to, but if we trade for him, we could trade that 25, 22, 25, $30 million contract potentially down the line. So, there is some appeal in that, but to give up a Ryan Dunn in that situation, who again, Kaminga is and Ryan Dunn, they’re almost on the same level to me in my opinion because of the intangibles. Don’t disagree at all. Yeah, I wish I could fight you on that one, Benny G, but I can’t. I I I I no like it it would be it would be silly. You’re talking about the Warriors giving up draft capital to get Ryan D. Imagine Dunn on the Warriors, man. It would be a nightmare for us. It’s Well, also it’s like a perfect need for them. Like it would fit them perfectly. High character guy who I think is progressing in shooting the three ball. A guy that can learn under Draymond Green to be like this stalky def like crazy. Um, last point because we both agree Grayson and Oso hit the road jack, you know, especially for the kind of deal that I think you’d be getting for Kaminga. Um, Ryan Dunn kick rocks. We’re good. Um, what about this, dude? And I I kind of mentioned this briefly and you agreed with me, so I think I know where we’ll go with this. I think the Suns fan base has been so spoiled with the amount of stars they’ve gotten, the big deals that have happened, moving on from players, getting new players in, and Ishpppia’s just been wheeling and dealing, man, that they’re like, Jonathan Kaminga, we didn’t really watch a lot of Golden State Warriors basketball because I didn’t watch a lot of Golden State Warriors basketball to correctly evaluate Jonathan Kaminga. But they see the name, they see the old G-League highlights, they see the statistics, which are like fine, and they’re like, “Get Jonathan Kamingo over in a Suns jersey.” I love what the Suns have done this off season, making chicken salad with chicken. You know what? I think maybe the Suns should just be done. Unless Jonathan Kaminga makes the Suns a bonafide playoff team, which I don’t think is the case because of his fit in Phoenix. Why are we continuously wheeling and dealing and like willing to take a loss for Grayson Allen to get picks to send in a Kaminga trade when I don’t even think this is the biggest hole the Suns have? I think they have a a really big hole in the power forward position behind Ryan Dunn. And then in the point guard spot, although I think it’s a little overblown, they don’t have a traditional point guard. So, if you could find that guy like a Ricky Rubio type of player, which doesn’t really exist anymore, I’d rather do that, man. I think the Suns are doing a little too much with this Jonath Kaminga thing, especially if you have to trade literally your last assets and meaning couple of second round picks maybe and Oso Gadaru who I think like I’m not in a rush to get rid of Oso. I would in some instances. I’m not attached to him, but it feels like Suns fans have been a little spoiled by the amount of activity that the Suns have been doing. Don’t you do you agree that like we’re we’re doing a little much now? You you made chicken Caesar salad out of chicken bleep. Let’s just eat this. We don’t need to go get something else. Taco Bell can wait till tomorrow. Ooh, Taco Bell delicious. I’ll I’ll say this. Patience needs to be exercised. Uh, and I by the front office and by the fan base, I honestly believe that, you know, if you talk about a traditional point guard, as you mentioned, we know one doesn’t exist. And even if you were to go get one, it would move everyone down the line defensively. So now Jaylen Green becomes the two, Devin Booker becomes the three, and we’re right back where we were last year with Taius Jones being the starter, and us being an undersized defensive team that can’t defend. and and we we experienced that like two months ago, three months ago, and people are already like, “Oh, we need to go get a, you know, a quality starting point guard.” Slow down. Have patience. This is we have to start playing. We have to we have to recognize between our shortterm greed and our long-term greed. And our short-term greed is yes, we want to win and we want to win now. But that for the past three seasons has gotten in the way of the long-term greed. And that’s why we don’t have draft capital. That’s why we have $22 million in dead cap space because poor decisions made in the short term have led to this moment. So yeah, you see the the flashy name Kaminga. And when you see the reports that there’s only two franchises that have made concrete offers for Jonathan Kaminga and it’s the Suns and the Kings, Ben, those aren’t those aren’t good organizations. Those aren’t you the Suns are not in you rank anybody’s front office and everybody’s going to tell you the Suns are bottom three and the Kings are standing right along next to them just like the old Sun Kings you know uh game of zones that’s report but that’s what we are and we’re both going for Kaminga like that should say something about the player right and that should now don’t get me wrong I like the fact that the Suns are connected to Kaminga because it means that Brian Gregory is continuing to think and tinker and explore options that’s what you have to do at this point, but you you have to make the right decisions moving forward. And not just the right ones, but the smart ones. And for everything that Kaminga is, acquiring him is not a smart move. I can see where the fan base is. I see where they’re coming from. I see their desire to go and continue to build. And to your point, Ben, they’re spoiled a little bit because we’ve literally been a game that’s on unlimited 2K. But guess what? All of a sudden, now we’re having to pay the penants for the dis the the transgressions of this front office for the past three years. So, slow down. Have some patience. Watch this thing work out. See where your opportunities are because the free agent class is going to be better next year. The contracts of Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neal and Jaylen Green for that matter all become much more appealing this time next year when they’re trying to make decisions moving forward. But if we’re continue trying to push and and create pressure and and build this team that’s not going to even win, we’re going to continue to be sitting here with no draft capital in our pockets, no money available, and wonder what veteran minimum guys we can go acquire. I think patience needs to be exercised, especially over this upcoming season. John Voida, ladies and gentlemen, I think we should have just ended it right there. Um, just a little tease to Suns fans, uh, because I I, you know, I will be doing some shows alone and of course we’ll have my guy Bruce Visas on on Friday. Well, Thursday night, Friday when the show comes out. Um, we’re going to we’re going to talk about the point guard thing. Um, it’s just like it’s taking everything in me not to rant about it right now. Like, oh, we need a traditional point guard. Uh, really, we didn’t just have Taius Jones and that didn’t work out and you could say the system and all that stuff. I don’t care. Defensively, it killed us night in and night. Again, if you like to read Bright Side of the Sun, I rant. That’s where I do my ranting, Ben. That and my podcast. And you do a great job. The reason why you’re on this show, I I rant a lot on that website. And you know, thankfully I still have credentials with the Phoenix Suns because sometimes I get a little frustrated. You and me both, man. You and me both. You know, I’m not going to lie to you. There were a few times where I was like, I might be getting a I might be getting a call. Should I publish this? Ah, whatever. I might be getting a call from my guy Palmer about something I said. But to to the Suns defense, I have went after this team. I have also praised this team and I have never heard anything from them. You know what? That is a team that I’m like, got to give you that. Got to give you that. All right. Hey, it’s not malicious. You know, it’s again, as long as you’re not malic we’re going to be critical because we care, but we’re I’m not malicious. I’m not actively going after guys and processes. Although I did write something not very flattering about Josh Bartlestein, but at the same time like it wasn’t malicious. Well, he’s Well, he’s an epo baby. So, exactly. That’s kind of the point. Oh, yeah. No, no, no worry. People People know how I feel about Josh Bartlestein, which is he’s an epo baby. He he he got you Listen, I I just PE is not a Josh Bartlestein. Yes, we will. We’ll save that for another day because guess what? We’ll end it there. There’s a lot August is coming up and it’s the worst month of the year and we need to find things to talk about. about that sounds like a great topic of discuss discussion at for another time. Thanks for making the locked on suns podcast a part of your daily routine. Uh follow check us out on social media my guy on social media darthvoida that is Darth Va on Twitter x whatever you want to call it and on Instagram. I learned that on my own and I followed him. Uh and then myself follow me on all social media platforms at Bengarcia show. uh for Voida, for myself, Benny G, BG, we appreciate you guys making Locked on Suns a part of your daily routine. And for everyone in the chat, we will talk to you guys Wednesday.

Jonathan Kuminga to the Phoenix Suns? It’s the trade rumor that’s got everyone talking. But is it the right move for the team?

Benjamin Garcia and John Voita break down Kuminga’s potential fit with the Suns, analyzing his strengths, weaknesses, and contract value. They explore possible trade packages and debate whether the young forward is worth pursuing. The conversation shifts to the Suns’ offseason strategy, with both hosts advocating for patience in team building. Are Suns fans too spoiled by recent big-name acquisitions?

Tune in for an in-depth discussion on Kuminga’s future, the Suns’ roster construction, and the delicate balance between short-term desires and long-term success in the NBA.

0:00 Intro: Jonathan Kuminga and the Suns
5:52 Kuminga’s potential fit on the Suns
11:14 Evaluating Kuminga’s contract and value
17:57 Comparing Kuminga to other NBA players
24:11 Potential trade packages for Kuminga
28:31 Ryan Dunn’s value and fit with Suns
31:09 Patience needed with Suns roster moves

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