This Phoenix Suns WILD CARD Can Make BIGGEST LEAP Next Season

This Phoenix Suns WILD CARD Can Make BIGGEST LEAP Next Season

Eric is back, which means two things. Number one, I never have to read another ad. And number two, Eric, did you get a tan? Yeah. insert stupid I’m back meme here. Whatever the hell people do. Psychos the sickos unite for a much louder edition of PHNX suns coming to you live from Studio K presented by Circle K. Download the Inner Circle app for free today. Terms and conditions to apply at participating locations. And we are all participating today. I’m Eric. That’s Gerald. We’ve got Steven and the freckled mamba behind the Mac making all of the magic happen. But of course, the most important people except for one of you in the chat. I’m talking about you, Max Simpson. But everybody else is extremely important. We got Kakashi, Leo, Steven, Boom, Shakaaka, Andy. I see that names are back. Yes, I like that. For now, keep it, please. I know. Apparently, it’s been going back and forth. I did change my dad’s name. I I changed it and then the name changed back. So, no more Street Addict one. No, no. In the rafters forever, but it is good to be back. It’s going to be back on a mailbag Monday. Y’all know what to do. Hit that like button. Hit that subscribe button if you’re listening on audio. Of course, five star reviews go a very long way. How were things while I was gone? I don’t know. I was a little upset that you guys, the first day that I was gone got a British person on the podcast cuz that is my favorite accent. Is it? And y’all decided to get to get a British person without me. Well, now we know. We should have sourced Ireland instead. Very very sorry. But um yeah, how was your vacation? It was good. It definitely needed to to unplug and and take a little break. Uh got to go to the beach if you couldn’t tell. Uh and and then just a little time to kind of catch up with friends and family and saw some people because as you all know that in this industry it’s like you look down it’s like oh crap eight months just went by and I haven’t seen people in that long. So it was nice to see people but I I was wondering since it is my my triumphant return and I know that if anybody missed me it was Stephen. Um since we don’t have a British person on the show today Stephen can you give me your best British accent? Uh, no. I’m I’m not capable. No, you could try. I’m not capable. You could try. I’m not capable. There you go. I I know that you got a good projection. I do, but I can’t do it on command. I get nervous. Okay. Well, you expect me to go full Nicki Minaj at the end of Roman’s Revenge? Like, no. There you go. A whole dissertation in a British accent. Well, I didn’t ask for you to do the whole podcast in a British accent. I don’t have that bad. I feel like, you know, can that be what you work on in the offseason by postgame game one? I need like a a segment where British break a British basketball breakdown with Steve and Pjan Gardner. All this basketball stuff going on for us to talk about. This man wants me to give him a British accent. We’re going to get there. Okay. Well, you want to talk about basketball? You found a British basketball player. Kind of want to talk more about Roman. Listen, if you do the Nikki part, I’ll do the M part. Whoa. Hey, I like this. I like this. All right. Uh, it wasn’t a proposal. I mean, it felt like an offer. It was more of a question. Not at all. It was definitely a question. Maybe a threat. Like, I’ll do it. No, not even that. I’m going to get you to do a British accent. That’s That’s my season. You are not. We can set that up on V. Steph has a question. But you know who else has questions? Our loving fans. Yes. Uh, before that, 15 more minutes on why Stephen won’t do a British accent. No. Uh, let’s get into it. Lots to cover on mailbag Monday. As always, we send out on socials and in our dieh hard Discord on Sunday afternoon, night, whenever we remember to do it to give us all your questions and we spend every Monday answering. So, if you feel left out and you want to ask a question, go ahead and get into that on socials. We’ll try to get some in uh in chat if we have time, but everybody who submitted it beforehand, well, they get first dips, including Z. Z asks, “What is the next offseason move you guys see the Suns doing, or do you think they’re done making moves?” I think they’re done. I think they’re going to continue to sniff around Kaminga. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t think the Warriors are letting him go. So, I think we’re pretty much set in stone as far as what the roster is going to look like. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they leave that 15th roster spot open, kind of like they did heading into last year. leave it open for flexibility, potential trades, a buyout signing, or one of the two guys like Kobe Brea stepping up and earning that spot. So, I think they might be done. I think they’re done. I think they have enough to sort out in-house as it is, and there’s a ton of um clarity that’s needed in the front court in particular. I think we can all assume who the starting center is, but everything else is very ambiguous right now. So, I think it’ll be a lot that kind of gets doled out between that faction of the roster um providing clarity just because there’s so many players with versatility past playing just one position there. So, yeah, I think the Kuminga stuff is it’s died down and now there are reports that the Warriors are not going to trade him. That felt like the only thing that was left on the table. Obviously, you two did a wonderful job breaking that down and diving into that while I was gone. That was like the only thing that I checked Twitter for every once in a while to see if anything was happening with him. But, you know, if the Suns are going to aggregate some contracts like Royce O’Neal or Grayson Allen in a trade or or whatever they might want to do, it feels like that’s something that they’ll tackle in season because some teams might play and realize they need more shooting or they need a vet. And I think right now the way that rosters have shook out and there are some good free agents still out there. So, if you’re a team that’s maybe going to try to acquire a good player, why not try to get a good free agent left on the market and then if you need to trade, do it when those players are available later. So, I think we’re all on the same page. Most likely no more offseason moves, but if there’s one thing this Suns team has loved to do over the last couple of years, it’s things. Yeah. I mean, I I feel like if they do anything, it’ll be like another training camp deal for somebody that’s lesser known. Maybe that because you can carry like 20ome players and they they’re they don’t have that many. So potentially, but one thing they did do this entire off season was completely shift like the face, the makeup, the chemistry of this team. And that takes us to Frankie’s question. Thank you. Frankie says, “Just like in 2020, 2021, am I crazy for having a similar vibe and energy about our group of misfits? I like our chances to sneak up on players.” What do you think, Stephen? Does this team, their chemistry, their vibe give you sneaky good team vibes? Uh, they do. I think me and Gerald spoke on that last week. I feel like this is a a fringe playoff team by way of the playin. So, if you look at that 2020 2021 season, um, that was one where, well, 2020 rather, bubble year. They get invited down there. Just barely missed the playoffs if I remember correctly. Mhm. I imagine they’re in that same situation going into playoffs this upcoming season. And it just depends on how quickly they figure things out, how well some players kind of skill development uh kind of comes into the team. And how well does Jordan not integrated to being a head coach more than anything else? I think they could be similar. I I do think there will be some differences. Obviously, the fact that like that 48 win Suns team uh I’m sorry, were we talking about 2021? No, no, I don’t. Well, I mean 2021 was a final year 2020 going into the bubble, which happy anniversary. I was thinking a bubble year, not 202. I think if you’re going to compare them to any team, Gerald, it’s most got to be that 2020 team that did not start off that season all that great. I mean, it could be that they end the season on a high note and still finish with a record that is kind of what it is. um that bubble was just a once in a-lifetime type of thing. I I don’t think that’s replicable. Um but I do think that they are going to be a team that could be scrappier than people are giving them credit for. I I still think they’re probably somewhere in the 35 to 40 win range. Um which is kind of what that team was. The question is, do you have a Chris Paulesque addition coming next off seasonason that’s going to bump you back to contender status? um with all these young guys that you’re you’re trying to build up this season. Well, I think what kind of resonates with me the most is when you go back and you revisit Matt Ishbia’s like postseason press conference slash like apology conference, it was we’re going to make sure that people leave the arena feeling like this team fought, like they had good energy. And when you hear Jaylen Green and Dylan Brooks and Ryan Dunn and Oso Gdaro and all the rookies talk and Jordan talk, even Brian Gregory, you you get that. And so with Frankie saying, do they have a similar vibe and energy? I think they’ll have a similar vibe or energy. Will they be as good as that 2021 team? Absolutely not. But maybe they can do this type of thing where they’re kind of earning it a little bit at the beginning of the season. They play hard. Maybe they win a couple games that they shouldn’t. And then by the end of the season, it’s like uh what Portland did last year where it’s like, oh wow, you’re kind of getting it together when some other teams are falling off the map a bit and and you make a run for for something. So I think it’s going to be more fun this year. Whether that comes with wins, well, we’ll have to see. The finals thing is not that’s not No, I mean last thing with that number 11 and 12 seed this past season was 39 and 40 wins. Mhm. Is that out of the realm of possibility? will remain. Well, we’ll find out soon, but I don’t think it is at all. Yeah. And and there are a lot of teams that sometimes pull out and win close games, and sometimes a team plays really hard, but they lose a bunch of close games and they’re lower in the seedings than you would expect. But they’re more fun to watch, to cover, to do whatever with. So, we’ll have to see. And I know we all are excited to watch some Phoenix Suns basketball, including Black Hole Suns fan who says, “I’ve seen so many projected death charts with Dylan Brooks and Royce O’Neal starting with Ryan Dunn backing them up. Am I the only one that feels like Ryan Dunn should be starting over both of them?” No. Thank you for your question. And if you have been tuning in, you know that we’ve all put Ryan Dunn ahead of Royce O’Neal on our depth chart here at PHNX. I don’t think you would put Ryan Dunn over Dylan Brooks. I think Brooks especially because they want to be competitive. You got a first year head coach that’s trying to make sure they get off to a competitive start. I think Dylan Brooks is a lock to have a starting job. But that four spot, I think Royce is the more experienced option. So maybe there’s a possibility leans on experience to start his first season, but like he’s 6’6 and Ryan Dunn’s 6’8 and you need more size. We’ve been talking about how Ryan Dunn needs to like get a little bit stronger and be more active on the glass this year for that to work with him as a 34 alongside Brooks. So, I think he should be starting over Royce. I would not say the same about Dylan Brooks. Yeah, I think they should be starting with each other. That’s the best template they have at this present moment. Um, obviously you get through training camp, you get through preseason games, you get to kind of test the waters with certain lineups. you can kind of get a better feel once you have actual games to gauge it off of. But just as a template for what you can expect for them in terms of style of play, those two should probably be the starting three and four for this team going into the season. If Royce O’Neal was 68, 69, then it’s not really I guess not really a question right now. Even though I guess even with Ryan Dunn, you look at it and say like who’s the better player right now? Maybe it’s more of a conversation between Royce O’Neal and Ryan Dunn, but like who is your future? Who are you building around? Who are you investing in? It’s it’s Ryan Dunn even more so than Dylan Brooks, who if you’re trying to win this year, sure, it should be Dylan Brooks. But like I I think that Ryan Dunn has earned that benefit of the doubt and needs to go out there and prove it. But that being said, if if being at the four is more hurting than helping him because you’re playing him out of position, then maybe they’re going to shift some things around and they’ll bring him off the bench. But I think even just stylistically a player like Royce off the bench who I think is a is a better ball movement, a better shooter, more experienced guy fits a little bit more in that sixth, seventh, eighth man role I think than Ryan Dunn who it’s nice to have a POA demon out there, but you also want that in your starting lineup when you’re playing against the best perimeter players. Yeah, I think for short term and long term, it makes more sense to start Ryan Dunn if you’re trying. you need some size, you need some defense uh in that starting lineup. And Royce can provide one of those two, but he’s not, you know, at at peak levels of defending like he once was. So, I I think he’s better suited for a bench role at this point. And he’s at the the the latter portion of his career. He’s not washed by any means, but I don’t expect Royce O’Neal to get better this season. Hopefully, he can maintain and not regress, but I think that’s on the table, too. But Stephen, as we all know, starting lineups aren’t always closing lineups. And that leads to one of my favorite questions by probably my favorite name in the Discord, Nashed Potatoes. Mhm. Awesome set. Awesome name. Awesome question asked. Uh, from aside from situational needs, do you generally expect the starting five to also be the closing five this season? And if not, who would you think most likely is starting but not finishing games? Um, most likely starting but not finishing. I might say Ryan Dunn. It depends on what his shooting looks like. It depends on what he looks like generally on offense. Is he making quick decisions? He’s making the right decisions. Is he having impact past just three-point shooting? Is cutting impact in? Is he getting to the basket? Is he getting paint touches? Like those little things matter. Um, I can see also potentially closing games for this team because of the switchability, but also having somebody else that can put the ball on the deck viably in respect to what position he is playing. So, I think there’s opportunity for for um OSO as well as um Nigel Hayes Davis to potentially close games for this team at the four. Yeah, I’d say Book, Jaylen Green, and Dylan Brooks, those guys are probably locks to close out games. I think Ryan Dunn and Mark Williams depending on the matchup might be the ones that get shelved just because if you need a more switchable option OSO could fill in at either spot maybe a Rashier Fleming uh depending on how quickly he develops maybe a Kaman wild watch if he’s actually in the lineup but I think we’re both kind of or we’re all in agreement that that might take some time for him to get consistent rotation minutes. So I think if it’s close I listen I love Oson I love Ryan Dunn but if you look at two things that or two players who can’t do one very specific thing that you need in clutch situations as in hit free throws they both shot abysmal percentages from the free throw line and even if Ryan Dunn is doing all the other things on offense that you said if you can get into Hackadun and he’s hitting 40 something% like he did last year or Oso Gdaro is shooting like he did at summer league and last year then you know that’s a that’s a liability to have. So, I feel like they might be doing because you said aside from situational needs, offense, defense, I think that’s really what they’re going to lean into, right? Where it’s like, we need to get a stop. I’m putting in Dylan Brooks, Ryan Dunn, Oso Igodaro, and Mark Williams to protect the paint and just putting maybe Devin Booker out there just to keep him out there in case you get a stop and go in transition. Or we need a bucket. Give me Green Book, Grayson Allen, Dylan Brooks, and then maybe Oso at the five to to make passes. Or Malawatch if he could shoot. Maybe you go Rashir Fleming small ball five. Nigel Les Davis small ball five. Ryan Dunn small ball five. I I think it is going to be very much leaning into that uh that offense defense situational needs. I don’t know if the Suns are going to have like a goto closing lineup like a lot of these like best teams in the NBA will. No, I’d be kind of surprised if they did. And that I think that bodess well for the Suns if they did because that means that they’ve got five guys, probably some younger ones that have stepped up and proven that they can take on that role. But I do think a lot of it’s going to be kind of riding the hot hand uh situational basis. All right, let’s keep it going. Uh King Gedora says, “What players could take a leap going into the season, and which do you think are actually going to?” So, who could and who will? Uh, I’m gonna say both for Ryan Dunn and I think Oso could. I don’t know if the minutes are going to be there. I think they they will be, but I don’t know that for sure. I think Ryan Dunn is one of the favorites for a starting job at least. And I think based on what we saw at summer league, the confidence that he played with, I think he’s ready to carry that forward under a new head coach who’s hopefully going to give him a little bit more rope than the last one did. So, I would say Ryan Dunn is probably my bet for can and will and then Oso. I think he can if he finds a way to differentiate himself in a very crowded front court rotation. Yeah, I think I think both of the sophomores do take leaps this season. Um, it might be varying leaps from one another, but I think they both do take leaps. Um, Jaylen Green is my answer. Jaylen is going to be for the first time in a situation where he’s not the best ball handler on this team, nor does he get the most attention for when he does have the ball in his hands because that is Devin Booker. Um, also don’t think he will have had as dynamic of spacing this season than he will, which will naturally create opportunity for him to not just not have to always have to be the engine for offense, but also have more space to operate in the context of play where he’s been elite at in terms of going just get a paint touch and then figuring it out from there. Uh I also think that there’s going to be certain demands placed on him in terms of his offensive discernment u by Jordan not in company to get more efficiency and effectiveness out of him in the context of play that he likes to play in. So I’m going with Jaylen Green to he could and he will. Okay. I like all of your answers. I like the sophomores. I like Jaylen Green. I got a couple of names on very opposite sides of the spectrum and I’m going to bring them to you. Plus we’re going to keep on answering all of your mailbag questions here on a Monday. Hit that like button. Hit that subscribe button. Five star reviews on audio. And stay tuned right after our first break. Listen, even when I’m at the beach, I like to be in the shade. And that’s why I love all proshade concepts because you want your outdoor living space to be livable all year. And when you live in Arizona, that is a tough task, especially around now when every single day is one or 110 and above. And that’s why get a you can get a roll down patio shade, block out the sun, keep your patio up to 20° cooler with great designs and colors to match any home. Plus, they can work with your HOA for approvals. They can get LED lighting to light up your patio. You can get manual. You can get motorized. You can really do whatever you want with all pro shade concepts. Plus, they can help replace or fix most older outdated patio shades. And of course, you can trust them. Voted number one by ranking Arizona for patio shades in 2024. an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and over 1,000 five-star reviews on Google. Call 623204-1476 or visit all proshade concepts.com right now to schedule your free estimate. Also like to stay cool on the inside and that means APS. It’s no secret, Stephen, as you know cuz your AC is broken that the AC is extremely important in the summer. Mhm. Extremely. no matter where you are, but especially here. And what if I told you that with APS and your smart thermostat, you can adjust your thermostat at any time to help work with your APS rate plan. So, not only can you stay cool, Gerald, but you can also save money so that you can buy more diapers. It all goes handinand with APS. And if you’re not on a time of use plan, you can still use a smart thermostat and save money. For every one degree that you raise your thermostat, you can save up to 2 to 3% on your cooling cost. But you only want that to happen when you’re not home. And then when you’re heading home, you can boop boop, lower it down, and bam, it’s cold when you walk in through the door. APS customers may be eligible for smart thermostats for as low as $0 when you enroll in the APS Cool Rewards program. And if you already have a smart thermostat at home, like myself, see if it’s eligible to enroll in cool rewards, plus free install available at marketplace.aps.com. Must be an APS customer. Pay shipping and taxes. Other restrictions apply. Go to marketplace.aps.com for more information. I bet that felt really good, Gerald, that you didn’t have to read anything. No, that was great. You did a good job. I listened to a couple of the answers. Smile and wave. You had you had some you had some some some good transitions in there while I was gone. Did I? Okay. So, as everybody in here is just filing in and hitting the like button and subscribing and checking out Stephen’s film breakdowns and becoming a diehard today and reading Gerald’s articles over at gophnx.com. We’re still breaking down all of your questions. And King Gedora says, “Who could and who will take the biggest leap next year?” I want to talk about what a leap from Devin Booker looks like. Okay, because we all agree that if this team is going to overachieve eligible for a leap, and that’s what I kind of want to talk about, right? Because the leap from where some might rank him anywhere from 10 to 20ish, which a lot of people have him as, to a certified top 10 player, I feel like is something that’s on the table for Book because he’s going to be put in a situation where this team’s success doesn’t solely rely on him, but in a large part, he’s going to be that main engine. Gerald, A, is it possible for Devin Booker to take a leap? And B, if it is, what does that look like? I don’t know if a leap is the way I would describe it, but definitely a bounce back and I think he could have one of his best statistical seasons almost out of necessity at this point. I don’t know if the efficiency is going to be there because of the emphasis that defenses are going to put on him. But as long as he’s a little bit more efficient than last year, as long as he’s at least insulated on defense or bounces back on that end of the floor, it’ll be a better year for Deon Booker than what we saw last season. I think Stephen and I have also talked about the importance of that pull-up three being a little bit more efficient with that because he took a ton of pull-up threes last year. Um, and it was part of his regular shot diet, which is something we’ve been begging for, but he just was not making that shot. So, he’s got to be more efficient. I’m hopeful that they’re able to get him some catch and shoot looks because he’s a good shooter when he gets those. Um, but I I don’t know that a leap is what I would see from him. I would say more of a bounce back to maybe the guy that we saw last during their 64 win season when he was the unquestioned number one on the team and there was nobody else that was close. I mean, he has a top 10 MVP finishing season under his belt already. He’s only about two years removed from that, three years removed from that unless he’s leaping up to four. I just can’t phrase it I can’t phrase it as leap. I think he can be better 100%. I think resurgence or bounceback if you will, but I wouldn’t say leap in a sense just because he’s already no worse than top 12 by my opinion. I mean, a leap would be this guy is in the MVP conversation for the entire season. Not like a, oh, he’s a good he’s a good player. Let’s throw him in at five or six like that Blake Griffin year in LA. No, like this guy’s top three in MVP because he’s single-handedly willing the Suns. Like, and is that likely? Obviously not, right? and especially because team success also has a lot to do with MVP. But if he were to make a leap, that’s what it would look like. Okay, so here’s a more realistic name for me. Kong Gillespie, right? We liked what we saw from Kong Gillespie and Flashes last season. The Suns are banking a lot on him and basically saying you are the only point guard on this roster, but you’re going to be our backup point guard. What does a leap from him look like this season, Gerald? I think it’s owning that role and and becoming a part of your top eight rotation and not just out of necessity because he’s the only quote unquote point guard on the roster. And I think we saw last year when he jumped into the rotation, he gave them solid minutes. He looked like a solid NBA player. The question is now, okay, can you do that on a team that will hopefully have more of an identity that will hopefully have other guys that are playing hard and it’s not just Colin Gillespie is standing out because he’s one of like three guys that when he checks in, he’s actually playing defense and hustling and that type of thing. Um, like this is going to be hopefully the first season where he is actually part of an NBA rotation from the start of the season and there are expectations from him. Um, so I hope that he’s able to deliver. He we know he can shoot. We know he can handle the ball. we know he can play make for others. Um, now I kind of want to see it for the first time in his career that he’s in an established role heading into the season. Yeah. The lead for me is what does it look like when simply playing hard is not what’s going to get you minutes? What when you have production uh demands placed upon you, are you able to live up to those as a first guard off the bench type of role? Um, are you doing the little things that are going to help align up with you and Jaylen Green work? because Jaylen Green isn’t the most disciplined defender. Are you gonna do the things with Book on the court? Because we know that Book isn’t the best at guarding guards. Like, what are those things going to look like in comparison to someone like Jordan Goodwin? Because we know if Jordan Goodwin gets on the floor, you talk about offense and all of those things, he’s going to defend with a certain type of activity that’s going to have impact on the game. That’s an accountability piece that’s going to be put on the Colin Gillespie. Like, okay, playing hard is awesome. What’s the impact look like in a consistent on a consistent basis? So, if he’s bringing that production on that end of the floor defensively first and then continuing to knock down the shots that he is going to be conceded from defenses, now you’re starting to talk about someone like Gerald mentioned that is streamlining success and it’s not just I play hard so I’m getting these minutes because of that. Bar was the floor last season. Uh, this next question kind of plays into the one that we just talked about from Sunders Dunks in our Diehard Discord. become a diehard today. Go phnx.com/join says, “Which sun is most likely to exceed expectations and who is most likely to fail to meet expectations?” So, one that’s likely to succeed or exceed and one that’s not likely to meet those expectations. I feel like book might exceed expectations because I feel like a lot of not for us, but for people on the outside, I feel like people are very down on where Deon Booker stacks up against the NBA’s best right now. So he would be my vote and most likely to fail to me. I think by default it’s just come on Malawatch because people are going to look at him as the number 10 pick and I’m not sure he’s part of the rotation to start the year at least. Um we saw during summer league it was a little bit rougher. He’s going to have to adjust to the physicality and speed of the game a little bit. Um he needs to work on his hands as well. But I think just by default him and I don’t think for me he’s not going to fail to meet my expectations because my expectations were that this is going to take some time. He’s a bit of a project, but I think a lot of people are like waiting for him to be, you know, the starting center of the future for the Suns, and that’s just not going to be the case in year one, I don’t think. Um, I do agree with Malash for sure, but I would probably the first person I would mention probably Mark Williams. Okay. Because of the health asterisk next to everything. Uh, you built this roster out, you go trade for him expecting for him to be available for you x amount of games that he hasn’t shown to be capable of quite yet. Yeah. So, that’s a looming question mark that’s going to be almost on the game toame basis on walking on pins and needles, if you will. um to exceed expectations. I’ll start with Jordan not. Okay. I feel like Jordan Kn is going to be he’s going to build the level of buy in from players in training camp and preseason to where he’s going to be able to coach them hard in moments where might be friction or there might not be a there been a disconnect last season. And I think that’s going to change the culture in the ways in which they’re hoping to. I would also say Jaylen Green is gonna exceed expectations as well. I mean, yeah, because the expectations for Green are so low. So, are you able to be competent with Devin Booker? You know, create some rim pressure, eliminate uh some of the bad shots in your shot diet like Jaylen Green probably has the lowest expectations for a top tier player on on this team. And and with Mark Williams most likely to not meet it, I think everybody’s going into the season fully knowing that an injury could be going on with Mark Williams or he could not play a ton of games or a ton of minutes. But yeah, when he does play, what does he look like as well? Because he has his body weight has fluctuated, his game has fluctuated. He’s never really been able to to get into a rhythm. And if you guys missed uh them with uh James, what was his last name? The Charlotte guy. The British guy that I missed. Plowight. Yes, you’re right. Got it. I was blinking. I was about to say I was about to say something else with right at the end. Yes, you you missed the the first ever edition of a British person on PHNX Sun. Check that out from two weeks ago. Uh, wow. It’s been a long time. I felt like it was a little longer than a week ago. It definitely was. No. Was there another British person on the show before? I’m trying to think. I don’t think so. Somebody’s definitely Saul has definitely done a British accent at some point. For sure. Oh, yeah. We’ve definitely done British accents for sure. Not well, but Okay. Uh, next two we’re going to loop together. First one from Lofah at I am Lofah. Awesome. Uh, says, “Do you think Oso’s jumper can be fixed? His high school form used to look good, so I have no idea what happened. Him developing a jumper would make him elite in my opinion.” And then 70 in one night from Lexville says, “The starting power forward position is up for grabs. Am I the only one who could see Oso coming away with it by the end of the season?” So, let’s start with Lofah’s question. We do have some video here of Oso Igodaro’s shot in high school. Uh, it looks definitely different and you could see in the slow motion there, but does it look super smooth, Jared? Like, what do you think of of how his shot looks in this video? I mean, it looks smoother here than it does now, for sure. I don’t This also is a case of like dude playing against subpar competition is always going to look a lot better and a lot more confident um than when you’re trying to get those shots off against college players, NBA players. I I don’t know that OSO developing a a three-point shot is ever going to be in the cards for him. Truthfully, I I think I don’t think it’s out of the question. He’s still very young, but developing a serviceable three-point shot if you don’t have that or the foundation for that right now takes a long time. And it might be one of those situations where by the time that you work on that and work on it and work on that, you’ve already kind of missed the boat on having that as part of the skill set that teams want you to have that. So, I don’t I don’t think that’s ever going to be a priority for him. I think you see anytime he’s in the paint or in the three-point line, it’s the floater. It’s the It’s the go-to shot of his and I think that’s probably what it’s going to be. I’m not worried about Oso’s jump shot, right? I’m genuinely not because he has a skill set that can be featured in a way that’s complimentary to everybody else. And if you’re not a big that’s a hub for our offense, I don’t think the shooting is as much of a need as people are kind of obsess obsessing over uh at this moment. If Oso is confident with his handle and can do a lot of the things that I’ll get to speaking about a little bit later with one of the mailback questions that we have, I think he’ll be perfectly fine. Listen, I would love Oso Gdaro to be able to shoot threes, right? Like I know it’s like, okay, maybe you don’t need him to like he’s a second round pick, right? He’s clearly discernible skills on offense and on defense, but if he could shoot threes, I I agree with Lofah where it would make him I don’t know if like elite right off the bat, but it would add an element to his game that would be like, whoa, this guy could be the starting power forward of the future for this team and he would slot into that power forward role a lot easier than maybe he does now. That being said, I’m more worried about can you be consistent from the free throw line and can you develop maybe some touch with your post hook, make that a little bit more consistent, maybe hit a floater or two, because you can’t just rely on dunks if you want to hit this high ceiling in the NBA. That being said, he’s a second round pick. If he’s a rotation player for the next 5 to 10 years, that’s a win. That’s a win of a pick for the Suns. But 70 and one night aka Lexville says, “Am I the only one who can see OSO coming away with the starting job by the end of this season?” I think it’s obviously much more likely than at the beginning of the season, but what would you guys put the odds down are for it’s game 82 and Oso Gdaro because he earned it, not just because guys are sitting or injured is the starting power forward for the Suns. I don’t think it’s impossible. I also don’t think it’s likely. I I think that there’s too many question marks at that four spot for me to rule it out entirely. But I do think the lack of shooting makes it tough unless he’s playing with a five that can also shoot. And the only five that has shown that he’s going to be willing to take threes is Kaman Malawatch, who I also don’t see in that starting lineup by the end of the season, unless Mark Williams is hurt and it’s by necessity. So, it’s not impossible, but I I don’t think that’s likely. I think if he makes a leap, it’ll be coming off the bench this year. Yeah. I don’t I don’t know if he starts this season. I I mentioned at the end of last week’s episode with Espo. I don’t think it’s out the realm of possibility because I feel like his impact on defense might be loud enough to where Jordan almost feels forced because of the way that he unlocks lineups and scheme versatility and lineup versatility because you can play anybody next to him and defensively he’s going to be a positive. Um, so that’s something that you can kind of build around, but don’t know if he starts. And even if he does start at times, I don’t think it’ll be something where he’s the consistent starting four. There’s certainly an opportunity for him to do it. If 40 games into the season, he shows that the lack of shooting isn’t a problem. He improves on all the things that we’ve talked about. And maybe Mark Williams does have a little bit of a midi, right? A little bit more of an outside game. Maybe Jaylen Green and Devin Booker is working really well and he gets Book off the ball more and he gets those catch and shoot opportunities that you were mentioning earlier, Gerald. You can squint and you can see a world, but again, this is a second round pick and this is somebody who we are all excited about, but at the end of the day, if he’s not a starter, like that’s not the end of the world. Like the Suns don’t need Oso Gdaro to be a starting level forward in this league to be good in the future. Would it help? Absolutely. But is it like a need, a necessity for this team? No. I I would consider that a luxury. Yeah. And especially this year, like he could be a starting caliber four or five in the league, but it’s year two. And and that’s the thing that I really want to emphasize for this upcoming season is because a lot of people want to see the Suns back on an upward trajectory again to where Devin Booker can still contend before his prime is over. That doesn’t mean that we have to evaluate these players on a it’s all about this year kind of basis. Like some of these guys are going to take time. Mwatch is 18 years old and has been playing ball for like four or five years. It’s going to take more than this upcoming season. And for OSO especially, like come on. Mwatch shot four for 16 from three last year. And Mark Williams took like nine shots total outside of the paint. So I don’t see either of them developing a jumper this year quick enough for OSO’s shooting to not be an issue. Aaron in the chat says, “So what is the necessity? Malawash to be an all-star caliber player? I mean, for the future of this team, if we’re talking about like like getting back to the promised land, yeah, it a lot more rides on Malawatch to be an all-star caliber, all NBA caliber player than anywhere close to what’s riding on Oso Gadaro. Yeah. Like it it’s completely different types of expectations for them even if this season is a little bit murky for that. All right, let’s keep it going. from World of Malawatch who asks a question says, “What are the plans for backup point guard other than Colin Gillespie?” It’s a battle for the 14th roster spot between Jordan Goodwin and Jared Butler and that’s pretty much it. They’re leaning into the dual combo guard thing. Um Booker is the best playmaker on the team and there was not the type of starting caliber point guard available that they could realistically get that would put Book at the two full-time. So, they’re leaning into the combo guard thing, and that’s the plan for point guard. And Stephen, we kind of lean towards Jordan Goodwin to to most likely slide into that spot. Definitely. And potentially threaten Colin Gillespie for the backup backup guard minutes as well. um not in a traditional sense the way that that Colin Gillespie will, but because of the impact defensively and how he might fit next to both Devin Booker and Jaylen Green and be able to do things connectively, offensively that helps to make their jobs a little bit easier as primary creator. So, I think it’s all Jordan Goodwin, not to put a lot of pressure on him, but he’s shown he has proof of concept from the last two years since he left the Suns that you put him in a winning situation, he can make winning things happen. And I know you two wonderfully broke this down when it was kind of the talk of son on Twitter about point Jaylen Green, but I mean there’s a chance that Kong Gillespie plays the third most minutes of point guard this year and that Devin Booker and Jaylen Green are your point guards when they are on the court and then Kong Gillespie comes in and either plays alongside them as a maybe offball kind of two guy or maybe he has the ball in his hands. We’ll see what Jordan does, but I wouldn’t expect a lot from Jordan Goodwin even if he is on the roster. I mean, maybe he has a chance to earn it, but those two could even work together. You could see Jordan Goodwin even as like a forward with the way that he actually plays and rebounds and defends and whatnot. So, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with point guard. Also interesting to see what Jordan brings over from Cleveland. Interesting to talk about what new Suns player will be a Bullbull fan favorite. And of course, as every Mailbag Monday brings, Gerald, we’ve got some fun and crazy questions to get into. So, let’s get into all of those right after our final break. It’s Circle K. It’s always been Circle K. I stopped in Circle K when I was on vacation. I stopped at Circle K before I headed into work today. It was always Circle K. And guess what? I got a ton of money off at, you guessed it, Circle K. Because I am a member of the inner circle. And you must ask yourself, Eric, it must be so hard to become a member of the inner circle. It must cost me tons of money. There must be a wait list. No. All you have to do is download the Circle K app today. Put in your phone number, put in your email, and boom, you are there. You are a member of the inner circle, getting 25 cents off per gallon on your first five fillups. After that, get 3 cents off per gallon. Eventually bumped up to 5 cents off per gallon. And when you visit four times in one month, you get 25 cents off per gallon. And my lovely wife Megan got the benefit of that. She was the person who got the extra 25 cents off per gallon. than me. Well, I got my regular 5 cents off per gallon when I filled up earlier today. Join the inner circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today. Terms edition supply at participating locations. Visit circle.com for full details. And of course, if you are renovating your home or if you just need to spruce things up, maybe you own a property and you’re looking to sell it. Empire Today is always the best place to go to to get new flooring. It’s your best bet because they live and they breathe flooring the same way that all of us, all of you psychos and sickos breathe and live and experience basketball on a daily basis. They do it with flooring. And that’s why they’re not like those big box stores. Plus, they can have a free in-home estimate. Pick the right flooring for you and the right colors for your space. Look how it is with your furniture, your house. Plus, you have a virtual home visualizer as well. Plus, you get clear, upfront, all-inclusive pricing, and you can schedule installation as soon as the next day. No waiting 6 to8 months to execute your vision. Schedule a free inhome estimate today, cuz some things are just better off at home, and you can receive a $350 off discount when using promo code phnx. Restrictions apply, and visit empireday.com/phnx for full details. Appreciate everybody hanging out with us here on a mailbag Monday. Hey, Brent. Boom. Shakaaka level outlook. Aaron, Brent, I think I said Brent twice. Brent again, Sean, Gerald, Steven, Eritton, Eric, all of us here. Hit that like button, hit that subscribe button, and uh let’s keep things going with a question directed specifically to Stephen from Sun’s Reality Check says, “With the debate around our centers in a back court of Green and Book, I’ve not heard a lot about how might deploy personnel based off his time in Cleveland. What are two to three things he showed with a two big lineup and a back court of onball threats to look for on the Suns? I think the the the obsession with what Cleveland did last season. I think some of it falls short of understanding why. Mhm. Their franchise player is Evan Mobley, right? That’s who they drafted. they’ve been putting him in the best position to be his best self early in his career as often as possible by going in getting someone like um Donovan Mitchell pair him up as well with someone like Jared Allen. But the franchise player is Evan Mobley. The Suns don’t have an Evan Mobley on their roster. If you’re going to play double big, someone has to be supremely skilled to complement the others lack of skill and put them in a position to where they can coexist on offense and not be a disadvantage for your team. So, I think that part gets lost in it. But also, the Suns not having someone that can viably space the floor that’s a plus size in the front court also doesn’t suggest that double big is at least going to be an effective way in which it was with Cleveland. Now, might Jordan still try it? of course because you have eight front court players and like six of the eight are are playable. So naturally there’s going to be overlap there. But to answer the question directly definitely um definitely also dribbling a lot more than he did last season. We saw that in summer league where he would grab a defensive rebound and last season he would look for a guard to outlet it to. Everybody’s taking off and filling the wings in transition. And Jordan mentioned this in his introductory presser. Transition spacing or your transition template is what sets the tone for your offense. If you got a big that can grab and go, that takes away one and a half to two seconds for your offense to get into play, which means that there’s more time to create advantage. If Oso can also go get a paint touch for himself and not need a screen or not need someone to pass it to him, now that just changes everything because now if he cross it with 22 seconds, now it’s Jaylen Green and Deon Booker playing off of closeouts because OSO went to go get a paint touch. So I think that’s one way. Um, number two, because of his handle and the improvement and confidence there, I think that OSO can get to a point where he starts to run some inverted picking roles with Jaylen Green or Devin Booker or Grayson Allen screening for him. And the ways that that’s gonna pressure a defense, are you gonna switch it? If you switch that, what is OSO doing after that? Are you gonna double them? I would hope not because that means that you’re leaving one of those three guys that are plus scorers open to do so. Like coverage wise, it puts pressure on them. And obviously also could also just take a smaller dude to the basket when he wants to. Other big thing for me on the offensive end is spacing, but not in the three-point sense. It’s with the dunker spot. Jarro Allen was the best big dunker spot to dunker spot last season playing off of the drives from Darius Garland and Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome when he would go get a paint touch and any other Cavaliers player that could go get a paint touch last year. Go back and watch the cast film Jared Allen and if it’s Evie if it’s not him it’s Evan Mobley them just playing around that the restricted area of the floor so impactful and the efficiency that they finished with when they did get those touches there too. It was just a perfect counter to all the attention that their ball handlers got. So, I would say those three things. There’s a ton others, but I would start with those three. Yeah, the personnel is different. So, I think as much as we might see double big lineups, it’s not because Jordan expects the success or what worked in Cleveland to carry over carbon copy for what works in Phoenix. Um, you’re the hope is that model watch could be that type of versatile big in the future, but it’s not going to happen this season. And so even though we might see Oso at the four, that might be just a way of trying to capitalize on his unique skill set and bring something different to the table because we have, you know, they’ve got five centers or three centers and then they’ve got a bunch of guys vying for minutes at the four. So a double big lineup might just be a necessity based on your own personnel. I’ll say this. As much as we can praise and we have heard praise about what Jordan did with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Suns did not hire Jordan to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers in Phoenix. They hired him to coach the Phoenix Suns. And if you expect a copy and paste of that, then that’s the wrong guy to hire. Right. Right. Like what made Cleveland special was what they built around their personnel. And I expect fully for Jordan to give the same level of attention and detail and thorowness, but with Phoenix’s specific roster. So, will we see flashes and elements, whether it is the double big or taking elements of what Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell did together or finding ways to make up for them on the defensive end because they’re two smaller guards, whatever it might be. Sure, I think you’ll take parts of that. But this is such a fundamentally different team in a fundamentally different place and he is going to have more power to exert his ideas in whatever he wants to do. So I don’t want to look at the Suns and say, “Well, they’re just doing everything the Cavs did because that means Jordan didn’t adjust.” So sure, be on the lookout for that stuff, but just because Jordan doesn’t take double bigs, it doesn’t mean that he’s not taking lessons he learned from his time with the Cavs and applying them and growing them here in Phoenix. So, I just want I I just feel like that’s kind of a crutch that we use when we talk about Jordan Knot and I use like the Royal Wii as like just sons in general. Um, but like it it is not going to be Cleveland 2.0 in a lot of different ways. I understand it though because like it’s very obvious if you watch any Cavaliers games like, oh man, they’re they look different because they were different. They have identity, but their Suns context is not the same as that Cavaliers context. and and he has talked about how other teams do the same thing and he was saying I I don’t want to say that some teams just throw the ball up at the rim and go get it on the offensive glass, but it is something that we’re seeing more prevalent in the league with those dual big lineups. So, I think he understands that’s an example of a trend around the league that’s happening more dual big lineups. But he also understands to harness it and use it the right way, you also have to have the correct personnel and skill sets to make that work. Yeah. If it’s like, hey, we’re going to be really great on the boards, then you don’t have anybody to grab rebounds. a pretty bad way to to lean into. It’s like if the 7 seconds or less Suns decided to lean into defense, it’s like, hey, that’s not what we should be doing here. Uh, from a fan favorite team to a fan favorite question. Nate Dunn in our Discord asks, “Which new Suns player will become a Bowl fan favorite?” So, let’s clarify what that could mean because obviously a fan favorite is one thing, but a bull bowl fan favorite has got to be somebody who isn’t playing a ton, who fans are kind of begging to play more and maybe feel like that he could offer more than what the the runway the Suns are giving him. That’s Kobe Brea for me. I think I think you look at two rookies. I think Kobe Brea and I I could see even Rashir Fleming to to be in there because we all assume he’s going to get rotation minutes, but you don’t know at the end of the day if he is going to get heavy rotation minutes. Mhm. Yeah, I I think Rashier is a good pick. I honestly think because of their body type being similar. I think Kaman Malwatch is going to get thrown into that mix as well, especially if he’s not playing right away. And people that have not been listening to us talk all summer like, “Where are the Kaman Mwatch minutes?” Mhm. I don’t think that’s a fair comparison there. Um, but Nigel Hayes might be another option. I don’t I don’t know. If he pops, then he might be an option, but usually those guys tend to be a little bit younger, a little bit more raw. So, Kobe Bray is not a bad choice either. So, team full of bull balls. That’s why it’s Kobe for me because I’ve already seen people saying that adding Kobe makes Grayson Allen expendable. And that’s We’re not there yet. No, we’re not there. He’s a gray shooter. We’re not there yet. Yeah, he’s not he’s not quite there yet. But I think just generally seeing those things makes me think that he’s going to be the the bull of this season. Why is he not playing much? Or why is he not full? One 12minut stretch, one 12minute game where he gets minutes and he knocks down two threes. Where people are going to Yep. clamoring for more. Yeah. Ted offensive says Isaiah Livers. We’ll see. I could see it. I I liked I I mean obviously we haven’t seen him play basketball in a bit. he’s recovering from an injury, but talking to him at summer league, he seemed like he’s in a really good place and and he should be better than he was before considering the details of the injury that he talked about, which by the way, you only saw that full entire interview if you are a diehard. So, make sure that you become a diehard. Today, like Nash Potatoes, who’s back to ask another question, says not a Suns question, but more general NBA hypothetical, which these are always fun. Uh, if the league removed the three-point line entirely, do you think threes would disappear as teams and players moved back closer to the basket for easier looks, or is the spacing provided by consistent three-point shooting enough of a benefit to keep players launching from range? If they got rid of the three-point line, that’s a specialty shot that guys are doing to show off. It is not part of the game. the game and the spacing and the way it’s played changes drastically because if you think about it, a three-point shot from that range, a good percentage is like 38, 39, 40%. If you take away the fact that three is worth 50% more than two, suddenly shooting 40% versus a much higher percentage around the basket or in the mid-range means it’s a much worse shot. So, I think threes disappear entirely from the shot profile of every team around the league just from like a barebones common sense mathematical standpoint because these teams absolutely keep track of all these numbers. They’ve got access to way more data than we do. Um, and so they know what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot based on who’s shooting it from where they’re shooting it. Threes would virtually disappear and we’d have a bunch of bruisers back in the post and mid-range artists again. And that’s basically what the game would come down to. Yeah. Good luck getting to the rim. Yeah, it’s just cuz there the think about the way a team is going to help defensively. If you try to space five out and there’s no one in the paint, all five defenders, including the person guarding the ball, is going to be in the paint. There’s no threat of a three being more than two over the course of a game. So, if you want to take those shots, you better hope you make them. And that even if you shoot like 50% as a team, it still only equates to two points. Yeah. So like changing the changing the geometry of the court yet let alone the actual volume and and valuing of shots from distance changes the entire game. Brent says good news for Eric. Rudy Goar stunk would skyrocket. Yep. There you go. Also back the glazing would be at an alltime high. So I took a picture. We just need to eliminate the three-point line. I took a picture on vacation and I I posted it and the on the back it says grind but you don’t see is unedited. It said glaze and grind because it was a a doughnut place and I contemplated posting the full picture, but I didn’t want to. We got to get Go bear a sponsorship. I didn’t want to do that to myself. I do think I think some people would still shoot threes at least when it first disappears because it’s a skill that so many guys have only because keeping people honest and not packing the paint. Because if you think about it, when you pack the paint or when you pack that area, the shooting percentages that are higher now are going to go down. Let them. It’s worth two and you’re shooting 10% worse on those shots. Let him No one else game. Well, no one no one Steph the only person whose game wouldn’t change. That’s fair cuz his shot is the equivalent of a layup for most people, right? Anybody else you want to run around off of screens or whatnot and shoot, go ahead, go crazy. You want to shoot step back threes from that distance, go ahead, my guy. But if but if everybody’s focusing on the paint and you’re an NBA player and you’re going to get wide open looks, it’s like, oh, I might just take a wide open look every once in a while to keep you honest. shoot them at 10 to 12% worse than just to keep that midies get this value from most it seems like most coaches nowadays is the same way that a three would get this value at that point you know lamelo ball still taking one leg BS for sure okay uh Steven V also in our discord says as you look around the NBA which team’s offseason moves have impressed you the most and which team has left you scratching your head what stands out about their decisions and can you share a bit of context or reasoning behind your picks I’m high on everything the Magic have done in getting Bane and staying the course. I’m dumbfounded by what the Pelicans are doing, but I’m curious to see how bad the Grizzlies are if that team doesn’t stay healthy. Um, okay. So, the big winners, Rockets, obviously they got KD, they got Dorian Finny Smith, they got Clink Capella. They did as much as anyone to move themselves into title contender status. Denver Nuggets, they regrouped very nicely to rebuild around Jokic on the fly. Cam Johnson, Jonas Valenunis, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway, like that’s stacked. I like what the Clippers did on the margins. I like what the Hawks did in terms of putting an actual team around Trey Young with Porzingis and uh Nquille Alexander Walker. Um Thunder locked in their big three. Magic got Desmond Bane and Taius Jones to help with the shooting. And the Warriors once they figure out Kaminga, they’re probably going to get Al Horford, DeAnthony Melton. So those are the kind of teams that stick out to me. In addition to those teams, I like what the Knicks have done, bringing in Mike Brown, specifically for the way that his offenses function when he was with Sacramento, looking at the personnel that he inherits with the with the New York Knicks and at least theoretically speaking, what he would potentially be able to do to orchestrate a more conducive offense pass. Jaylen Brunson, can you please save us again? Yeah. like, yeah, let’s let’s see what let’s see what it looks like if Cat is running some of the similar actions that that um Damata Sabonis did when he was with the Kings. They’re probably about to bring in Ben Simmons. There’s literally copy and paste factor to everything that Ben Simmons is great with and everything that obviously uh Sabonis is alltime great with. How does that alter the usage for Jaylen Brunson and ultimately make them more prepared for a playoff series and potentially kicking that door down and getting to the finals? I think there’s a lot of opportunity there with them. Yeah, I I think you guys took all the teams that I’m like, “Oh, I really like.” So, let’s talk about some of the teams that are like, “What the hell?” The Sacramento Kings. That’s an evergreen statement. It really is. It’s like, “What the hell are they doing?” It’s the Sacramento. Dennis Shruder. Yeah. And a lot of money. And they’re they’re trying to get rid of Malik Monk. Yeah. Why? And and our guy Devin Carter. My guy. Those are like two good pieces for that. Those are the two pieces they should be hanging on to. Yeah. Um Yeah. I don’t know what the Kings are doing. I don’t know. I mean, the Pacers letting Miles Turner leave was dumb. Even Even with the context of Hallebertton being out for a year, the Bulls, Evergreen, Pelicans, no. Like, Jordan P was dumb enough, but then you trade your 2026 pick outright in a loaded draft for next year when you’re going to be bad for Derek Queen after you added Eve Missi in last year’s draft and signed Cavan Loot. Like, what the hell are they doing? Also drafted Jeremy Fears in addition to bringing in Jordan P. No idea. Oh, and Derrick Queen’s injured, by the Yeah, he’s he’s injured. Did he Did he even play in summer league at all? He played one game. No, he played one game. He played one game. Yeah, he played the beginning. He didn’t look good and then he got injured. Uh great combo. Uh on the other side of the bowl thing, I do like the Cavs just like making a little tweak on the margins and adding Lonzo Ball. They obviously they lose Tai Jerome, but I think Lonzo’s an interesting fit there. Of course, obviously if he can if he can stay healthy. Um but yeah, I be better for them than Ty Jerome was. I agree. I I agree with that for sure. And I mean, and what Isaac Aoro was was bringing as well. Uh, I don’t know what the hell the Chicago Bulls are doing. I I don’t know. I don’t know. Okay. Any other teams you want to shout out or or poop on? I was going to say another word that I can’t say. San Antonio. Yeah, they didn’t do much, but drafting Carter Bryant, I think, is very much a direct fit for everything that it is that they’re working towards. Mhm. Having someone like him off the bench to go with everything that you can already have seen results from their starting group with if they’re healthy, that’s a that’s a team that’s a problem and a half. How do we feel about paying Dear and Fox that much money when you have Stfan Castle and Dylan Harper though? It’s a good bit of business from them because if it doesn’t work out after one season, guess what? You have a lot of Oh, he’s going to get traded. He will not end that contract. My point exactly. and who I have on that roster outside of Carter Bryant is Dylan Harper. Like, you see what I’m talking about? Like, that’s good business because now you get more in return because of the contract that you put them on. Yeah. I I think I liked it a little bit less before they fell into Dylan Harper, but uh it’s not bad. And they have so much so many assets that they’re sitting on, man. They do. They do have a lot of picks. Well, I just I think Jante with the uh the idea of like, yeah, you can trade him. I do think that we’re gonna get to this point eventually where it’s like you’re not going to want to pay these guys that aren’t top 10, 12, 15 players in the league, super max and max contracts because of how much it’s going to anchor your team. So maybe there’s less of a trade market there for for Dear and Fox. But I think the Spurs front office, unfortunately, is smart enough to know how to navigate stuff like that. The NBA has to address that in their next CBA. It has to be a point of emphasis because teams are basically getting penalized for drafting well and having to pay up money to get guys. Especially if they make like all-star teams or all NBA, those extra incentives make their contracts worth more. Then you’re looking at a situation where guys are teams are encouraged to root against their own players succeeding so that they can get them on a cheaper contract. It’s it’s very stupid. You should be given a bonus if you draft a guy well and keep him and extend him. Uh cuz we we all see nobody ever reaches free agency anymore. These guys either demand a trade or they just reup and stay with the same team forever. I uh I have a funny little story from my vacation I’ll share here in a second. And we have two more questions here on a mailbag Monday. Hit that like button, hit that subscribe button, and we’re going to go into overtime here on PHNX Suns. Thank you all for being here. Uh, I listened to a podcast with CJ McCollum on it over the break and he was literally talking about he’s like, “Yeah, we got to find a way to fix the CBA because teams are punished for drafting well.” And I’m like, “Yeah, you think you think we’re all looking for the guy who did this?” I literally was like I was like, “Oh my gosh, man. Oh.” And he was like, “You know, well, like the decisions that we made was a collective decision and I represent everybody.” And I’m like, “Yeah, whatever. I don’t care.” Uh, but I just I I thought it was funny. I knew when I was listening I was like people would like to know that I I listen to a podcast with CJ McCullum on it. There you go. All right. Uh we got Sean saying LMAO in the chat. And we also have Shawn asking in our dieh hard Discord says the boys get to draft two Suns players in their prime to team up to team up with in a 3v3 tourney Squid Game Stakes. Determine a draft order. Decide who you would pick for each of your teams to help you survive. To clarify, you will be playing against each other. There will only be one of you left for the PHNX Suns show. We did determine a draft order. It is a snake draft. I did it randomly. And Gerald, you got the number one pick. Eritton, you got the second pick. Oh, it’s flipped. Wait. Oh, Eritton got the first pick. Gerald got the second pick. Sorry, Gerald. Uh, Steven got the third pick. I got the fourth pick. And then I’ll start our second round with the fifth pick. Then Stephen sixth. Gerald seven. So, this is based only on their son’s tenure. They’re Suns prime. Okay. So, they’re the best that they were with the Suns with the Phoenix Suns. And we are on the court. We are playing with them. So, we can put that out there as well. And on the clock is Eritton, who is already typing in his choice. We could see it. Who is it? Eritton. It’s got to be Amari Starter. Oh, man. Okay. I’ll take it. All right. All right, we’re going to I mean, in a half court setting, it’s going to be tough to stop prime first team allNBA Amari Starttomire. So, my role is going to be standing in the corner. And if I’m standing in the corner, I need someone who can get buckets. And this is not going to be a fun pick. I know people are not going to like this pick, but Kevin Durant. Yeah. Oh, I was going to take him. I’m taking Kevin Durant on my team in a threeon three or whatever we’re doing here. Yeah. I especially with that spacing in threeon three. Yeah. Come on. No one’s stopping him. Would you have taken KD if he was there, Stephen? Mhm. It’s going to be an unpopular pick. It could lose me if we had I No, I would have taken I would have I would have taken KD first. Okay. Honestly. Okay. And a And a 3v3 cuz it’s like you got to have somebody that can defend, that can shoot. And it’s like I’m on the court with an NBA player, so they weren’t going to pass me the ball anyway. So, it doesn’t matter that Kevin Durant doesn’t like me. I’m taking him. He’s the best individual player to ever play for the Suns. He’s not the greatest son, but he is the best individual player to ever play for the Suns. I appreciate Eritton, though, going true Suns fandom to the core and picking Amari, though. I do I do appreciate that. Amari would have been the second pick for me. Okay. I would have I I would not have taken him second. Okay, Stephen. Mhm. Katie and Amari off the board. Who are you playing with? He’s going to take Chris Paul. Well played. Well played from you two. Uh I’m going I’m going with Deon Booker. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um, I need someone that’s going to be able to play off of closeouts and be able to put me in the corner at times. I don’t have to do all the handling. Deon Booker, one of the best guards in the league right now. I feel like he’s going to be someone that can score all three levels and he doesn’t have to worry about double teams, especially. Mhm. Free reign. It’s fair enough. Okay. Can’t go wrong with that. Obviously, I’m taking Gerald Greenovich. All right. Now, give me Charles Barkley. And then in my second pick, give me Steve Nash. Okay. So, uh I you know, defense and size with Nash is a little bit of a concern depending on with Barkley. Uh no, cuz the thing is Barkley plays big, right? He rebounds big. He he rebounds big. He’ll play big in a half court setting. Like he’s going to he’s going to put a body into guys. I I mean, there are maybe a couple other big men that you could talk about, but it’s like Charles Barkley was literally an MVP. So, so we’re talking prime prime and then I got I got two MVPs with the Suns. You did on my team and I got it with the fourth pick and the fifth pick. So, uh yeah, Landrew Shamut was a close cut. Sure. Uh Jeff Ted offensive says Shaq, but Sun’s prime Shaq. Yeah, not Shaq. No, thank you. Plus, I don’t want to know what he’s going to try to do to me in the locker room. Like, I’m good. I’m good on that. That is that is also fair. Uh there there there are some there are some other good good choices though. So Stephen, you’re back up. Yeah. Uh I’m going to say Sean Marian. Yeah. But I was contemplating um I was contemplating uh Chris Paul and Michael Finley. Just throwing Michael Finley. Okay. Just throwing those two names. Chris I think Chris Paul you would have been a little too small. A little too small. I was praying that maybe I am my guy. I was praying that Marian would fall. Marian would fall one more slot. Um, not happening. Yeah, that’s a good pick. I’m not sorry. That’s a great second round pick. He Sean Marian would for a threeon-ree setting like this, Shawn Marion might have been my second pick. I’m putting him putting him on KD, putting him on Charles Barkley, putting him on stat. Yeah, I have fun with that. All right. Well, man, I want to take Chris Paul, but he would just be yelling at me the whole time. I don’t I don’t I don’t think I would enjoy that. So, you’re not a winner, Gerald. Yeah. And I feel like, but here’s the thing. Chris Paul would be playing against Stephen and that would that would kill Steven’s heart. I think he would love it just so he could he could be up close and watch that. I mean, compete with that. I mean, that would be fun. The scouting report is is very thorough. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything. So, you’re telling me you could lock up you could lock up Chris B. My problem. So, so I’ll be full disclosure. I know what he would be want to do. That’s all I’m saying. Yeah. Give me Maris Chris. Full disclosure. I’m between Chris Paul and Muel Bridges. And Male Bridges is because I would have a lot of defense, a lot of length. Chris Paul because I don’t want to give a Chris Paul and Amari Stomire pick and roll. That’d be nasty. That would be nasty. But also still on the board, Abdul Nater. Abdul Nater. Landry Sham. Landry Shamut, Eric Blitzo, Amed Hadani, still on the still on the board. Miles Plumbley, Lou is still on the board. Oh man. Jaylen Mchugh not drafted yet. I’m going to go I’m going to go with Chris Paul. It’s a good It’s a good pick. We’re going to be a little undized, but you got you’re going to have the first ever double DNP uh game time decision in the 3v3 split games. Come on. That is true. If we’re if it’s like life or death on the line, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul are competitors that I have a hard time betting against just in general. It’s fair. Just don’t let KD warm up. He might roll his ankle. Come on. Come on. My last pick I was between Chris Paul or Muel Bridges. Were you? Yeah. So, I’m I’m taking Muel Bridges. I That team’s That team’s sweet. Yeah. That I mean that’s that’s a lot of length there that you got good amount of size. Oh, we got This is a fun one. Yeah. got a Channing Fry in the chat and you know I’d have to go a lot deeper to get prime Channing Fry, but it interesting. We’d have to get like five rounds to go Channing Fry. I’m not going to lie to you. Walter Davis for sure is somebody that uh you could think about in a in a half court setting. Bucket City, Bradley Beal, Danley, Dan Marley, Tom Chamber, I mean Tom Chambers in a half prime Tom Chambers in a half court setting. Shout out Shout out EJ. EJ for sure. EJ would definitely pick himself. If we were going fives, I would probably end up picking EJ. Yeah. I mean, we’ll we’ll probably get there at some point. We’ll we’ll do something like this. Oh, Gore. Oh, that’s my boy. I’m surprised you didn’t take him. I mean, I got to take Steven Nash over Gor said what I said. That’s my boy. Blue. Jimmer Ferdet. Great pick. Oh, Chris Humphre for sure. Uh oh. Oh, I think underrated if we did like 5v5 pickup like final pick if you’re picking a center like a like a nice Marine Gortat or Tyson Chandler just do the dirty work, clean the glass, you know, something fun like that. Man, we haven’t had a lot of great in this franchise stuff. Okay, nice. Uh we’ll we’ll let chat decide who won that. It’s me. I’m voting for myself right now. Stops on voting for myself. Yeah, but okay. Wait, is this make it take it? Cuz if it’s make it, it take it and I start with the ball, we might not give the ball back. I don’t think we’re doing make it, take it. You’re just inventing rules now. Make it take. You don’t when you play Wait, when you play pick up three on three, do you not you don’t play make it take it? No. No. No. Do you play make it take it? I don’t know. The last time I played three on three, so but it was make it take it. I believe you play you play 3v3. You play make it take it. Get a stop. You get the ball back. All right. Well, speaking of uh speaking of Shaq, our final question comes from Mario at Mario Not Bros 2. says, “How much money would they have to pay you, whoever they is, to take a charge from Prime Shack on one-time payment?” Well, it’d have to be in addition to covering my hospital expenses. So, couple grand for sure. Like 10K. You need a walk in like what are you walking away plus? I’m walking away plus to take a charge. I could take a charge for like Dude, I I do it for like a thousand bucks. Listen, listen. I It would hurt. I’m not going to the hospital. Cover my hover. Cover my hospital. You’re not going to the hospital, dude. You’re not going to the hospital. If he’s going full speed, you’re gonna get the wind knocked out of you. You’re gonna get hurt, but you’re not going to go to the hospital. If I can’t breathe, I’m I want an ambulance on by Okay. Well, I’m not saying that you can’t go to the hospital. Yeah, that’s why I’m going to the hospital. Yeah. I It’s fair. Send me to the hospital. Free a free a cover my expenses. Free covered expenses is probably the an insane amount of money. So maybe I’ll get an elective surgery done while I’m there. Who knows? No, now that I mentioned it, I think that you broke my nose and uh and then a grant. And can you send me to Turkey for my hairline? Okay. Uh how much would it cost for you to take a charge from Prime Shack? Uh if you’re asking me to do NBA level things, I need an NBA one day contract. Oh. So whether that’s whether that’s 25K, whatever whatever the case may be, have that have that medical covered as well. Okay. I don’t mind doing NBA things if I’m being paid to do NBA things. Yeah. Yeah. So 10day contracts varies based on players experience, but generally ranges from 61,000 to 190,000. Significantly undercut myself. I need at least 61k. I don’t care. Could you Could you imagine making a $190,000 in 10 days and you might not even play? All you got to do is take one charge from Shaq, bro. I’ll take a charge from Shaq for a hundred bucks. Like 100 bucks. I would definitely I would definitely like I’d want like I would ne I wouldn’t do it for that if I knew that I had the power to negotiate whatever I want. But that’s like five seconds of work to make a hundred bucks. Come on. That’s It’s a good deal. I think if you took a charge from Shaq and he was like, “Okay, here’s a hundred bucks.” I’d be like, “What a cheapkate.” Oh, yeah. Yeah. He is notoriously generous. Give me some Give me some ownership in one of those many different companies. I’m trying to own your printer company. I’m in your next Icy Hot commercial. Hey, man. No free ads. Uh I saw a Shack ad at Best Buy the other day. No free ads. Um All right. Just messing around. All the endorsements. Yeah, why not? Uh he is a walking Oh, no. He’s definitely not a free ad cuz he is getting paid for that. Mhm. Well, that was fun. It’s good to be back. Uh, that’s a text. How you put that up for me? I didn’t even say nothing. Oh, man. Uh, that’s crazy. Brent says it’s not about the injuries. It’s about his junk going 13 miles per hour right onto my face. $50,000. That’s also a fair point. What if you had to have an official actually say if you were in position to take the charge? So, it’s like you have like you have to take the money. If it’s a block, you don’t get the money. It goes over. Eric is immediately doing the helicopter. I can already imagine. Oh, sorry. When you’re talking about somebody’s going to somebody’s face and you talk about a helicopter, my brain goes, we got to get out of here. Take us out of here. Get us off the show. I’m back, baby. Uh, and I will not be going anywhere. We’ll be back tomorrow. We have things. Uh, well, yeah. Sorry. What’s that? Espo’s calling. says, “I can’t talk about a helicopter and shack in the same sentence.” But that’s what he did to people in the locker room. Espo. Okay. Uh anyway, thank you all for joining us here on a mailbag Monday edition. You can follow the show at PHNX_s. You can follow Gerald at Gerald Gay. You can follow Stephen at Steven PG3. That’s Stephen with a PH cuz he bounces. I try to I do my best more than ever. I do my best. didn’t work today. You can follow the freckled mamba behind the Mac at freckledmamba. You can follow me at e r i k r u b y. And remember, if you get offered to take a charge from Shaq, don’t do it for $100. You could die. We’ll talk to you tomorrow. We all s like the mayor.

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The Phoenix Suns will need a few players to step up in order to shock the NBA and be a threat in the Western Conference next season. Who is most likely to overachieve and make a leap on the team?

PHNX Suns answers that + ALL of your questions for another Mailbag Monday edition of the show! Should Ryan Dunn start no matter what? Will Jordan Ott implement a double-big lineup often? Can Oso Ighodaro’s jumper be fixed? Is this team full of misfits a sneaky team to watch if they get their chemistry right?

Follow the show @PHNX_Suns, @ErikRuby, @GeraldBourguet, @StephenPG3 & @FreckledMamba!

0:00 – Intro
1:40 – Erik is Back!
4:40 – Are the Suns Done Making Moves?
10:40 – Ryan Dunn the Starter.
16:35 – Who Could/WIll Take a Leap This Year?
21:25 – What Does a ‘Leap’ Look like for Devin Booker?
41:20 – Stephen Breaks Down the ‘Double Big’ Capabilities for Jordan Ott and the Suns.

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