Can Koby Brea SURPASS Expectations for Phoenix Suns Like Collin Gillespie?

Can Koby Brea SURPASS Expectations for Phoenix Suns Like Collin Gillespie?

You know, I start every single show by saying psychos and sickos unite. And that will not be more prevalent on any other show than this one. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] True psychos and sickos unite for a two-way edition of phxons coming to you live on a Friday from downtown Phoenix. I’m Eric Ruby. That’s Steven Pjang Garner. That’s Gerald Borgay. We got old Mangle Toes aka Frecklam Mamba aka Juice Man behind the Mac making all of the magic happen per usual. But there’s no magic to make happen without all of you here in the chat on a Friday watching on YouTube after the fact and of course listening on audio as well. Thank you all so much for being here. Hit that like button, hit that subscribe button, hit that donate button as well as we are trying to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. And might as well just throw it in here as well. How about a $36 Diehard deal? Become a diehard today for just $36. But before we dive into Kobe Brea, CJ Huntley, Isaiah Livers, as you could definitely see Shane crawl underneath on the screen, uh, how are how are we all feeling today? Feeling good. Right now, Shane, when you come back, you could just walk. You just walk in front. Bear crawl. Do a cartwheel. We good? Yeah, we’re great. We’re doing great. Feeling covert this morning. Feeling covert. Yeah. getting our little army crawl on. Oh, I was like, “What?” Start playing the Mission Impossible music when Shane comes back. Oh, how you doing, Stephen? I’m doing doing well. Had some fun doing some work uh over the last basically day and a half now. Um and paying close attention to everything that is Mercury because it is playoff time. So, also had some fun um I was about to say integrating ourselves. We didn’t integrate with, we just converse with some um some sponsors and some pretty important people to everything that we have built here at PHNX for open house last night. So, that was fun, too. Yeah. Big shout out to everybody who stopped by. Big shout out to all the people in the chat. Big shout out to old mangle toes. I don’t have anything to say except for I wanted to say that again. Uh we’re going to be talking about all the Suns two-way players. We’re going to continue these player breakdowns throughout the offseason. As we do get closer to Suns basketball, we are less than a month away from the first preseason game, if you can believe it or not. Media Day, presumably at the end of this month. So, why not dive into some guys that might be able to shock the Suns this year and surpass what people expect them to do? We’re talking about the two-way guys. I think before we get into each one individually, we have to acknowledge a lot of people Jared are going to write off the two ways. But we have spent now an entire off seasonason gushing over the fact that Colin Gillespie has signed a standard contract with the Suns. How big of a of a rotation piece he’s going to be and a big key for them this season. I don’t think it’s farfetched to say that you can look at a two-way guy and say, “Hey, maybe not for this year, but next year, the year beyond, like they might actually be a part of this team that is pretty core.” Yeah. And I get two-way guys are only going to conjure up so much excitement, but I do think Kobe Brea is kind of the exception. People are obviously going to care about a homedrafted rookie like Kobe Brea and especially after what he showed in summer league. And you look over the last couple of years like due to injuries, due to the team underperforming, two-way guys have played a significant role. You talk about Ish Wayright who backto-back years was bumped up to a standard contract. Colin Gillespie last year would have been bumped up to a standard contract if they had reason to do so with the playoffs uh being in the picture, but obviously that didn’t happen. So, uh even Sabin Lee the year before that, like you’ve had guys that have had to come in and play a little bit more of a prominent role than maybe you were figuring. So, it’s something to keep an eye on. I know for like CJ Huntley, the Suns have a lot of centers and Kobe Brea, the Suns have a lot of two guards, but you never know how a trade or an injury could shake things up or a guy just absolutely balling out in the G-League and getting a chance from a first year head coach. So, we are going to dive into all three of these guys and um just kind of lay some expectations out where I don’t think any of us are expecting them to stamp their way into the Suns rotation in year one. But the whole point of having a G-League team, which the Suns did not have for quite a while, is to develop a players that are exactly like this. Stephen GLeague people kind of write off. But it’s high level basketball, man. Yeah, it’s the highest level of developmental basketball that there is. And it’s also a grooming ground for players to get to the professional level. A lot of players down there are professionals. They just need that opportunity more so than it is their skill set that needs to improve. Yeah. Uh Ted Defense says, “Don’t forget about livers.” No, much like alcohol, we will not forget about the livers. And we will be talking about Isaiah a little bit later today. We got a lot of uh quotes, videos, audio graphics, fun stuff for you. Of course, this pairs Gerald with an article that you wrote over at gophnx.com about CJ Huntley, and we’ll get to him second, but first up, it is Kobe Brea. Factor fiction. Kobe Brea is the most likely two-way edition to get legitimateish minutes with the Suns this year. Uh, I think fiction. And Stephen and I kind of talked about this a little bit yesterday if you guys missed that show, but um I think Isaiah Livers might actually be the one that’s most likely to get minutes. I think Kobe Brea has some developing to do. And like we’ve been talking about, there’s a log jam at that two guard spot. So, I think between the defense and the shooting, if he has indeed improved as much as he said as a shooter, I think there could be a chance for him to crack his way into the rotation as maybe the more experienced of the three. Um, Stephen, are you are you on the same page about that still? Yeah. Um, I think Liver provides more than just shooting. The shooting part is important, but can you hold up defensively? Can you add things to the offense outside of just shooting? Kobe can do some of that, but there’s more ambiguity. He hasn’t proven on the NBA level that he can do it yet because of that, as well as the lack of twos and threes on the roster. I think Livers has more of an opportunity. I mean, I do feel like with livers, depending on how he plays, I think that how either of them plays in the G- League is going to really factor into this because I could see Kobe Kobe Brea being that guy that sure he hasn’t proven at the NBA level, but walks in and his three ball is just that impactful that you’re like, well, we need to see this on an NBA level as well. And maybe Isaiah Liver post injury, you know, might need a little bit more time to to get fully back and integrated. But when you look at Kobe Brea’s three-point statistics, Gerald, it’s uh honestly insane. Yeah, absolutely. We’ve we’ve done a Kobe Brea breakdown before, so if you’ve been with us all summer, God bless you. A and B, you’ve probably seen this before, but it’s worth bringing up again cuz last year at Kentucky, dude shot 43.5% from three, 46.4% off screens on threes, 44.2% off dribble handoffs on threes, and 42.7% off the dribble on threes, which is insane considering how many off the dribble threes he was taking. um for his career over his five years at the collegiate collegiate level shot 43.4% on 730 attempts. Like this dude is hands down the best shooter in this year’s draft class and he has one elite immediately translatable NBA skill with his shooting because of it. Yeah, he I think that’s his obviously his most clear-cut route to getting minutes on the professional level, but even still, even if it doesn’t doesn’t result in him getting minutes in his rookie season, I think the fact that he has a skill set that is shown to be a opport create opportunity for players to get to that level and then sustain if not only because of that because it’s the one that people that don’t have it work as hard as they can to get any semblance of it. those that do just kind of coast with it. He’s a player that has it and I think he’s going to I think he’s going to surprise people with what he’s capable of when that first opportunity does come. And I think he surprised people in summer league, right? He was the most impressive rookie in summer league on a couple of different facets, including beyond just a three-point shooting, the shot creation. And the Suns were targeting this guy. They wanted this guy. They passed up on a a big man who could shoot like Maxi May Rayard or Tyrese Proctor who was going to be kind of like this ball dominant point guard that felt like maybe he could fit in the Sun’s future a little bit easier than a shooting guard like Kobe Brea, but I could tell you why the Suns targeted him. I could also just let Brian Gregory talk about Kobe Brea. There’s only I think he led the country in three-point shooting. So there’s only one number one. Uh the one thing he is obviously uh he’s proven during his entire career at Dayton and at Kentucky just um how good he is shooting the ball. But every year he’s gotten better and add another and added another dimension to the shooting where maybe early it was spot ups, then it became off of some pin downs and stagger screen actions, then it be then it came off of um actions off the dribble, then it was a little bit of the the NBA with the sideep threes and the step back threes. So that progression um that we were able to evaluate and watch was a big reason for us taking him. He is an an NBA three-point shooter. Uh with at just a tad under 67 or right at 67, he also has the ability to shoot over a contested defender, which is really important in in our game today. Um has been well coached. Uh, I think Coach Pope is one of the best coaches in the country. Um, Anthony Grant at Dayton, uh, and I have a longstanding relationship. Obviously, I coach there, so I know everybody in the program. And again, you know, we’re just bringing in high quality young men that are excited about coming to Phoenix, excited about playing for the Suns. they understand how important uh becoming a part of the community is for us moving forward as as we’re setting new standards and different things like that. And when you just talk to them, you can feel it that they’re going to be just great parts of our team. The the biggest thing that stood out in all of that that Brian Gregory talked about when it came to why they drafted Kobe Brea was the shooting progression. And it’s true, if you go back and look at not just his numbers, but his play over the years, it really did evolve in terms of it felt like every year he was adding something new to his game. Some of the step back threes that he was hitting, even in his years at Dayton were highlight material, really impressive stuff, and not something that you can easily teach. We saw it a little bit more in the mid-range in the summer league context. Um, I think at the NBA, he’ll probably start more as a spot up, catch kind of guy. Um, but as he gets more comfortable, as his handle continues to progress, he’s a guy that can launch off the bounce and it’s something that he’s been really good at during his college years, too. Yeah. When you have someone that has, again, I I’ll continue to say it’s not just him as a shooter. He has a scorer’s mentality. It’s not just a shooters mentality. Um, if if I hear shooter, I’m thinking JJ Reic. I’m thinking Ray Allen. I’m thinking those type of guy. Ray Allen late in his career, right? Those type of guys. Kyle Corver is more than capable of putting the ball on the deck and initiating and pick and roll. Um, and just finding pockets from there. Um, but yes, with those numbers in addition to everything that Brian Gregory just got done mentioning, that’s a player that you take a chance on even if it is a dice roll. But I don’t think this is a dice roll in any capacity. Okay. I can’t even focus on Kobe Breer right now. I’m sorry. Uh, we have we we have something we need to address in the chat. No, do we? Um, do I look like this guy? Do I look like Randall Webs from recess? Do I look like this guy? Because Hello says I look like this guy. And it kind of hurts my feelings a little bit. Um, so we need to address this. That’s crazy. Do I look like this guy? We need to get you a notebook or something. Notepad there. Um, no. No. I don’t like the hesitation. The hair’s different. I don’t like the hesitation. I don’t like the hesitation. I think people are just freaking out cuz normally you have a hat on. I know. Let me live. We got to let the forehead breathe every once in a while. Yeah. Here, let’s get let’s get a little side by side. Let’s go let’s maybe go to the the two shot so we can get a little closer closer to the head. I’ll get like a hunch over too. Uh there just Where’s that side profile? I mean, yeah. You look like you’re about to snitch. Am I Am I a snitch? What was his name? Randall. Randall Williams. What a This from recent disgust Yeah. What a disgusting. No relation to Sunny. No relation to sunny games, man. I think one segment during this off seasonason during this like we just we need to just name dudes. Just a whole show of naming random sons. Quick, Stephen, name a name a dude. Oh man. Um I was about to say Raphael from Ninja Turtles. A dude. That’s a dude. That’s a dude for sure. Raphael is for sure a dude. Oh, which of the Ninja Turtles would you want in the Suns right now? Leonardo was always my guy. Definitely not for sure, dude. I think I want Splinter. Master Splinter. Splinter. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, uh Kobe Brea. Uh the So the verdict is kind of is the question. Is it kind of look like that guy? Kind of. Kind of. I don’t like that. I’m sorry. I don’t like that at all actually. Uh hello also says that I am the same age as him. Damn. Which is Hello. Just coming for your throat. Hello. I don’t know why and came back with these atomic bombs. Dude, I know. I don’t know why Hello coming at me like that. I feel like I feel like me and Hello had like a good rapport and then he just comes firing and he’s like Eric doesn’t have a hat. Looks like that dude who snitches from recess. And I’m like, “All right, man. That’s crazy. All right. Every now and then you just got to drop a couple bombs on people. Remind them that you can.” Apparently. Hello. Apparently. Uh, Sean says he is wheezing right now. Glad that you’re laughing, Sean. Glad you’re laughing. I’m telling Espo. Good to have you back. Hello. I might need to pull out a notepad. Uh, whatever. Gerald, uh, Mark Pope, Kobe Brea’s coach at Kentucky, spoke about him, and I won’t say what he said because that might be snitching. So, can can you let us know maybe a little bit about what he said? Yeah. And it was kind of funny because I I brought this up the last time we played it months ago, but I was on the phone with him for a good 15 minutes and like for half of the interview he was I was asking him questions and he was like talking to me and then he would like trail off and then he’ll be like, “Okay, here’s a stat that I found.” Like he was on his computer actively looking for stats and so this is what he had to say to the point about Kobe Bray’s ability to shoot off the bounce. Crazy. So in terms of his shot quality of his shots off the bounce, the shot quality, so this is the standard of all shooters when you take the mean of all shooters in college basketball shooting these shots off the bounce was a 89 points per possession. Okay. Okay. He shot 1.23 points per points per shot. He was a plus.34. Like I’ve never seen that in a in a player off the bout. And they were they were big shots. I’m telling you, he’s got a he’s got an incredible skill set. And he’s not the only coach who’s raving about Kobe Brea’s skill set. How about summer league head coach and current Suns assistant Deari Carroll talking about how Kobe Brea’s shooting opens up the game. Uh Kobe, he been shooting the lights out. He shot in training camp lights out. I think you know guys when he get to the NBA, they’re going to want to run him off the three-point line. And um I think that’s the next element of his game. But right now, just keep shooting. Anytime you get a little space, keep shooting it. And then once they start running you off, we’ll add some more to his game. Do you remember playing with a shooter like Kobe where it seems like he could take even more shots and could be even more aggressive and there’s just another level to I did. Kyle Cor. Yeah. I think he could have Kobe like I told him before the game, I want you to shoot nine to 10 threes. And uh I don’t know how many he got out got up, but I think he definitely can shoot more. That’s another element to our team that he adds. And uh we just got to keep continuing to encourage him to shoot more threes. Do you remember the turning point for Kyle when you started to take every three that you’d want him to take? Uh I think when we when we went undefeated that month, I think that’s when he started he turned the corner and started making more. That’s a lot of trust from teammates, right? Everyone encouraging him. Yeah, you got to encourage him. Guy who shoots like that, you got to encourage him. Yeah. um someone shoots as well as he does, you want them to take as many shots as you can possibly create for them, but also that they can create for themselves. And I think that latter part is important with Kobe because again, he’s more than just a shooter. And we saw that in the summer league, attacking closeouts is is creation off of someone else, but you you ultimately playing one-on-one. if you’re not taking a shot off of the direct catch, that’s where his most bookesque kind of book bag in terms of his skill set shows up most for me. Um, attacking closeouts are kind of playing one-on-one, playing to the bump fade, playing to the step backs and things like that. I think uh the main question and concern when it comes to Kobe Brea and an immediate impact or something, Gerald, is can the defense hold up? We’ll touch quickly on that. Talk about CJ Huntley here from his college head coach and we’ll dive into maybe the guy who’s not getting enough love on the Suns this off season and Isaiah Livers. We’re going to do it all after our first break. The easiest ad read of all time. I do you guys want 50% off weed? I think the answer would be yes. 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Jersey Cardinal, Sunset City, Hello Seaw Watts, Good If It Goes, N Stacker, Sean Randall, Randall Williams, Raphael, Jaylen Mchugh, thanks for watching. Gerald Green, Miz Toled, thank you for existing. uh defense, defense, defense wins championships and is the biggest concern when it comes to Kobe Brea fitting in on the NBA level. Do we feel like he can defend at a high enough level to get some spot rotation minutes during the available games that he has as a two-way player? I think it’ll be a process. I think he will get there because he does have decent size at 6’7 and he talked at summer league about how he’s gotten stronger and feels physically he’ll be able to hold up at the NBA level. I didn’t feel like his defense was bad at summer league. wasn’t, you know, locked down great or anything like that. But, um, when I did talk to Mark Pope, and this was in the article I wrote weeks ago, he he mentioned how, you know, midway through the season at Kentucky, they dealt with some injuries and Kobe Brea had to step up and kind of tackle those main defensive assignments. So, it’s something that he won’t be tasked with on the Suns, but as long as he can just be passable, the shooting and what he provides offensively should be able to outweigh that. Yeah, it was it was not bad for me. And I think that’s about what I was hoping for because summer league summer league level is not obviously what NBA players are. So if you if you can’t guard well against those guys, the leap up to the pros of pros, it’s not going to be the most the most uh impactful in terms of his defense. So he showed what he needed to from me, no different than what he did on the collegiate level. Um, I again still think he can defend to a scheme and when he has help around him the likes that he will with the Suns at least in theory that should put him in position to be successful. One of the favorite conversations that I’ve had over this offseason is I got to talk with uh Tyler Am aka Tro Weathers who’s a massive Kentucky fan and has covered the NBA multiple different outlets and stuff over his time. And I asked about the defense. He said, “Not only was the defense sustained when Kobe Brea got put in due to injuries in that starting lineup, the defense for the team actually got better as the season went on, and he was, according to Tyler, a very massive part of that on a game-to-ame basis. So, I think in a team context, you’re not going to put him on the best guy. I think he’ll be passable, but again, that’s what the G-League is for. Get those reps in, get those shooting reps in, and of course, I think defense will be the number one thing that he works on.” There, of course, was another two-way player the Suns picked up on draft night. They did not draft him though. That was Appalachin State’s CJ Huntley. Gerald, he’s one of the more unknown faces and names here on the Suns. But you found a way to shed a little light on what he could potentially bring. Yeah, if you haven’t seen, I’ve got an article over at gophnx.com for dieards only um breaking down CJ Huntley’s game and kind of his progression over his five years at Appalachian State. I was able to speak with his college coach, uh, coach Dustin Karns over there for the Mountaineers who shed a little bit more insight and we have a couple of clips for you from that as well. Um, the biggest thing was immediately like less than a minute into my interview with Coach Karns, he referred to him as a fairy tale. Here’s what he had to say about his time spent in college. From a college coach’s perspective, sometimes you wonder if he’s real. And I say that in the sense here’s a guy that stayed all five years. Here’s a guy that we signed out of high school after this program and had eight straight losing seasons. So he signed up for this program when it wasn’t cool or sexy. He was a part of now he’s been part of the winningest program stretch in program history. Yeah. So, having been a part of a program that has at least a certain level of expectations that I don’t know if it naturally is going to be like something that he can take and paste into a professional stage, but he knows about the daily habits parts that I continue to speak to. In any capacity of success, you’re going to have to have habits that get you there. It’s not going to be an anomaly. And I think that what his coach is speaking to kind of speaks to what he’s going to bring in terms of an individual character. That’s the pieces that the Suns are have been speaking to wanting going forward. Well, yeah, they they want people who have a certain buildup, Gerald, and I cover college basketball as well. It’s very rare that you have somebody who stays around for five years, especially when the team starts off not that great and and sees it through and continues to stay there. Like, that’s the type of DNA and build that, you know, that goes beyond what he can bring on the court. Like, there’s an intangible factor to that. Absolutely. And it’s something that Karns talked a little bit about in terms of him being an everyday guy. A guy who he said in his five years there did not miss a single practice, which is kind of unheard of for that long for a guy that plays that many minutes. He missed one game and it was because he got hit in the head and had a concussion over five years. Like this is a guy that is just lunch pale mentality every day shows up and works. And that’s why his coach says he got better every single year. Um, and this was kind of one of my favorite clips was he mentioned the fact that he felt like other teams, but especially the Suns could see that and valued that in what they were targeting for a two-way contract. He’s a guy that just keeps getting better and better and better. You know, I think that’s one thing the Suns recognized too was if you look at his development, every year he has gotten better. there hasn’t been a a year of decline or a year of just almost stagnant like is it’s a steady incline of of you know getting better as stats have got better so I think they’re excited now where could he be in three years you know and because he’s a lob threat and he can step out and shoot the three you know so certainly he he he fits a lot of the NBA measurement a lot of the and like I said, I think, you know, I talked to about 20 NBA teams about him and all of them were like, hey, as a as a second round guy potentially or a two-way guy, like we want lowmaintenance people. We want people that are going to buy into development. I think that, you know, certainly all the the research that all the teams did, especially the Suns, I think the Suns did a better job than anybody, quite frankly. They they talked to a lot of people. They brought him out twice and I think they’ve really did a really great job of evaluating the situation and fitting their needs of a guy that’s got high high ceiling and let’s stash him away and and develop him and see where he’s at in two or three years because of he’s a live threat. He can alter shots. He can step out and shoot the three. So, like I said, he he does a lot of really good things. Yeah, that versatility is very important. And I think that stood out most to me from his summer league showing. Even with the issues that the Suns had with the guard position that everyone loves to speak on before anything else, he was still able to showcase some of the things that he is capable of largely because of the versatility that his coach got done mentioning. Being able to be a live threat but also pop, but also be able to make passes, be able to be a switch big defensively. Think about all of those things in one kind of dynamic. It truly matters and have an impact for a team. I think when it comes to CJ Hunley this year, I I’m not expecting to see much. I I think even on the G-League level, we’ll probably see some some flashes. Out of the the three guys we’re talking about today, I I would say I’m the the least confident that he is able to fully adapt and thrive on an NBA level. Not that it’s impossible at all, but if he can constantly improve with his body type, get a little stronger, and hopefully have good enough guard play to develop in the G- League, because we did see that that was kind of a problem for him in summer league. I get why you take a fly or you take a shot at him. It’s not like they drafted him, you know, it’s not like they signed him to a standard contract. somebody realistically, Gerald, that won’t be having a big impact on this team, but why not take a shot at somebody who has the measurables and has the ability to potentially be a lob threat, be a three-point shooter, and switch a little bit on defense, right? I think his coach touched on it, too, when he said, like he said he talked to 15 to 20 teams about CJ Huntley, and they were all kind of asking the same thing about, you know, is he a lowmaintenance guy who could come in on a two-way? And for the Suns who he said in that clip did the best job in terms of talking to different people in trying to evaluate these guys were the most thorough. They came to that conclusion that yeah maybe not right now he can help us but you know two three years from now maybe if we develop him the right way maybe we can see him grow as a player. Um because he still is only I think 23 years old after going undrafted there. But in terms of his actual game, uh the two big things that he mentioned, obviously being the lob threat and being a three-point threat, here’s what he had to say about the lob portion of that. Yeah, you know, obviously he he’s, you know, dunker spots are really good for him around the rim, like you say. You know, like I just think that he’s really did a great job at getting out of rolls. I think that’s been part of his development, too, is he’s he’s done a really good job of the angle of the screen and then just getting out quickly to get um to get to that basket and get to that lob threat. Um but, you know, certainly he’s athletic, you know, certainly, you know, the 50 lbs is is the you know, with the muscle and all that is increased as well, you know, um and increases strength and athleticism. I think the stronger he’s gotten, the more athletic he’s gotten, uh, which obviously helps with that lob threat. Then, you know, certainly with 74 wingspan, I think what stands out most is something that we touched on yesterday, something that I’ve touched on, especially when it comes to Oso. Um, and naturally with Mark Williams and with uh with Huntley if he I mean even on the G- League level I imagine they’re going to work to have that as a as a habit and principle manipulating that dunker spot. If you’re not getting natural post touches, which I don’t think Huntley is going to get those, you have to be able to respace off of drives and do so effectively. And when you do so, you put yourself in position not just to get dump off passes, but you also put yourself in great position for offensive rebounds. And I mean, Jordan Kn like like Gerald has mentioned, Jordan Kn has spoken to plenty about offensive rebounds and how they would look to value those. Um, we just got done talking about the the Cavaliers numbers last season as a offensive rebounding team. You can say personnel, but that’s a habit. That’s something that you work towards daily and watch film on and it’s a non-negotiable. If that’s a part of your identity and you have templates within your process to execute upon that, that’s a a direct avenue where Huntley can be someone that can kind of add some value for a team. Let me read some numbers for you. Okay. 75 and a quarter. Okay. 76 and three/4ers. Mhm. 74 and a half. Those are the wingspans of Rashier Fleming, Kam Malawatch, and CJ Huntley. Mhm. You could tell, Gerald, that they’re trying to build a team that fits a certain mold. Whether the guys hit or they don’t hit, they got to hit these certain measurements, right? They’re they’re long, they’re athletic, like his coach mentioned, he has that 7 foot4 wingspan, and that obviously helps being an above the rim lob threat, a pick and roll partner. Um, in my article, I clipped together just some of his best highlight dunks and alleyoops from last year at Appalachian State, and there are some good ones in there. Um, you know, he doesn’t look like the strongest guy at all, but his coach said that from the time that they got him as a freshman to right now they had him in the gym last week, he was up 50 pounds over those five years. So, he says he still needs to put on probably 10 more pounds to be able to hang with some of the bigger bodies in the paint in the NBA. And that’s an honest assessment from someone who knows him really well after spending five years with him. Um, but he’s he’s optimistic about what he’s going to be able to do because of that above the rim threat that he brings and the the fact that he does play with physicality. Like I included this in the article. We don’t have time to get into all the nooks and crannies of his game, but he’s he seeks out contact. He seeks out the bump and he’s got a nice little lefty hook out of that as well that he can get to at any point in time um either in the post or on the pick and roll. So, that’s something to keep an eye out for. But the biggest thing that’s going to need to develop in his game is the three-point shot. I think he shot about 35.6% from three last year, which is not great, but it’s good enough for a big man. Here’s what his coach had to say about Huntley’s three-point shooting. I think he’s got to be more consistent there. And I think that that’s something that he’s got to continue to improve on, you know, but he certainly had moments where, you know, he he you know, there were games where he was four for six, but there was games where he was one for five. You know, I think that but he’s very capable. You know, I think he’s better in I think he’s better in certain spots on the floor. I think that’s part of his development. I’m sure the Suns will recognize that is, you know, whether it’s the right side of the floor, the left side of the floor, him being more consistent there. But he could definitely, I mean, get hot and you know, at one point that was a big strength of his, right? like just being able to, you know, as a as a big, you just got to make a few and that changes a scout report, but he can make more than a few. I mean, he’s made a bunch of threes. Yeah, that spacing part is very important for anybody that’s going to be playing a five for the Suns going forward. I imagine they want to get to five out spacing as soon as possible. naturally this season and by might be more downsizing than it is having a a five that is a true five being that kind of spacing big for your team. But Hunley has that potential. I think that was maybe one of the more loud things outside of the general versatility that he showcased on the summer league. You know, I said this I forget who I said it about with the three-point shot kind of being make or break for their ceiling or their time in the NBA. I I get that he has the length. I get he has the measurables. I I do get all of that. I really feel like if CJ Huntley is going to find himself in the NBA sooner rather than later sometime over the next couple years, it’s going to be because he develops a rather consistent three-point jump shot. Whether that’s with the Suns or with somebody else. I mean, we saw like with Jaylen Bridges, guys might go on to other teams or or whatnot after one season. I don’t really see a world where he works himself into an actual rotation of a team consistently, Gerald, without improving and consistently hitting that three-point shot. Yeah, for sure. And like his coach mentioned, you don’t have to be, you know, 39 40% three-point shooter as a big, even if you are around league average like he’s kind of flirting with right now, that’s enough to kind of change the dynamic of an offense and open up your game. He mentioned he’s uh been a little bit better about attacking closeouts off the dribble as well. Um not someone who’s going to make the right pass out of those situations, but it does open up a lot for his game if he can knock down those threes. Again, it won’t be in Phoenix in year one most likely because of all of the depth in front of him and the fact that he’s kind of a a two or threeear project before you can really see some results out of him. But he shot the ball well. He’s got to be a little bit more consistent with his stroke like his coach mentioned. But the foundation uh for a big who can potentially be a lob threat and be a pick and pop threat is definitely there. We got more sound from his coach in college. We have some deep diving on Isaiah livers to do. And if we have some time at the end, I just want to name some dudes with you all on a Friday. We’ll do it all after this break. I had a kick ass this morning. Yeah, it’s true. I’m a real guy just like you. Oh, you know, Circle K. I had to. And it’s very fun because I always fill up my car and and and my wife’s car and she has gotten this the 10 cents off on your fourth fill up. Yeah. She has gotten that like every single time since I introduced it. And today was my day, Gerald. Ah, it was my day. I got 10 cents off and I was I was all the way at the bottom. So, I needed every single cent that I could save. But it’s all because I’m a member of the inner circle and I don’t have to pay a dime to be a member of the inner circle. All I had to do was years ago at this point download the Circle K app, put in my phone number, put in my email, and that’s it. And not only am I saving on gas, but I’m saving on food, meal deals, energy, drinks, everything in between. Join the inner circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today. Terms conditions apply at participating locations. Visit circlek.com for more details. I’m doing it right now. I do it all the time. I rep my team. It’s just who I am. Gerald, you’ve got a very nice Diamondback shirt on. I’m pretty sure under that shirt, Stephen, you’ve got a lot of Bulls merch. We all rep our favorite teams. And if you are a local sports fan looking to get the best gear, whether it is for the Suns, whether it is for ASU, whether it is for Cardinals or the other school down south, really anything here in the valley, I highly recommend our friends over at Rally House. In fact, I’d say don’t go anywhere else but Rally House because they have hundreds, not of items, pages, pages of things for you and your favorite team. And not just clothing, but drinkware, signage, coolers, really even fun socks as well. They even have sunscreen, which is crazy. But you can go online. You can also go to their brickandmortar locations. That of course is in Tempe, in Glendale, and in Mesa. So find your local Rally House location. Shop their entire product assortment online at www.allyhouse.com. rallyhouse.com today and you can go to that Rally House in Glendale on September 12th to check out the PHNX Cardinals live show in conjunction with Rally House. According to Jersey Cardinal, I look like Johnny, which I don’t know if I agree with that. Uh, but I’ll take it if I’m a taller Johnny. That’s like who can stop that? Uh, but you go check out our guys over at Rally House. Plus, because it’s football season, $36 to become a diehard today. That is $3 a month for your first year. You get access to all of Gerald’s articles, access to extra film breakdowns from Stephen, ad free experience on our website, discount to all of our live events, a free shirt or hat when you sign up, and so much more. All over at gophnx.com/join or scan that little QR code on the screen, and also hit that donate button for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America. All right, uh, last sound bite, Gerald, from Coach Dustin Karns over at Appalachin State University. Yeah, I I always like to ask this question when I talk to the college coaches because, you know, a lot of times we’re learning these g guys games on the fly. They know them best. So, I always ask, is there anything else that you feel that Suns fans need to know about CJ Huntley? And he immediately went to this kid has a bright future. The best was yet to come. You know, I just I I really do. Like if you look at if you look at his college path, um it’s just once again, it’s not like he jumped out of the gates as a freshman, sophomore, then he plateaued or all of a sudden he just had this crazy year and then Pete figured him out. like he has been on a steady incline every year and I think that that will continue you know as more he figures out the NBA and he gets 10 more pounds and things like that like I think it’s really exciting to see you know could he be a payout Seakum type player from this level that ends up being a really impactful piece I’m not comparing their games I’m just kind of in and saying like I think Sakum’s a guy that is just kind of has continually gotten better and had a high ceiling. I think CJ’s away the same way. I think he’s got a very high ceiling. He’s going to continue to get better. There you have it, folks. Sun’s got their own Pascal Seakum. We’ve been talking about trading for Seakum. And what are the Pacers possibly going to do? Screw it. We got Pascal Seakkum at home. He kind of has the build though. Like low key, he has he has the Seakkum. I wish you guys could have seen the way Eric’s ears perked up when he heard that name and then missed the whole part where he qualified it by saying their games aren’t the same. No, stop. Stop. Listen, but Pascal Yakob, it’s like uh Right. I’m not going to make the reference I was going to make, but yeah. No, I I is definitely a good thing. Yeah. So, Pascal Seakkum, but I guess their games are different. So, better than Pascal Seakum is what he was trying to say. I think that’s what you heard. Okay, cool. I I just I think that’s true. Is not helping anything. Two baby Yonises now. Baby Seakum. Look at them go. What a We really turned this franchise around, didn’t we? Baby Jordan alignment and Jaylen Green. Anything to say about that, Bulls fan? Oh man, it’s taking everything for Stephen. This is no different than being called a nerd. It’s like, what are you what are you doing, sir? What am I doing? Is everything okay? Anything you need to talk about? Oh, yeah. I need to talk about Isaiah freaking livers. Okay. That’s why we’re all here today is to talk about the live man. All right. Mr. Liver himself, will he deliver for the Phoenix Suns? Well, he’s been through a lot. He’s actually uh We’ve been through a lot. Horrendous. He’s been through a lot. This man is two for two on days after a day off. Y y’all don’t y’all don’t want to see arrested. We’re not ready for Friday, Eric. Oh, listen, man. I get a day off and I am just going. Yeah. Okay. So, Isaiah Livers on on the real, let’s get serious here, folks. Uh he’s been dealing with this hip injury for his entire career and he spent the last year away from the NBA recovering to it. Was very lucky uh to catch up with him out at summer league uh right after his signing was announced and he spoke about his last year recovering from injury and his progression in the three ball. Yeah. No, I feel that whole year I learned a lot about myself. Obviously, off the court you have a lot of time to think. on the court. I had a lot of time to reflect on what I want what I wanted to look like when I get back and I just grinded the moment I was available to shoot. I worked on my three-point shooting, my miss shooting. I worked on my my two foot bounce. I just feel like a kind of a whole new player to be honest with you. Said he feels five, four, three. Sorry. Go ahead. I feel like he’s a different player. Get ready, fans. I hate doing interviews during summer league in that jail. So, they’re like, “Hey, you can have Isa Li.” Awesome. Where? Right here. There’s a game going on. The loud ass MC screaming into a mic for the people that are stuffed into the I hate loud guys with microphones. I know. Unreal. Uh, but yeah, I I think that’s that’s the biggest thing that he touched on is that he spent his time not just recovering and getting fully healthy, but the three-point progression is going to be huge because you look at his numbers, they have not been great for the most part of his NBA career, but he’s been dealing with that hip injury. And now that he feels healthy, he’s spent a lot of time working on that three-point shot. And if he can be a guy who spaces off the floor or off the ball, that’s going to bode well for his ability to find a way to earn minutes at some point this season. Yeah. And he’s no different than Kobe Brea, but in ways unique to his skill set. Very different in terms of being able to handle the basketball, can run some secondary picking roles for a team, can make some decisions off of those u those actions where he’s initiating at a point of attack. He’s just a good basketball player. if he strikes health with the Suns, it sounds so much like the Mark Williams conversation to a little bit of lesser of extent because he wasn’t like a a true starter when he was with the Pistons, but a player that can clearly add value healthwing. So, he averaged 6.2 points per game, shooting 35.7% from deep in three NBA seasons with the Pistons. The thing was during that time he was playing through an injury for the last two years. So, he talked about having to play through that and then the eventual decision to get that surgery that ended up sidelining him for the past season. I don’t know. Uh, I mean, obviously as a competitor, you know, as a rookie, a guy that’s trying to like prove himself, it was one of those I may feel some, but I got to get out there and play tonight. So, you know, I really I take 100% of the blame, honestly, cuz it’s like you know your body better than anyone else can tell you. So, I don’t know. I really don’t know how I was doing. I didn’t feel good out there, though. Can you take us through the decision? Like could you have still played through it if you wanted to? Was it degrading over time? No. Um at the point we found it, it was like 6 mm this close to my bone. Uh by the time that summer it was bone on bone like so they said I probably was playing on it for like a year straight bone on bone and it just kept getting worse and worse. I tried to go to LA last summer and conservative like rehab and we found out got to do this special surgery and I was I was very upset. So like a recovering alcoholic, the sons are getting a healthy livers and that is a very important thing to keep and I’m bad. That’s your fault. That’s my That’s my fault. I love that’s my fault. I appreciate that. That is victim blaming. Victim blaming victim blaming. So crazy. I had to listen to that. That is my fault’s crazy. You’re telling me You’re telling me it’s my fault that the dad is making dad jokes. This dude who had dad jokes before he was a father and that is not my fault. He wasn’t even on that until you started it open. Oh, Gerald. So he what he’s saying what he’s saying is that you actually you had no funny quips until I was around. How does that make you feel, Gerald? I feel okay. I know what Stephen’s trying to say. Hand up, coach. That one’s on me. Like I said multiple times before, Eric would be one hell of a lawyer. Oh, dude. That the song good me good minist good minist. Oh man. Great show. Anyway, great show. Any anyway, I Yeah, this getting a healthy livers matters. The fact that he said that it was bone on bone after being what, six millimeters away, man. That’s crazy. And that’s painful. He talked about Yeah. on your hip. He talked about how there were days where he couldn’t get up off the couch without feeling the pain and now he’s in a much better spot. That is going to make a huge difference for what we’re going to see on the court. I don’t know what if it’s going to translate. I don’t know how much he’s going to actually play for the Suns, but in terms of what we see with the Valley Suns and maybe even what we see in spot minutes with the Suns, we’re going to finally get a look at Isaiah Livers removed from being kind of a shell of himself. Yeah. And I think that’s important because when he has seemed to be healthy, he’s he’s been he’s added impact. He’s been more than passable defensively, can guard across multiple positions. If you add that in tandem with someone they can also make and take shots and also do things off the bounce to that’s that’s something that the Suns don’t have much of outside of their guard group. Yeah. So having somebody else that’s viable in that again we don’t know how many minutes he’s going to even state claim to on a professional level considering he’s on a two-way deal. But someone that has shown to have success operating in certain capacities being able to have that player healthy and then you building that out from there. He’s still what how old is he now? 25. He was drafted in 2021. He’s what? 25. 27. Uh, well, he’s screwed. It’s over. 27, dude. Get in the grave. Definitely not. Sorry, guys. Definitely not. But even still, to that point, 27. Didn’t play much at all the um last year, right? No, he didn’t play at all. Didn’t play at all last year. So, that’s a a healthy scratch. Yeah, it’s true. He did he did get the rest from that. And I mean, two of those years he was playing, you know, injured, so he should hopefully feel like he’s a nice spry, 23 years old with the Suns this year. You know, we don’t have this clip. I did ask him if, you know, Colin Gillespie going from two-way to standard was inspiring to him and he was like he he like lit up. I think that’s the main thing. And Ted said this, too, where it’s like this guy’s personality is infectious and he is going to just get after it. He wants to prove it. He wants to earn it. This was the an early second round pick in 2021. Of course, you know, a Michigan guy, of course. Uh but he does have something to prove. In fact, he even told us, “So, you have a new sense of something to prove that like the Isaiah limits we saw previous was not the full and I I could I can 100% say it was like I didn’t feel athletic. People were beating me off a step, especially after my second year. I had a good first year of guard people, but that second that third year, some something felt off and I didn’t know what it was. I’m just glad we figured it out and I come out with a whole new mindset. Yeah, I mean that’s big on him for admitting that. Yeah, people were blowing by me off the dribble because I just couldn’t keep up. But now that he feels differently, hopefully that translates to the defensive end because that is something the Suns will need from him if he is going to find a way to crack the rotation or get spot minutes here and there. You know, I think I got something to look into. I wonder if my hip is bone on bone because dudes just be blowing past me and pick up sometimes, man. Like, I got it. I got it. That’s what it is. And uh right by Ericton’s got to go clean that up. Go block it, Ericton. I’ll be running down there space into the quarter way to brick at three. Don’t you worry about it. That foul trouble. No, we can’t foul out in this league, so it’s fine. Oh, that’s nice. That is insane. Uh the league is interesting. I will say that things got a little physical last game, did they? Yeah. I have this ma this was this was two weeks ago. I have this massive bruise on my arm. And they didn’t even call a foul for it. Like it’s it’s actually nuts. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to see it, but like you can kind of see a little bit there. Maybe. Oh my god. Yeah, it’s I’ve had this this is two weeks ago. You have a continent on your arm. This was two weeks ago. Yeah, that’s that is a content. Look at that, man. Isn’t that crazy? Two weeks. That’s nuts. Two weeks. Yeah. Anyway, uh what were we talking about? Got to show Ashley Shaw. He’ll see his country on your arm. Yeah. Literally, dude, it’s it’s massive. It’s only getting worse. I don’t know. I might I might like it doesn’t like really hurt that bad, but that’s that’s why I’ve missed threes the last couple of games. Right. Right. Right. That’s why. Uh what about Isaiah Livers on what he hopes to do for the Suns. Face the floor for these guards they have on the team and be be a reliable guy to knock down shots and either guard the best player. I know they got some defenders. I either guard the best player when I come in, guard the second guy. You know what I mean? I just I just want to compete. At that last year, I’m telling you, it just made me just I miss basketball a lot. Yeah, that that last line for me when you miss something, it’s going to show and I think the fact that he was smiling about relishing playing defense and being able to do so healthy, that’s somebody that’s looking to just get back in alignment with that joy. And I think that’s something that a lot of the players on the Suns that especially where with the team last season, that joy part is going to be something that’s akin to multiple players in going into this season. Absolutely. It’s joy and hunger, and those are things that have been lacking for these Suns teams for a while. So, even though we’re talking about two-way guys that might not see much substantial action this season, it goes back to that a word that they keep using, alignment, alignment, alignment. And it needs to be from top Devin Booker all the way down to the 17th, 18th guys that are spending most of their time in the G-League. And I I think it will. They’ve targeted a lot of younger guys, guys that are hungry. Um, in Isaiah Liver’s case, hopefully taking a flyer on somebody whose value is low because he’s been injured the last few years and is now feeling healthy and can hopefully contribute at a greater level than people are expecting. So, I I like the way that as much as I don’t approve of every single move that the Suns made and, you know, they obviously took steps backward this off season, I do appreciate the fact that there was a coherent theme to the guys that they were trying to target. Um, and Isaiah Livers fits in because he also knows his role. Like he talked about spacing the floor, guarding the best or second best player because he understands this team has good defenders. Like he’s approaching it with the right mentality as far as I know my role and this is what I plan to do. I’m hungry and I’m happy to just be on the court again. Yeah, I’m excited to see him. He’s played NBA minutes before unlike any of these other two-way guys. I I think that he’ll get a shot. And I know that we always assume, oh well, it’s just a two-way guy. What are the odds? And maybe the odds are low, but Colin Gillespie is not the only one, right? And maybe he is for the Suns recently, but like we’re going in the season. How key of a piece are we talking about Colin Gillespie being? Pretty important. He’s their bonafide backup point guard by default, but still like we’re spending entire episodes talking about Colin Gillespie. Stephen, you graded his resigning an A++ plus. Like this is somebody who going into last year was just on a two-way deal, right? And we thought, oh, you know, he’s played NBA minutes before, but Monte Morris, Taius Jones, will he really get an opportunity with how good this team is going to be? You know, there’s going to be opportunity for these guys to earn something. And it’s a reason to go to Valley Suns games as well. Like, you’re going to see some real hoopers and maybe possibly parts of the future of the Suns organization playing at Mullet Arena in Tempe. It should be lots of fun. Uh, any final thoughts about these two-way guys? No, but we are going to continue with our breakdowns. I’m st sure Stephen will be whipping up some video stuff before the off seasonason’s over. My article on CJ Huntley is over at gophnx.com if you want to see some highlights and hear more about what Dustin Karns had to say about his game. Uh so you can familiarize yourself with these guys. They’re not uh they’re not these big secrets or you know all of this stuff is is known. Um so go check it out for diehards only. gophnx.com. Yeah. And Stephen, even though you’re not dropping a Sun’s Breakdown film session every day, you’re also dropping Mercury Breakdowns as well. For those who don’t know, who just listen on audio, if you are over on our YouTube account, there are stuff that we post that has nothing to do with this show at all. They’re completely separate entities, including a ton of PHNX Mercury content as they’re gearing up for the playoffs, including the PHNX Mercury live show, which was live earlier today, and a little film breakdown that we got going on. uh that Stephen’s putting together all the time. So, playoffs are coming. Basketball is still here. I know we want Suns basketball to get here, but basketball is still here. Stephen, it is um there’s still plenty to talk about for those that want to talk basketball. Um there’s questions for the Suns to answer, but there’s also a lot of fun things that you can kind of delve into. So naturally we do that here with the Sun side of things, but we also do so with the Mercury who are presently firmly in season. Clinch the home court advantage in terms of uh record and honestly record-wise they’re tied with both the number three and two seeds right now. So last week of the season coming up, it could shake out either direction, but they will be finishing no less than top four. I think one of the things that we can do before the Sun season starts is what can they learn from what the Mercury do on the court because that is a well coached, well-ran team. Got just a minute and a half, two minutes here, folks. Can we just name some dudes, please? Yeah, we can name some dudes. God. Actually, let’s name some dudes. Let’s name some dudes after this very late break. Whoops. It must have been the Pure Edibles. Listen, Pure Edibles is available at 130 dispensaries statewide here in Arizona. They’re not covered in sugar like all of their competitors. 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And that is Mountain America Credit Union, the official home of the Phoenix Suns, the official credit union of the Phoenix Suns, and the only place that you can get a Suns card available as both a debit and a credit card. You can pair it with the My Style Checking account that we have talked about for a long time here on PHX to get benefits like telealth access, loan rate discounts, mobile phone protection, offers on travel and events, and so much more. They’re here to guide you on your financial journey. Their fe their cards are low uh no annual fees, low rates, cash back, rewards card options. You can visit macu.com/sons to learn more and apply at any Arizona branch insured by NCUA. Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. Loans are on approved credit. And just a little background, they open in the 1930s, got 100 branches across Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada. So, even for those of you who don’t listen in the state, they can still help you out. And over 1.2 million members, shout out Mountain America Credit Union. Okay, quick everybody name a dude. Josh Childress. Ooh, that’s a dude. They had a graphic that was, “Watch my fro.” And the louder the crowd cheered, the more his fro would grow. That’s great. It was a moment in time for sure. That is great. Name a name a dude. I don’t know how you top that one. You can you can try. Um, Eric is gonna Eric is gonna get in his bag off of this, but Chris Duhan. Okay, there you go. I believe he still holds the franchise record for assists in the game for the New York Knicks. Mhm. Very underrated yet very elite decision maker with the ball in his hands. Hardly made mistakes. I like it. Give me Chris Humphre. Chris Humphre, man. What a dude. What? 43. He was a guy. 43. He was a guy. He wasn’t a dude. Chris Humphrey. So, who was he married to again? I know, but like which one? Which Kardashian? I believe what number did he wear with the Suns? Oh, that’s tough. Tell me the last season Chris Humphre played in the NBA. It was like probably 2015 or 16. 1617. 16. Uh, by the way, I was in the building for Chris Humphrey’s debut. He dropped 18 points in his son’s debut. I remember that. He’s wearing number 43. Yeah. Is that the worst number you could possibly wear as a basketball player? It’s tough. And he still didn’t make our list of greatest PHNX athletes. Crazy number 43. I who cares? Can’t imagine there were great uh options there. Allstar uh Jack Sigma wore number 43. Kevin Willis wore number 43. Oh, wait. Pascal Saka wears 43. When we have new Pascal Syaka, what number is CJ Huntley? We don’t need the old one. Uh I can’t remember what number he’s going to wear. Erin, you want to name a dude? Two-way legend Tyon Alexander. There you go. Oh, dude, that rocks. Yo, Shaq Harrison. Shaq Harrison. Dude, Sha Harrison was a guy. Dan Anthony Melton. Dean Anthony. Gerald Green. Mesa Tlettoic. John Lure. John Lure. John Lure. There was a season where I thought it was he could be decent and then dude he was well he was decent. Then he went to well he signed a like a what was it like a couple year deal with the Pistons right like it was like I think it was like decent money after that year with the Suns another uh white king Alec Peters 35 points Quincy Ace he was dude absolute dude Luke Riddenau good call sheaz Napier Shabaz Napier Shabbaz dude remember when broad was like you have to draft Shabbaz Napier and then dipped yeah that was crazy so funny dude they didn’t they didn’t even listen didn’t Oh, no. It was He was in Miami. Shez got drafted to Miami. Yeah, but he was in Miami. Said it in Cleveland or Miami. No, Braun said it in Miami. He was like, “Y’all got to draft Shabbaz Nap here.” Which, by the way, I mean, what a name. Yeah. Sheaz. Mhm. Bro, I want to name my kid Sheabaz. Tell me tell me Shabbaz Ruby. Does it go incredibly well? If you have a girl, you need to name her Diamond. that I feel like that would make her like destined to be a stripper. And Diamond Ruby, that’s fair. What are we doing? Diamond Stone, great name. Diamond Stone was a great name. Diamond Stone was a great name. Played for Maryland, right? Teammates with Melo Trimble, also a great Melo Trimble also a great name. Was a guy Langston Galloway was that dude for real. Langston Galloway was awesome. Trey Burke was a dude. Trey Burke at Michigan was a dude. Uh God, who’s Ashes Winston. Oh, what a dude. Honestly, gen genu genuinely because of the timing was my favorite Spartan dog to have watched. Oh, I’m partial to point guards, but dude was a guy. Y’all remember Seventh Woods? Yeah, Seventh was tough, dude. Seventh was tough. Seventh Woods was like the first guy was like, “This middle schooler is doing 360 reverse dunks.” And I’m like, “Wow, I’m not making it to the NBA.” Uh Archie Goodwin, of course, a dude. I feel like like Aaron Baines is like maybe the biggest dude of all time. Yeah, Aaron Baines, man. First time I ever got aggregated was by fan account. Oh yeah, per Oh, dude. Antich 2K was a baller. Oh man. Baller. Dude, there’s some random guys in 2K that were just so cold. Okay. Gerald Green obviously being one of them. Perant Jordan Crawford was was insane. If that’s the pipeline we got. Jordan Crawford. Oh, dude. Dude, Marcus Thornton. Yeah, Marcus. Marcus Thornton was a was a bucket in 2K. All right, one more. I remember watching him his rookie year in New Orleans with with CP. He did not I don’t know if he missed a single catch pass from Chris. It was ridiculous. Ridiculous, man. One more dude for the road. Mangle Toes. Cristiano Felicio. Oh, that’s big time. That’s crazy. Big time. On that note, that’s crazy. And no one else is no one else. Michael Petus from the chat. Uh from Ted offensive. Yeah, listen. We’re naming dudes. Y’all name dudes. Yeah, Petus was Petus was a problem that year they went to the finals Orlando. Michael problem. Ashley says, “We have an Aussie footballer named Steel Sidebottom.” That’s crazy, bro. There’s an Aussie footballer named Steel Sidebottom. That’s pretty great. That’s so sick. Yeah, that’s crazy. I’m looking at the picture now. There’s a there’s a running back for Mississippi State whose name is Fluff. Fluff. Fluff. Just Fluff. Fluff is crazy. He has a last name. I don’t remember it though. I just remember. We need to know the last name. Okay. Give me a second. Give me a second. Tyler Ulus. Game winner. Remember when Tyler Ulis against the Celtics? A bucket. Game winner against the Celtics. That was a fun one. Ulis was Ulis was nice, especially coming out of high school. Fluff Bothwell. Wow. Fluff Bwell. Just keep Tyler Ulus out of an elevator. Uh oh. Oh, dude. Oh, there was somebody else from that era that I wanted that was on my mind and now I just can’t remember. Mike James, dude. Bro, he’s he’s international. Mhm. Have Did him and him and Nigel cross paths at all? They play against each other? I don’t know. You can ask him. Probably. Yeah, we we might have to ask him a media day. Uh listen, I love naming dudes. I just thought about somebody else and then you No, please. No. Oh, come on. No, no, no. I forgot the I forgot the name. No, you did. I forgot. I did. It’s in that bucket hat somewhere. What? Bucket. Dig deep. Hey, everybody. Nobody talk. Everybody is playing international now since we mentioned Mike James and then like I thought of the name for a second and then it just dissipated. Nicole Miritic. No, it was not Miritic. Jimmer. That’s a name though, bro. Jimmer all times great. Stop. Jimmer. All time great prevention. You’re not going to wait for this. I lost it. It was one of those flash. We’ll just We’ll just sit here. All right. So, we appreciate y’all. Friday afternoon. Follow the show on Twitter. PHNX Sons. You can follow me on Twitter at Stephen or Stephen PG3. You follow dude at dude. You can follow Gerald at Gerald Borgay. Eric is Eric Ruby. There you go. Um, and then you can follow Freckle Mamba at exactly that name on Twitter. Um, and just continue to ignore Eric as we transition into this new upcoming week. [Music] [Applause] [Music]

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The Phoenix Suns got a big impact from two-way player Collin Gillespie last year, can they get that again this year?

PHNX Suns breaks down all three new two-way players on contract with the team, Koby Brea, Isaiah Livers and CJ Huntley. The crew breaks down their games, how they can evolve in the G League and eventually break into Phoenix’s rotation during the season.

Is Koby Brea already good enough to be on a standard NBA contract after being the best shooter in college for multiple seasons? Is Isaiah Livers ready to make a name for himself after recovering from an ongoing injury? Can CJ Huntley use his raw skills and build to become a valuable rotation piece in the future?

The crew breaks it all down on another Friday deep dive! Follow us @PHNX_Suns, @StephenPG3, @GeraldBourguet, @ErikRuby & @FreckledMamba!

0:00 – Intro
3:40 – Talkin’ the Suns Two-Way Contracts
5:50 – Is Koby Brea the Most Likely to Get his Contract Converted?
21:35 – How About the Defense?
23:30 – Let’s get Familiar with CJ Huntley
42:30 – Isaiah Livers Has a Chance to

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