PHOENIX — This isn’t your grandfather’s NBA anymore — or even your dad’s.
You remember that first day of school when you don’t even recognize one of your classmates because of a growth spurt? It’s more like that.
The league changes in a snap.
A consistent message from the biggest voices on the Phoenix Suns at media day on Wednesday was about the process.
It’s not about the dynamic from 10 years ago or even five. Multiple members of the organization said that times are a-changin’ in as small a timeframe as the past two years.
Acknowledging that is even more important than what the Suns are trying to do in this new era, establishing a culture and identity. Building those two things with an intent that can keep up with change will give that foundation a much better chance of holding strong.
Phoenix Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein told @BurnsAndGambo the way to optimize the new-look Planet Orange is for every player to adopt the personality of Devin Booker.
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This was part of how Jordan Ott stood out to Devin Booker during the interview process before the first-time coach was hired.
“I was just impressed with the way he sees the game evolving and changing. … The ability to do that is not just watching your team and who you’re playing against, but looking around the league and seeing the nuances and details that teams are using to be successful,” Booker said. “Because there’s a few recipes out there. There’s not only one, but knowing what they are is step one.”
You would assume the final step beyond Booker’s first is the Suns brewing their own stew.
Media day and training camp can often be a trap for catch-alls, for the usual shticks with how a team wants to play, why they are motivated, what will be different this time and so on. Phoenix fans have been burned here before, like in each of the last two offseasons. They were told how different the Suns were going to play, how it would be with pace, getting up 3s and so on.
With that said, it’s a good sign when a consistent theme is echoed by lots of voices. That box was checked on Wednesday, with players referring to this ever-changing league multiple times.
General manager Brian Gregory shouted out guard Grayson Allen as someone he thinks will have a breakout year this season because of how Allen approached his summer and got his conditioning into high gear.
Allen had a conversation with Gregory at the end of last season, citing Booker’s stamina as a bar he wanted to reach.
Allen said he’s now been in that level of shape for a month already, and that’s because of what he saw the league asking for out of its players.
“The NBA just looks a little bit different the last two years. … The two teams that had the most success, they played really fast, they got up and down the court quick. It felt like there was a never-ending wave of pressure defensively from those guys that were forcing turnovers getting up into the ball,” Allen said. “And most of that comes down to playing hard but also it comes down to conditioning.
“And I think more so in the last two years than before, I think there’s even more of an emphasis on conditioning and with what teams are asking guys to do out there on the floor. It’s play fast, so you gotta get down the court fast. It’s multiple actions and cuts offensively, so you have to be moving offensively. Defensively, you want to pressure. And offensively it’s not just get back in transition anymore, it’s crash the boards. If you want to be effective and do all those things consistently while you’re out there, there’s even more asked of us from a conditioning aspect.”
Those are all the aspects the Suns could not have been worse at last season, and the new regime is making sure that the work ethic necessary for that is being instilled while targeting players that it would come naturally to.
The phrase “in-market” was used a handful of times throughout the day, meaning that players were not going back to their hometowns or residences outside of Phoenix for the offseason. Most of the team was here, to the point where Allen said everyone has been at the practice facility for at least the last month.
New center Mark Williams, who has lots to overcome with his health after playing 106 games in his first three seasons, has been with the Suns every day since the beginning of July, according to Gregory. The GM cited tremendous growth in Williams’ lower body thanks to a great work ethic.
Returning wing Royce O’Neale, the elder statesman of the team at 32 years old, credited the younger players from the summer league in early July for setting that tone and having that energy carry over across the summer when more and more guys began showing up.
“I still play quarterback.”
Suns forward Royce O’Neale seeks to put his high school QB experience to good use on a team trying to find their new identity.@WolfandLuke
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New forward Isaiah Livers is coming off sitting out all of last season due to a hip surgery that required nothing but a top-of-the-line routine, so he’s always going to be in the gym regardless. He wanted to go further than labeling the practice facility as “bumping” over the summer.
“Bumping is an understatement,” Livers said. “Just seeing top guys to bottom guys in the gym every day. You got some guys in there working out before you even are slotted to get on the treatment table. It’s like, ‘OK, this is the type of season we want to have.’ Everybody’s dialed in.”
For a lot of teams, this all matters the most in how it translates to wins.
But for the Suns and where they’re at right now, it instead holds precedence with how they are able to build something. To match a day of cliches with one of our own, that’ll show on the court more than it will on the scoreboard.
