Phoenix Suns Improve Depth Signing Mason Plumlee, Bringing Back Royce O’Neale & Bol Bol

Phoenix Suns Improve Depth Signing Mason Plumlee, Bringing Back Royce O’Neale & Bol Bol

today on locked on Phoenix Suns NBA free agency is underway and the Suns made one big move to add to their squad in addition to resigning two key role players from last year with potentially two more on the way our takes on all of it after a busy weekend in the valley and across the league let’s go you are locked on Suns your daily Phoenix Suns podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday and we’re back this is lockon Phoenix Suns part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday I’m Brendan clean your host and a credentialed media member for the past seven seasons covering the Suns here in the valley also the host of the just basketball show Welcome in thank you for making lockon Suns your first listen to kickoff your week to react to get your all your takes for what has been a quiet start but only just the beginning of suns free agency we are free and available everywhere guys so if you are fighting us for the first time or have not hit that button before go ahead and do it now everywhere including YouTube Follow subscribe get a new episode in your feet every single Monday through Friday be coming every day or get locked down to the Phoenix Suns all offseason long today’s episode brought you by the FanDuel sports book make every moment more as playoffs wind down the sports aren’t quite what we want them to be but this summer FanDuel is hooking up everybody all customers with the Boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com lockon to get started all right Brandon uh joining us as he does every week is Brandon Dwayne as rer over at Bright Side of the Sun and they have been staying on top of all the rumors and reports over on the website so I am looking forward to talking through all the moves really across the whole West we’ll get to some of that to close out the show but we have a big Sons move to start off with Brandon which is that Mason plumbley has signed on a minimum contract to probably be the sun’s backup center I will let you make the case here because it sounded like you were a little more bullish than me I don’t want to put words in your mouth so get us started with your thoughts on on the plumbley Edition and kind of what he could be here yeah well first of all I just want to give a uh a shout out to the Players Association for for ruining the offseason um usually by this time of night half the league is already signed or half the free agents have already signed I think we’ve had like maybe uh 10 signings at this point and and Plumley is one of them and uh obviously not the the splash that many suns fans are hoping for but but look given the circumstances wait did you think that they were getting clay was that a pun I was hoping for you know Joel embiid on the BET minimum um but you know he’s not a free agent and also not going to sign for that amount so that’s I feel like that’s the expectation from Sun’s fans you have to say I mean you got to say goodbye to the LeBron hope right I mean he it’s not official yet but are you ready to put that to rest rip to that yeah okay okay that that that dream has died um but yeah overall getting back to plom like I feel like that fit is is fine he’s definitely an upgrade over Eubanks at this point that’s not saying a lot but but look he’s given the other options that made sense like we talked about Drummond he just went for two years 10 million um some of the other options guys that we’re probably in that plumly range like he’s he’s right he’s about the best case scenario you’re going to get for a backup big at this point which is not a ringing endorsement by any means but I think he’s solid enough to where he fits their system in terms of his passing his playmaking I think he’s really underrated um on that end he’s going to it’s going to be pretty seamless with what nurkic does a lot of the passing and he’s not going to kill the offense like we saw last year when Eubanks would come in there’s so many times where and I’m not trying to pile on him this is the last time while and bring him up but like the offense would just stall than for your service yeah the offense would just stall when it goes through him and so I think having another quotequote connector another word I’m already sick of with um Oso on the team as well like I I just feel like they have a clear vision and it could be a precursor to moving nurkic potentially like that that’s just speculation but to me looking at the options looking at who they could sign and how much money they had it’s just um I think it’s a solid signing he’s he’s a pro he’s a backup big he’ll give you 15 minutes 20 minutes on some nights if there’s foul trouble and and he won’t kill you and I think yeah um that’s that’s about what you’re going to get at this level yeah totally fair I mean I don’t I don’t disagree with any of that he’s 34 coming off of a couple of years in La backing up e zubot and before that had some nice seasons in in in Charlotte so look I one it’s kind of funny um him and NK were on the same team in Portland that for a year and half so that’s a little bit uh you know full circle for those two it speaks to the the the similarities and style I think that’s that’s for sure I think you’re absolutely right that and and neodo for sure too I mean that I I said with him that to me that move made it seem more them drafting him them trading up to get him in the draft made it more likely that they would actually keep nerk because the similarity style-wise was was so obvious there you had plumbley now it’s like all right you know I think we can kind of see what they’re doing I I hit them hard last year and throughout the whole season for choosing with the way that they operated in free agency to have such different guys from starters to backup at that Center Spot I think that was a big mistake so you’re right that that that this is a big help and so I’ll just kind of give it an incomplete for right now because you said it’s not going to kill the offense I will push back and say it might kill the defense uh and so you know that that’s the obvious knock here right I mean uh positive defensive box plus minus again I always give the caveat that’s not an end all Beall but it is a general ballpark to to give just to evaluate a player who I don’t watch every day however their defense the Clippers defense last season was three points worse per 100 possessions when plumbley was on the court now that’s just as much about the fact that zubot is a pretty good Defender as it is about plumbley but still worth looking at and he’s just not an athlete and on top of that he’s 34 so I think that you’re you’re looking at a situation where they’re going to just you know like you said be kind of stylistically consistent across all 48 minutes they’re going to play a drop defensively I think even more than they did last year and all these signings which we’ll get to a couple of um well if they bring back kogi which we’ll get to in the next segment and done being added in and everything else and some of the names we’re hearing you know like Chris done still they’re just going to rely on their perimeter defense and kind of energy to to make up for it um the reason I say incomplete Brandon is some of the guys I think theoretically could have been better I’m not positive that they’re going to be available when it’s all said and done for minimum contracts so I can say you know Goa bad are some of the the the best of the best names but I also thought Andre Drummond might be available and then here we are and his name comes through early on as a guy changing teams for like three times with the Suns would have been able to pay him or double so that could could happen with those other players too and you know some of the trade targets and it won’t even be feasible and then maybe at that point I just look at it I’m like yeah plumbley was the best they were going to get and they got him so you know A+ I guess at that point yeah exactly and look he’s he’s not going to be a defensive stopper or some guy that’s going to come in and and be like that I I feel like he does have that reputation from like the past just with some of his you know his dunking ability shop blocking all that on an island he will get cooked he’s going to be drop coverage let’s make that very clear but I do think he has the intangibles where he could serve as that theoretical anchor kind of like a nerkish that he’ll he’ll communicate he’ll be loud he’ll be in the right places um and and serve as that back line with vertical contesting and he’s definitely more athletic than nurkic which again not saying a lot and he’s 6’10 right so it’s not like he’s a small guy yeah so I think just that consistency across the board of having bigs that can kind of do the same thing and you’re not going to be adjusting a lot in game but then on the other side of that it’s like coach Bud we’ve talked about his style and he like obviously like Brook Lopez is an example that everyone will keep alluding to but it seems like he’s always liked to have that that big that can stretch the the floor a little bit so it’ll be interesting to see how he utilizes this roster if if these are the three bigs they’re going into the season with and they’re that’s what they’re rolling with I’m very like very curious to see how they they click and and how they use all these guys because I think uh there is some limitations that come with your five not like none of your fives are bigs being able to shoot really and there’re they still don’t have that traditional four that’s like a a quote unquote like 2004 power forward that’s going to come in and just be like that that guy that can offer some more size so I feel like um there’s some creative stuff they can do with the rookies I think too but but overall it’s like how much are you going to rely on those guys to play in in meaningful minutes and closing out games so um is someone you could rely on to close out a game if you need him to if nurkic is in foul trouble or just having a rough night um I don’t know that like probably not in most cases but I do think there are some matchups where he could make sense so um overall Let’s uh I like the incomplete grade because we do need to see how these other guys sign and how much it’s for yeah look like if you know if baz signs for a minimum on the Nick or something like I’m going to I’m going to dock the Suns on that you know even if I can see the the reasoning and look uh quietly also Mark bin client I’m going to raise an eyebrow when people from that agency sign with the Suns to wonder how much if the same level of consideration was put into the fit and the talent as I would like to see that’s how I’ll put it you know I’m not saying plumbley is a bad player I just went 10 minutes without even addressing that side of it but he is represented by the father of the president of the sons that’s just effect now that didn’t end up coming to pass with the kic thing so you know it’s not always going to play out that way but when a player that’s repped that way does come I’m going to look at it a little differently last note I will just say uh this closes the book in my opinion on little being traded for a center so if you’re still thinking there might be a little trade out there look elsewhere cuz I don’t think the suns are going to have four traditional centers on their roster they already have three that’s probably just going to be the rotation unless nerites traded um let’s go to another Mark bartlein uh agency rept client and Royce O’Neal Who resigned with the sons as expected and we’ll talk about bub who did that as well not so expected as well as a couple guys who might be back before long all coming up next first Today’s Show brought to you by the FanDuel sports book we all love sports but over the summer they start to get fewer and further between they’re not quite what we want them to be not the pace not the all the time in your face unfortunately but FanDuel lets you keep the sports going whenever you want all you got to do is open the app and dream up any bets anytime you’re in the mood and this summer FanDuel is giving you that fix by hooking up all customers with the booster a bonus daily that’s right something for everyone every day all summer long get your sports at FanDuel head over to fanduel.com loock on and start making the most out of your summer I understand people may not want to think about this game right now but I have been telling you for a while that I have my eyes on the soccer stuff going on and the US has to be uguay to win on Monday night I don’t think it’s going to happen but um you could always just go goal scorer that’s fun um Balon is plus 220 Darwin Nunes on the other side plus 200 maybe you just get a little money to feel better about the loss I don’t know fanduel.com lockon check it all out fanduel’s official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball all right Brandon let’s keep it rolling so you kicked us off with the plumbley side of things I’ll give you my quick take on O’Neal we’ve talked about him and all the way back to the deadline getting him and why he made sense and then he played well and why he should start and then all of it and then it was just how much basically the the the the cat has been out of the bag that the suns were going to keep him 4 years 44 million that’s under the mid-level exception that’s only a bit of a raise over what he was making on his previous contract I think from that standpoint it is a massive win for the Suns to just lock in a rotation piece on very good value given that we know how constrained they are and all the dollars count exponentially when you’re talking about the luxury tax and the repeater tax and all the things that mtb’s pockets are going to need to be dealing with the only downside and it’s a really tiny one but it is just worth noting they don’t have as big of a salary now to use in a trade that there was some positive to to overpaying quote unquote overpaying Royce O’Neal which would have just been that they get this like you know cap people I’ve already heard with the SE the new CBA and all those things calling players like this a walking uh trade exception not exactly the most respectful thing to Mr O’Neal but you can get why that that’s out there it’s just a a person you can trade that makes a big old swab of money that you can throw around for a lot of different players so they have a less of a window with that but that that shouldn’t matter they’re going to play him and get a lot from him on the court that’s the most important thing and they didn’t have to pay too much to do it yeah to me this this was a no-brainer like the initial trade to acquire him in the first place and then obviously resigning him um with the bird rights just having like that that’s just the value of um trading for a guy at the deadline that you’re you’re comfortable bringing back long term like the Suns enter this this offse or I think enter this season with more depth than they had last season already like without even making more moves like obviously a lot of it was like theoretical and we talked ourselves into to Bates deop and Utah and and metu like one of these guys are going to I saw on the free agent list that udawat na I I was reminded that he has a player option and I’m like not only did he not work but he was one of the guys they felt so good about that they gave an option to just brutal but yes you’re right a lot more proven depth for sure for sure exactly so that’s to me it was like a no-brainer like you’re not going to be able to sign someone for that number out in the open market get to to take that spot so it’s just like whatever Roy’s price was like obviously there’s he’s Royce O’Neal like it’s it’s not like you’re going to break the bank for him but I think that was a fair market value and it’s a good point to bring up the the overall contract for future trades with how limited they are um maybe front loading even like the first couple years would have been smart but yeah I’m not sure if they didn’t I don’t know if I usually that stuff gets like kind of leaked like away afterward you know we we don’t and yeah there’s only so much you could do with like how you balance that so there’s so many other like little stipulations involved in that so but yeah but overall like yeah I think it was it was a no-brainer from from the start this whole this fit um obviously there’s um wings that can play in in the NBA consistently for like 15 plus minutes there’s not too many of those so if you get your hands on one you got to do what you can to keep them so um definitely a solid fit and excited to see what he could do in year two and uh he just does all the dirty work I think guys like him and Chris Dunn uh or sorry Chris Dunn Ryan Dunn I’m hoping they get Chris Dunn uh him and Ryan Dunn are going to do a lot of the the stuff that the Suns team needs um hopefully they can they can add that with someone like if they bring a ky back or or Chris Dunn for example or someone to just continue to fill that role that Junkyard Dog mentality and I think he brings that to the table yeah I mean a little concerning that he was a little bit of a no-show in some of those playoff games let’s just kind of keep it real right but but I think the hope would be that you know like everybody on this roster the less that he’s being relied upon and the less pressure on him you know if he’s let’s say not like one of the best options to guard Carl Anthony towns you know an all NBA or an Allstar caliber player like that then you probably feel better about him than when all of a sudden it’s like hey if he actually could just start and play 40 minutes a night and you know be knocking down threes guarding everywhere passing the ball like you know the list was long of him kind of needing to be the Savior hopefully that’s not the case all right let’s talk about bullbull 17 minutes in way too long for my favorite move so far of this young offseason for the Suns including the draft including everything else getting bullbull back I have said multiple times since they hired Bud that I felt from the existing roster that bow was the the single guy that I thought would benefit the most from buen hoer getting hired and and what his track record has been with bigs that are very similar to him to bowl he was clearly there was a possibility he could have somewhat of a market maybe a little more than the suns were willing to offer but he comes back whatever if it’s the relationship with KD or just trust with the front office coaching staff’s new so I don’t know if it’s that kind of got to earn a rotation spot all over again but I think that he I think he could build even more on what he did last year and really make an impact and given the lack of flexibility that we talked about with the centers I honestly think that bodess well for bow also where he’s not going to play a ton of Center but he might be that other look where saying that they don’t have it might have to be him and I I just like the creativity kind of maybe that they’ll have to use with him cuz he’s a super versatile player I don’t think we even saw enough of it last season oh yeah absolutely I I’m definitely still on board with wbow I think uh the upside is still there and we saw some some tangible progression in his game last season that just like little things I think that he’s picking up on as a pro that I’m excited to see him um another year in the not the same system because obviously like you mentioned different coaching staff but uh same core group I think just getting a chance to really develop with these guys and hopefully um chemistry does matter like it I think they definitely need to make some upgrades around the roster and they’re they’re already working on it but but I think having that uh familiarity with each other and and bold getting to develop with these guys like his his confidence uh at points of the season was through the roof and that’s that’s huge like that’s I mean it’s hard not to when you have the entire fan base screaming your name you know 247 and there were other nights where his confidence was through the floor it’s you know he’s he’s still growing but I mean I kind of mean that in a good way cuz there’s still room for improvement you’re not you’re going you could get an even better version of him yeah exactly so I think his ability to stretch the floor provide that Rim protection you could throw some funky lineups with him out there like I I’m excited to see what coach Bud does with him I thought he was underutilized a little bit same with joshh kogi who I’m still uh I want them to bring him back as well and there’s been Rumblings they could work try to work on something but but yeah I think uh b i I think the upside is there it’s it’s just worth it’s a no-brainer to bring him back and I’m surprised there wasn’t more interest in him to be honest and maybe this is just where he wanted to be um I’m not saying he’s the next big thing I’m not pulling a shack saying he’s women Yama or anything but I I think there’s there’s a world where he’s a very useful uh rotation piece that could play in the playoffs yeah we’re not sure right I mean maybe there was I I think the suns were able to give him a little more than the minimum because they had his non-b bird rights from the one-year deal like they they probably gave him a touch of a raise but yeah I mean him doing it him pulling the trigger this quickly tells me that he wanted to be here and and again we know he has that relationship with Durant but I think that there is just trust here you know the the the magic played him for 72 games the previous season and then they chose to get rid of him you know this is a situation where he a was able to take another step forward in his career stay healthy and have a team that wanted him that that has to go a long way so uh yeah I’m I’m excited about the the versatility options you know could he play center in a lineup with with like KD and dun and you know just put size all out there more I’ve always kind of wondered I know vogle is not really a Zone guy but why not throw some zone out there with bu kind of in the middle of it and and get creative and everything so there’s more meat on the bone and then the offense you know the kind of we all know how interesting that can get um all right you kind of called the bow thing last summer that that’s a victory lapb for you Brandon but you got to one up it now I mean is he going to be what fifth starter this year are we thinking allstar game are we going like traded for four first round picks at the deadline how how are we feeling what’s your bold Proclamation now look I think we’re going to get to a point at I don’t know when it’s going to happen but at some point next season where we say how the hell did bub not sign for for more like how are there not multiple teams after this guy and it’s going to look like one of those everyone knew it like as they say it in December January whenever it is like every everyone at that time going to act like they knew it when in reality when he signed it wasn’t really that big like in Sun’s Twitter and like Suns fans world it was a huge deal but I feel like the general NBA fan just kind of shrug their shoulders like oh yeah good for them like move on to the next thing but I think there’s going to come a point this next season where bubo is going to be a commodity and he might price himself out of Phoenix potentially this season that’s that’s my uh that’s my take I think he’s going to step up and be a solid seventh man that has flashes where he looks like he could be a I’m not going to say a star but a very very impactful player on both ends they’ll have his early bird rights after this season so that’s kind of the benefit that’s what we’re seeing with aogi they technically can sign aogi for quite a bit of money we’ll get to him in the next segment but um the longer you keep guys the better it is who would have known and that also helps chemistry so I think you know I understand the general idea but we’ll talk about those guys in a minute I think keeping Roy keeping bull those were those the highest priorities they did that obviously they kept the starting lineup intact so you know that’s seven guys who basically were aside from you banks that was their rotation and all of them are going to be back and and that should kind of just by that continuity if nothing else that that those players should be better balancing off of one another and everything else so let’s talk about Brandon is on the Reign aogi side I’ll tell you whether I am we’ll talk about Damen Lee and give you our Western Conference move not in Phoenix that each of us was most intrigued by I’ll coming up next all right we’re back let’s close out the show I will just you kind of went with a Ki thing I I’ll just respond Brandon I think I am not a huge fan of it mostly from the standpoint of what you said all the way at the beginning when we were talking about plumbley they don’t have a ton of of lineups as I can currently see it where they will not already have at least one non-shooter on the court and so I just think there’s only so many of those guys that you can realistically have in your rotation and therefore that are realistically worth having on your roster now I get the idea some of it’s going to depend on what else what like what kind of point guard do they get if it’s a Chris Dunn of course I think almost everybody would agree that aogi might be a little more Expendable if it’s like an offense first guy who is not very big like you know Monte Morris for instance then maybe I could see the value of bringing aogi back a little more so it is a little bit incomplete it is just the first day of free agency but when I think about Ryan Dunn playing minutes the three centers who aren’t Shooters um whatever that point guard is probably not going to be a knockdown shooter Royce is like you know when he’s wide open he can shoot it but not a you know not exactly a guy that’s demanding these crazy Closeouts and spacing the floor super wide they don’t have Eric Gordon now you just start to run into like you know are you going to put aogi and Dunn and nerk out there probably not so is it worth it I don’t know that’s that’s kind of my hold up in hesitancy but I uh he’s he provides energy I’m not going to be mad if they bring him back but they’re also kind of getting thin on roster spots so it is a it is a big decision even if it feels like well he probably won’t play much anyway yeah that’s a fair point you you don’t want to have multiple weaknesses or or uh you know just dark holes on offense in terms of like the ball goes there and the defense is just not even looking your direction so anytime you have a lineup where you have three centers theoretically that all are not going to be spacing the floor and then you have guy like Dunn who question mark or shooting is a huge question mark at this point um I get the concern with aogi but I think to me bringing him in as like a defensive specialist especially just giving their lack of perimeter defense to like navigate screens and and really against those quicker guards that I think aogi does a great job on to me like I think Dunn could help with some of that but the quicker like shiftier guards that’s where I think aoi can Excel and really come in and be used as a specialist but then again you only have so many roster spots so you have to balance it uh I think my prediction is actually what you said earlier is like Morris I think Morris is going to sign a one-year deal with the Suns I think they’re going to bring in kie back just so they have those two options of like what do we need on the court with the big three right now do we need a facilitator do we need a floor spacer okay Morris will check in and and play with that unit do we need someone that can you know Steph is on a heater right now we need this guy actually sorry the words will be down by like 30 by then there let’s let me try someone else um but you get the idea it’s I think it’s dangerous to play that game too though because I think that kind of limits you in a way but at the same time if you have those options and encounters to any lineup it’s it’s it’s nice to have guys that come in and do like one thing very well but yet it’s it’s a fine line you have to balance it so that’s want to put you don’t want to put too much pressure on dun either right so I get it like yes he is in theory one of the solutions to that issue but hey he’s also a guy who can defend bigger players and he’s also a great team Defender Defender and on and on so I don’t think saying well they drafted him ki’s useless is exactly you know the reality so I don’t hate it but I think time is kind of running out for me to believe that he’s going to be a positive on offense and there’s just only so many minutes for a guy like that at the end of the day but what about Damen Lee you think they bring him back um I would I’m not a big as long as Grayson Allen’s on the team and like just some of their their other needs like to me I’m not saying he’s he’s redundant by any means but I I would like if it it was between aogi and and Lee I’m I’m going to take aogi all day um yeah yeah I we can we cannot spend a ton of time on him I I just think we’ll see if he signs it or not and we can talk more about it but I think Lee to me I don’t want to go on too big of a ran here but people are highly overvaluing him I don’t mean that as disrespect to the dude but he is in his 30s he has never played a real role on on a good team in his entire career the times that he was on the Warriors was when they were tanking or injured or all that stuff when he was on the Suns he was has been an injury replacement by the time they got to the playoffs last year you know in 2023 I understand people wanted him to play he played spot minutes if he was going to be a Difference Maker we would have seen it so people saying like oh Eric Gordon can leave they have their replacement once D le gets healthy or you know all this type of stuff it’s like the guy was on a minimum contract he took a long time to break through in his NBA career I’m not saying these things to knock him down I’m sure he’s aware of this I think his Maj biggest role frankly is if they’re healthy is in the locker room I think he’s been a really uh kind of galvanizing guy anyone who’s ever seen videos or anything around he’s a super nice dude he’s has a pre-existing relationship with Durant he’s been around as long as you know anyone at this point outside a book so all those all reasons make sense to me but this idea that he’s going to come in and just be this like missing piece you guys are I think overthinking it a little bit yeah I I don’t care about nice dudes I’m sorry I just want someone that can win like we we could we could go find nice teammates as a 15th fan I feel like the sun’s just more than a lot of teams it’s just the fan favorites like the ish way rights and and like that that’s cool but I think Lee uh great shooter but to me he’s he’s not a Difference Maker and I think you have to go out and get someone that can contribute in in some sort of way um and that’s in a playoff setting like that’s those are the SC take he’s also the exact same size as two of their three best players and you know maybe three of their four best players right like they already have a bunch of six5 dudes who can shoot they don’t really need another one of those you know if he was if he’s 610 and could shoot I would be a little more into it but he yeah or if he could pass or you know but he’s really just a shooter he’s a fine but not probably playoff caliber Defender that that guy’s just not it’s not going to really do anything for you you know so all right um last thing here give me your move from around the West specifically so let’s not you know we’re not doing kcp to the magic unless you want to do the Denver side of it in which case go ahead uh but from the West that caught your attention the most that you were that you like didn’t like going to impact the championship race wherever you want to go just give me one yeah so it’d be remiss not to to mention Suns Legend Chris Paul going to the Spurs I think that um obviously probably won’t impact the title situation too much but I think uh just kind of a shocking move it kind of felt like it came out of nowhere and it it takes you back to the Chris Paul with the Thunder days where he’s just going to be that vet that comes in and leads like these young dudes to teaches them how to start winning and the Chris Paul leadership memes will will uh come out in a flurry but uh it’s it’s interesting I I feel like it pop is going to groom him to be the next coach there or something like it’s uh two basketball Geniuses together so I feel like anytime Papa calls you like you got to take that call so I feel like it’s interesting kind of so I’ll I’ll just chime in on it really quick yeah not going to impact the title race yeah and it did kind of come out of nowhere the Spurs are very much like that they like to kind of just home in on what they want to do and value be damned and that’s fine Chris Paul is worth it but um you know kind of like was there another was there a $10 million bid out there for Chris Paul or was the 11 kind of random I don’t know um but either way I think to me honestly it just speaks to how much this dude still wants to be out there and and loves this stuff like he has made no secret of how much he wants to be near his family this is not near his family he you know probably didn’t want to be cut and maybe would like to play with like LeBron or or whatever but he’s trying this very new situation around a group that he’s never played with making a lot of money yes sure but still like clearly just wants to help a group again and and be important and valued and play a lot of minutes and everything else and I mean we saw Jamal Crawford worked out with Victor wanyama like if if you’re if you’re able to be within like Arms Reach of this dude Your Arms Reach not his cuz his Arms Reach you’re probably a few rooms away but if you’re if you’re able to just be in inv Vick’s vicinity I think that guys are just going to want to do that and I don’t blame Chris at all but it’s also you know if we already were scared of Vic now he gets to download the Chris Paul basketball brain for a year so that’s just terrifying but anyway all right back to your move yeah so I I wish you told me that was your move from the start because actually I did have another option and it was the first thing you were talking about was like the Denver side of the kcp thing because I think that’s that’s pretty noteworthy just in terms of the the landscape in the west like I think Denver is getting worse and they don’t have again like losing Bruce Brown last summer they obviously um that was now it’s kcp they have you know a couple guys young dudes they think could fill that spot on the cheap and like they could still make a move for Russell Westbrook or whoever they’re linked to it but yeah what did you think of that Russ to the they just they felt good about their Aon Gordon Rehabilitation and they want to try it again I guess I guess so like I I kind of get it like in terms of maybe just an energy guy off the bench filling in a certain role but like playing next to jic and in meaningful playoff minutes and closing out a game like I just can’t see that fit like he’s no he’s a little too chaotic for that type of system but I don’t know like it’s interesting I I I would love to see it see how it would be more of their like Reggie Jackson replacement than their kcp replacement right I think I think Brown is just going to have to be the guy and he’s going to have to prove he can knock down three-point shots which has not come around for him in his NBA career so far Christian Brown but they don’t have a better choice there I I mean you know if it’s Russ over Reggie you’re talking about like 12 minutes or something you know it’s whatever but it it would be it’s kind of back to the thing we were talking about with aogi how many non-shooters can you have on the court at one time and they already have Gordon and they have pton Watson and it’s like you know that it felt like they had a maybe a two-year window in Denver with this exact group and I you know they’re they’re they’re not going to go into next season as far as things look now I don’t think they’re going to go into next season as the favorites come out of the West no West is wide open there’s there’s a lot of teams that are going to be a pain in the butt too like top to bot I think there’s so many teams are going to get a either you know with Memphis uh Jo like coming back to full strength with some of the injuries they had and then you have like San Antonio going to make some progress we saw the Rockets make a little bit of noise and then you have like obviously the young teams like OKC and and Minnesota and and uh it’s that’s not even to mention like some of the typical teams with like all the star the old stars like Phoenix Lac and uh the Lakers and uh Denver so it’s it’s just kind of a weird confence the youth movement that came in these playoffs is is not going anywhere I think it’s kind of the moral of the story also you said the Rockets made a little bit noise uh they made a lot of noise on Wednesday I um I would I would call their leaking of random players as um quite a bit quite a bit of noise at least bothered me quite a bit um but yeah is there anything you just want to like say that you’re interested in having and hope that somebody makes makes your dreams come true Brandon like a nice car or like a new home or anything cuz it sounds like if you just say it then it it could could happen I guess um yeah I’ll take a nice little uh you know so anyone wants to buy me home like I’ll take it you know why not up in Camelback or you know yeah some nice view yeah I’m I’m not picky as long as it’s you know Scenic views um nice little summer home no I’m kidding I think you’re as likely to get that as the Rockets are to get Devon Booker so glad we got that out of the way uh congratulations to Houston for getting Reed Shepard and nothing else after all that um enjoy enjoy your 39 wins or whatever that is again and uh look I love Al chenon I will watch your team I enjoy the Rockets but that was nonsense okay yeah that’s it though I think I Naji Marshall to the to the to the Mavericks honestly to me more interesting from the standpoint of that they probably are not going to keep Derrick Jones Jr and then that becomes like where does he go and all that so I think Derrik Jones is a little better to me personally but yeah and then obviously Paul George see what happens Clippers downfall here for it yeah maybe I just downgraded the Clippers as as being a real threat a while ago so they you know didn’t you threw them in the teams with old Stars group at the bottom so I think we’re on the same page on that one but yeah he’s gone East is going to get better West is going to probably get a little worse if not stay the same as how things are looking so far but we’ll see all right back tomorrow more free agent news and moves I’m sure PG will sign with the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday so that’ll have a whole bunch of domino and ripple effects throughout and the Suns probably get somebody else I would think so hit follow or subscribe get a new episode in your feed tomorrow breaking all of that down re Brandon in the group over at Bri Side of the Sun and I’ll catch you guys next time

The Phoenix Suns were active during the first weekend of NBA free agency, adding Mason Plumlee while re-signing Royce O’Neale and Bol Bol.

Brendon Kleen of @justbasketballfans is joined by Brandon Dueñas of Bright Side of the Sun to break down the Suns’ moves and whether they could bring back Josh Okogie or Damion Lee as well.

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