Where Will the Phoenix Suns Look To Turn Their Season Around?

Where Will the Phoenix Suns Look To Turn Their Season Around?

We all know the Phoenix Suns need help they need to find answers where will they search for those answers what’s off limits is anything off limits how far will the Suns go to make things right throughout the rest of the season let’s go you are locked on suns your daily Phoenix Suns podcast

Part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day And we’re back this is locked on Phoenix Suns we are part of the lockon podcast Network I’m your host Brendan clean a credentialed media member covering the Suns for the past seven seasons a writer at suns.com and the host of the just basketball show wherever you get your

Podcasts a big thank you for making locked on suns your first listen here on this Wednesday a day off for the Phoenix Suns but plenty to talk about as trade season and the stretch run near if you’re finding us for the first time or just haven’t done so before go

Ahead and hit follow or subscribe wherever you’re finding the show get a new episode in your feed every single day and become an everyday get locked on to the Phoenix Suns right along with me all season long today’s episode brought to you by the FanDuel sports book the

Official sports book of the lockon podcast Network make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 moneyline bet that’s 150 bucks straight to your account visit fanduel.com lockon to get started okay so here’s the deal today I think it’s premature to really go all in

On trades because we don’t know who’s a buyer who’s a seller we’re never going to know sorry I’m messing with my hair as I uh often do we never know if the suns are buyers or sellers well I shouldn’t say that we know the suns are going to be buyers

This year we don’t know what they’re looking at we don’t know what they would trade away is what I mean to say and we probably won’t so I don’t want to give you a whole bunch of fake trade concoctions and get overboard and get excited about somebody who may not even

Become available may not even be on the sun’s radar on and on and on I also am going to try to talk through the coaching situation in a reasonable way I don’t think it’s premature for that I’ll tell you why as we keep going here but I

Also don’t want to sit here and overdo it firing somebody who is a human Frank vogle and be disrespectful or just unrealistic but it’s January 9th The Big Three have now played six games together they lost an ugly backtack on Sunday and Monday and whether they like it or not whether

Any fan of this team likes it or not the calendar is not going to slow down on their behalf if what’s standing between this team and success is just time well there’s not a lot of it right and there’s a month before the deadline there are 3 months left of the

Season every game is an opportunity to prove it to fix it to get things right to get back on track that’s all of course the goal but if changes need to be made that clock ticks at the same time all right right so what I want to hit is

What’s realistic what’s not what’s on the table is there anything that’s off the table well let’s start there Devin Booker Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are off the table in my opinion I don’t see how you could ever possibly trade Devin Booker because of a half of a Bad season

He’s your franchise Cornerstone he’s under contract for longer than anybody else you just gave him a super max that just kicked in this year he is one of the only players to be on one team as long as he’s been as crazy as that may sound for those of us who have watched

His whole career it’s been almost 10 years now and it just isn’t it’s not step one it would never happen right now Kevin Durant you just got trading him isn’t GNA happen unless he asks for it I don’t expect that Bradley Beal I get that Suns fans are frustrated with

How that has all turned out I’ve explained many times why doing the trade in the first place was the right move I still believe that I’ll argue it you know 10 times out of 10 because you got him for Chris Paul Landry shamut and a bunch of pick swaps that don’t matter

When you’re trying to win a title and may never even give if the Suns stay good then swapping them picks with the Wizards who are bad may not even happen the Wizards may just have the higher pick forever right so okay those guys are Untouchable those guys aren’t being

Moved that would be deconstructing your title Contender not adding to it but on the trade front as we get into slop season as I like to call it and the rumors start flying and teams start making calls and we’ve already had one major trade this season with ogn and Obi

Going to the the New York Knicks I do think everybody else outside of Grayson Allen is available and of course I’m not saying Grayson Allen is Untouchable but I think it would have to be basically kind of reforming all or a portion of the package that they got for DeAndre Aon you’re talking

About Allen being a valuable piece of a trade that makes you much better but because the Suns lack the young players or picks to sweeten that I don’t anticipate that an opportunity that would feature Allen and little or Allen and nurkic or all three or Allen

And and a minimum guy I don’t think any of that is going to come to pass at the end of the day so you’re talking about nurkic and little in terms of players who make money and I think they should be available they should be at least players you consider moving that you

Don’t hang up the phone about and I don’t think I think I would have had nerkish on the Untouchable don’t listen to calls list like even a month ago at maybe the you know 2025 game Mark of the season I think that his chemistry early on when Durant was the only regularly

Healthy guy on this team I thought those two had a nice two-man game I thought the suns were running really smart they were really smart to run offense through nurkic they were getting more versatility and impact defensively from him than I was expecting and I think that that’s

Lessened over the course of the season I think teams maybe in terms of his offensive game know that if you just put bodies around him at the basket he can miss some of these layups but other than that I don’t know why it’s gotten worse I just think he is

Potentially an inconsistent player and I think you know also early on from a defensive standpoint the suns were sort of forced to play better defensive personnel because Booker and Beal were out and at times they had to play aogi and Goodwin and bade steop and little and all these guys throughout the course

Of the game and that probably helped nurkic too but now it’s not looking as good and I don’t think he’s cemented his spot as somebody who has to be on this team so he’s available I think little is available all the minimum guys are available all of these

Second round picks that the suns were able to Cobble together in these additional layer pick swap moves that they made obviously there are two trade exceptions that can be utilized and you see what you can get I will do more again specific trades as things

Move forward and as we hear more but as I’ve been thinking about it to me a realistic very um might be underwhelming to some Suns fans but what I think would still be impactful next month or two for the Suns from a player acquisition standpoint would be one of their traded player exceptions

Is exactly the same size as Jon Tate’s salary from the Houston Rockets now Rockets fans don’t always love him because he plays over their young guys his offensive game is limited but I think he would be exactly the type of physical tough versatile two-way kind of

Three and D obviously a little more D than offense but that’s fine player that the Suns really need give up second round picks get him if you can Cobble together the other three second round picks that you have or whatever it ends up being in each trade I think something like nir little

For Delon Wright in Washington could be a really smart move as well and I think the Wizards don’t have any need for a 31y old defensive guard so he’s exactly the type of player I think they could trade he’s had injury concerns this season but if he’s healthy and the suns are willing

To give up some stuff I think nir little and one or two second round picks you’re probably losing that trade quote unquote but it’s worth doing because it makes your team better in the short term gives you a two-way player at the point of attack defensively somebody who can make

Threes and handle the ball which we know a kogi and Goodwin you know they’re not two-way guys necessarily at a consistent level and then I think the Suns should really be trying their best to get PJ Tucker in the buyout Market if he does indeed get bought out I don’t think

Teams are going to want to trade for him if I’m being honest he’s not even playing I think it very well could be headed toward a buyout and I think if nothing else besides his toughness his leadership and his relationship with Devon Booker he seems like an absolute

No-brainer to add to this locker room I don’t know you know do you cut you to wat na do you cut bu bow if he continues to have injury problems I don’t know but that’s what I would do those three guys I think would go a long

Way and you’re starting to get towards something where I could feel better about the Suns the rest of the way so that’s the player the Personnel side what about coaching with the Sun’s fire a head coach who would replace him is all of this insane probably we’ll

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You about jant Tate Delon Wright and PJ Tucker there you go there’s your reasonable possible maybe Trio of additions that the Suns could make get a little older get a little more veteran and I think that is realistic I didn’t have a nage trade in there as you can tell

But the sun should be aggressive the traded player exceptions go away if they don’t use them you don’t get second round pick to sit on them you don’t do all those weird pick swaps just to to rest and the roster is not what it needs to be and

Unless one of those Wing players young Wings metu Bates deop or little consistently steps up at a two-way preferably starter caliber level then forget about it but that’s the Personnel coaching the bottom line is is to get straight to the point Matt ishia I have no reason to doubt that he would fire

Frank Vogal okay Frank vogle is a coach who reportedly was an ishbia isia’s preference right we heard Nick nurse we heard Jordy Fernandez we heard Doc Rivers we obviously heard Kevin young it didn’t seem like vogle was likely when he first surfaced as a candidate and then because reportedly of his support from

Ishbia in the process vogul was obviously the higher spot track has vogle at five years and $31 million that was per sham chirania back in the summer so you’d be eating you know four years $25 million that’s a lot of money a lot of these things tend to have

Like Monty did right language where if the coach gets a new deal you don’t have to pay them anymore so that’s just something to consider and also you know as crappy as it may be to say and it just is the facts of the situation here part of the value of maybe not

Hiring the most flashy most expensive candidate if you’re not positive who you want is it’s not as difficult to move on from that guy and I’m not saying that that’s why they set up the contract that way they did I’m certainly not saying that they hired Frank vogle just so that

It would be easier to fire him that would be ridiculous but it is one of the benefits it it is happen stance maybe but it’s true and we’ve seen it happen before so mtb’s desperation his desire to win at all costs all of that leads me to believe

That he certainly would consider a coaching change but I’ve said this before and I will say it now now that we’re being more serious about what could really change here and we will close the show by talking about when okay because I’m not saying this should or will happen

Tomorrow but the thing that I will repeat here is that I don’t think Kevin young would be the replacement I think David fizdale would be the replacement I don’t see how based on what we’ve seen this team struggle with at least on the offensive side of

The floor which is where Kevin young has has what he has been tasked with leading we have seen them lack structure we have seen them kind of be unprepared I would say or just go away from what had been working or not look like as purposeful as they need to be right is

Like okay there was this video this clip going viral on X on Monday night after the sun’s loss to the Clippers and into the morning of a really bad isolation possession where Beal chucked up a bad shot or turned it over I can’t even remember one of many awful possessions

In that fourth quarter but what what jumped out to me about that is that Beal gets a screen from Durant to start The Possession out which means that he goes from being guarded by I believe Terren man or I can’t even remember a weaker Defender to being

Guarded by Kawhi Leonard he switches he asks for a switch to then be defended by the best defender on the team Ka Leonard like that is exactly the type of head scratching thing that we have seen this team do time and again add in the turnovers add in the inconsistent shot

Diet where it feels like what is the target here for emphasizing threes emphasizing drives and rim attacks and and free throw drawing allowing the player star players to shoot mid-rangers like they want to what’s the goal what’s the target I don’t see how you can watch all

Of those mistakes for for months now and inconsistencies and hand the keys over to the guy whose job it has been to to get the most out of that side of the ball how do you do that I mean neither side of the floor has been working consistently for this team otherwise

They probably wouldn’t be in a position where they’re considering where they would ever consider a coaching change but you definitely can’t give the keys I think to a less experienced guy who is not living up to expectations either if you’re firing vogle because the defense isn’t working and the

Preparedness and all the things that make a head coach a head coach aren’t where you want them to be okay well you also have to be realistic about the guy who’s leading one of the other aspects of the team that’s also not living up to it so I don’t think you can do

That David fizdale has been a head coach twice he has been an assistant for a long time he is well respected he even had front office experience the past couple years before joining the Suns coaching staff and if you watch during the games he is pretty vocal pretty active pretty

Involved somebody that I I can you just get the sense is a voice has a presence in this locker room that’s all I know I’m not trying to pretend like I know a bunch about the Dynamics of anything I’m not 100% certain that would happen but that’s my

Hunch but it absolutely is on the table and I’m prepared for anything I’m prepared for you know a Quinn Snyder situation where there’s a candidate out of nowhere that suddenly is taking this job I don’t know who that would be but making a coaching change as a desperate owner wanting a championship

Spending a lot of money off of a summer with a lot of roster moves that guy absolutely would make a coaching change when when could all of this happen how urgently should they be looking for a trade when would be the right time to consider a coaching change we’ll get

Into all that next first Today’s Show brought to you by better help better help is making therapy easier and more accessible for everybody locked on suns is sponsored by better help today and around New Year’s we get obsessed with how to change ourselves instead of just expanding on

What we’re doing right maybe you finally organized one part of your space you want to tackle another or maybe you’re taking supplements every morning or changing your diet and trying to have breakfast every day therapy helps you find your strengths so that you can ditch the extreme resolutions and make changes that really

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For any at any time for no additional charge celebrate the progress you’ve already made visit betterhelp.com lockon NBA to get 10% off your first month that’s betterhelp hp.com locked on NBA all right let’s close out the show with a little bit about the timeline here I don’t think six games is enough to

Make any snap decisions I think that one if you’re making a coaching change to keep on that side of it for a moment you’re kind of accepting a little bit of a step back if the problem for the Suns has been continuity one step forward two steps back developing a sense of togetherness

And all that St stuff well firing the guy running the operation and replacing him with a new voice even if it were somebody on this staff you’re kind of restarting that process to a degree now I don’t know what that degree would be because I don’t know who the replacement would be

And I don’t know how they would connect with the players but if we’re operating in a hypothetical world where the Suns did make a change you’re all also operating in a world where you’re setting yourself back even more so that’s a pretty big that’s a pretty good argument to not do it but

At the same time if it is in Matt isia’s mind if it is in James Jones’s mind although I think it would be an ownership decision it is also there comes a time when it’s too late and that coach is not going to be able to grab hold of things quickly enough to

Make a difference so the best comparison to what we’re talking about here is David David blat in Cleveland right where honestly at that point tyo was kind of the Kevin young there wasn’t really a David fizdale and blat was brought in as a certain kind of coach that just

Didn’t mesh with the roster he ended up coaching a very different roster than I think he maybe was hired to coach I don’t know tyou leads them to the 2016 title David blat was fired in January of 2016 now it wasn’t his first season right he got the job in 2014 when LeBron

First came back they go to the finals of first season Kyrie broke his like kneecap or whatever and then the Cavs losing six they go through another half seon and they fire blat January 22nd of 2016 that’s two weeks from now that’s kind of The Sweet Spot if

You’re going to make a move it is long enough to probably get a sense that the current guy is not working and it is enough time to at least try to give the replacement the most opportunity you can so these things happen around now I’ll just say I would not do

That I would not do it I wanted to start out by saying what was on the table what was realistic what was reasonable what sunsfan should be prepared for I stand by it but for my from my standpoint I don’t think coaching alone is what ails this roster the reason

Being part of the selling point with Frank vogle was a hands-off approach what that means is you sort of have to blame the players for not figuring each other out and Manufacturing chemistry plenty of teams assembled as haphazardly as this one have performed better than this one

Okay there’s I mean the excuses only go so far and so the alternative if you’re moving on from a coach who’s hands off and allows the players to try to figure it out within reason is a more Hands-On coach but I don’t really think that’s the I think hands off is better

And if hands off is the right approach with this particular roster then are you going to find a guy with a similar temperament to Frank vogle who’s a better Coach than Frank vogle right now I just don’t see it the defensive Personnel I’m not sure anybody could turn it into a competitive unit

So you see what the big three playing together more can do for you and I think you look to personnel which brings us to the timing of that trades I think you know we’re at the point where I’m not really I don’t think it’s reasonable to rely on any of the

Young wings now one of the things is nir little has this recurring knee injury and Vogal compared it to T opathy I believe you know that’s that is that’s recurring that’s that’s that doesn’t go away with any sort of magic formula it’s the type of thing that players tend to have to

Manage over time or rest for a while and it goes away but that impacts a lot for this team right now I think more than maybe it’s getting noticed because it’s preventing little from playing at a time when the big three is now on the court when he could be

Getting valuable reps with them and maybe solidifying himself as the fifth starter or at least a valuable rotation piece for this team and instead he’s sidelined he also of course is not really somebody that any team is going to trade for if you’re not even positive

He can play the rest of this season now maybe a bad team like the Wizards in the Delon Wright thing I threw out doesn’t care about that but I would even expect that they want to get I mean it’s any Mis time is decreased value of

What that player is going to be able to contribute for you and how much time you’re going to have to work with him and all that stuff so it complicates things but if the Suns get an offer that they think makes them better for any of the guys that I said should

Be available or if they can find an available player on a different team that fits into their traded player exceptions you pull the trigger now this team needs help now they need depth and reliable rotation pieces yesterday so I would imagine that just like the Knicks identified hey Jaylen

Brunson’s even better Julius Randall finally is putting together two very solid seasons in a row we need assistance here in the short term in the in the immediate let’s go get that and they went and got ogn and Obi the sun should be operating with a similar level of desperation and and

Creativity to make a trade happen if I woke up on Wednesday after recording this and the Suns have made a trade I would not be surprised now business doesn’t really start up until closer to the deadline but I I feel more confident now than I have at any point that the Suns will

Make at least one move before the deadline and I think the sooner the better to get veteran depth in the building to start to try to salvage the season because I don’t think any of the guys we’ve seen are going to just miraculously turn into differen makers

When they have not proven themselves to be that at all all season that’ll wrap us up for the day that’s what’s possible that’s what’s on the table hopefully you learned a little bit of something hit hit follow or subscribe if it’s your first time finding the show or if you just haven’t

Done so already we will be back Wednesday uh sorry Thursday with one more show getting you ready for Suns Lakers and then a recap of that game to close out the week so do not go anywhere talk to you throughout the week and I’ll see you then

The Phoenix Suns have their Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal healthy and still need answers.

Brendon Kleen of @justbasketballfans breaks down where the Suns might look on the trade market, what a coaching change might look like, and when owner Mat Ishbia might look to act.

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