Locked On Suns - Daily Podcast On The Phoenix Suns

We combine the end of our summer guest series with the beginning of our season preview content in September by bringing on Matt Moore to discuss Devin Booker and the 2019-20 Suns.

Booker is a gifted shooter and improving playmaker, but to truly get to a superstar level and provide value on his maximum contract, he has to continue to make his teammates better. What improvements will help him do it more consistently?

The conversation around Booker leads to a discussion of how the Suns tried to maximize him and Deandre Ayton this summer and what the team might look like this season.

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As the season nears and rosters fill out around the NBA, we take stock of the young Western Conference to analyze how the Suns’ inside-outside duo of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton compares with the rest of the West.

Using only players 25 or younger, we break down the top seven duos and each rank the Suns within this group.

Come for the never-ending Luka Doncic debate, stay for a top-three finish by the Suns!

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We dig through the ingredients that helped the Kings break out last season and connect them to how the Suns built their roster in 2019. There are more similarities than you’d guess.

As statistical projection models spit out win totals in the high 30s for the Suns, it’s starting to feel like following the Kings’ blueprint is the best way for Phoenix to get there. That means winning the turnover battle, taking and making more threes, and playing faster.

It may sound simple, but guys like Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric are exactly the efficient types of players you target when you want to tighten up on the basics.

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We are joined by longtime fantasy basketball analyst and host of Locked On Fantasy Basketball Josh Lloyd to break down six Suns players and their fantasy projections for the 2019-20 season.

Devin Booker has turned into a bona fide fantasy star already, while Deandre Ayton could join him in that elite tier as soon as this year.

We also discuss Kelly Oubre Jr. and Mikal Bridges as well as newcomers Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric.

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We wrap up Development Week on the show with a breakdown of Year Two for Mikal Bridges. This was a harder exercise, as Bridges is already such a polished role player that it’s difficult to poke holes in his game.

We narrowed onto three topics each that could help Bridges get to the next level.

Because he hit the ground running as a rookie, even minimal improvements could put him in contention for All-Defense teams and a heap of minutes on a nightly basis.

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We laugh at the latest summer internet debate about Devin Booker before diving into the development of Kelly Oubre Jr.

Oubre was a revelation with the Suns during the second half of last season, turning up the volume on his energy, functional athleticism and shot creation. Can he keep it up during the 2019-20 campaign in a potentially smaller role?

Oubre is likely the favorite to start over Mikal Bridges based on his experience and payday, but can he improve his decision-making on both ends of the floor enough to earn that starting spot?

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All week, we will be breaking down the individual developments for the rest of the Suns’ core group after doing the same for Devin Booker earlier in the offseason. Today we begin with Deandre Ayton, who has a lot riding on his development in year two.

We each break down three big areas that Ayton needs to improve in, from his aggressive mentality to his help defense.

Ayton showed a lot as a rookie but has plenty of room to grow. What is realistic to expect in 2019-20?

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We are joined by Cole Zwicker of The Stepien, who correctly predicted the Ricky Rubio signing just after the draft, to evaluate the Suns’ offseason.

Cole reacts to the Suns’ focus on shooting and experience as they filled out their roster, discusses the decision between starting Mikal Bridges or Kelly Oubre Jr., and imagines how the Suns will organize their defense around so many different types of players.

How does Devin Booker continue to develop as a playmaker with Rubio around? Where are the minutes for the rookies? Who should be the backup power forward? So many questions.

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We are joined by Arizona Sports’ Kevin Zimmerman to discuss the two most polarizing young stars in the state: Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and Suns combo guard Devin Booker. Incredibly enough, Booker is only 10 months older than Murray heading into his fifth season.

Kevin breaks down what he’s seen from the Cardinals rookie who is drawing rave reviews from training camp. KylerMania is already bubbling up in Arizona, so how high can his star level truly rise?

Also, if you had to pick one player over the next decade, who would you rather have? Murray or Booker? Not everyone agreed on this topic.

Stick around as we unveil our Suns All-Decade teams, which goes to show how disappointing the on-court product has been over the last 10 years since the 7SOL era. Marcin Gortat and T.J. Warren anybody?

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We react to the Suns’ 2019-20 schedule, which includes two six-game road trips and lots of tough games early on against Western Conference rivals.

Then, we go game by game to give you our way-too-early predictions for the Suns’ record this upcoming season.

Can the Suns beat any East teams on the road? Will their best players be sitting again in the spring to tank? We break it all down.

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