Locked On Suns - Daily Podcast On The Phoenix Suns

We break down a few guys who won’t get much attention once we start previewing the season — the rookies. And that lack of attention is a good thing! It’s all part of the plan. If all goes well, we won’t be hearing much from Cam Johnson, Ty Jerome and Jalen Lecque, so we dove in on each of them today.

Johnson is in line to be a candidate for backup wing minutes alongside Mikal Bridges until the Suns find a permanent second unit. Can he defend enough to stay on the court?

Jerome brings many of the same questions. How will he hold up physically against NBA athletes, and are there any minutes for him while Tyler Johnson is still around?

Lecque is the first test case for how James Jones will use the G League. What does a successful season look like for the Brewster Academy product?

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We take a bird’s eye view of the West after a busy summer on this side of the Mississippi, ranking the conference into tiers and imagining where the Suns will fall.

Before that, we talk about what the Suns will have to do to break into the top part of the conference and be major factors in the playoff race. It’s unlikely with so much talent on other teams, but it all comes back to Phoenix’s two young stars.

We close the show by talking about a few teams the Suns could realistically leapfrog in the standings this year to get out of the cellar.

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Today, we bring a great solo show to you all after a great guest series to finish out the month of July. After getting a feel for various players through the thoughts of our guests, we reconvene to hit on over/unders for the top six players on the Suns’ roster this upcoming season.

From Kelly Oubre Jr.’s three-point shooting to Deandre Ayton’s rim protection to Ricky Rubio’s assist totals, we fly through the numbers to predict how the system and player roles for the Suns this year will play out.

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We react to the initial over/under of 27 for the 2019-20 Suns, set by Caesar’s Sports Book last week. How does the negative national perception around the franchise affect this number? What has to happen for the Suns to surpass it?

We close the show by debating Booker’s place among other 2-guards in the NBA. Many argue he is worse than Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell in part because those players have been on winning teams. Is that legit? We explain why this year will tell us a lot about Booker.

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We are joined by The Athletic Minnesota’s Jon Krawczynski to break down all the connections between the Timberwolves and Suns this offseason.

Jon breaks down why he believes the new Minnesota front office wanted to move up in this year’s draft and why the Jarrett Culver deal surprised him. We also talk about the franchise’s tenuous relationship with Dario Saric and why he was ultimately dealt to Phoenix.

Stick around for a great breakdown by Jon of how Ricky Rubio has grown on and off the court since coming into the league and why he believes the Suns are a good fit for the veteran point guard.

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When it comes to talking about the basketball industry as a whole and all the levels of performance that come with it, there’s no one better to talk to than Cody Toppert.

It just so happens that Toppert was also the head coach of the Northern Arizona Suns as well as a player development assistant on Igor Kokoskov’s bench last year.

Toppert joined the show to discuss the growth from Devin Booker, training role players to narrow the scope of their game, big men in the pace-and-space era, and more.

We also discussed what it will take for big men like Deandre Ayton and Memphis recruit James Wiseman to make it in the modern NBA, and what happens from a development perspective when the draft age is decreased back to 18.

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We use your questions to round out our offseason analysis on the show, answering about 10 great listener questions via Twitter.

In our final mailbag of the offseason, we touch on everything from the ceiling for Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, transactions that could exceed expectations, and what the Suns could do on the trade market with their heap of expiring contracts.

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Jon Bloom of Arizona Sports drops in for an offseason check-in. The voice of the NAZ Suns joins to break down how the G League affiliate could be used under James Jones, the additions of Jalen Lecque and Jared Harper, and more.

We also discuss the Suns keeping the NAZ braintrust of Bret Burchard and Dylan DeBusk in place despite so much turnover in the rest of the front office and coaching staff.

Jon also discusses with us the Suns finally finding a replacement for Eric Bledsoe, surprises of the offseason, and the Suns players we are most excited to see next season.

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We are joined by Gina Mizell, The Athletic’s Suns beat writer, to discuss covering her hometown NBA team and much more after a crazy year in Phoenix.

Gina also gives her perspective on the Suns’ offseason. Why was it underrated? How does she value Kelly Oubre Jr.? Is Ricky Rubio going to finally solve the point guard woes? What can we expect from Deandre Ayton in his second season?

We close the show by recapping the latest flurry of moves by the Suns, including signing former Pelicans big man Cheick Diallo to a two-year contract, giving a two-way deal to Auburn guard Jared Harper, and adding Tariq Owens on a non-guaranteed training camp deal.

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We are joined by the man with the best seat in Talking Stick Resort Arena, Suns PA announcer and Arizona Sports host Vince Marotta, to break down the Suns’ offseason and the direction the franchise is heading under James Jones.

Among the topics discussed:Covering the Suns’ unpredictable 2019 draft live on the radioExpectations for Devin BookerThe importance of Monty Williams and the Suns’ vet signings choosing to play in PhoenixIs James Jones truly getting more leeway to go about his business than Ryan McDonough?We finish with a lightning round on Vince’s impressions from up close. He lists the most impressive player he’s watched from press row, the best home moment of Booker’s career, the best Suns crowds he’s seen, and more.

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