Locked On Suns - Daily Podcast On The Phoenix Suns

We respond to comments from co-interim general manager James Jones to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station in two appearances Monday regarding his vision for the organization, his thoughts on the current roster and how he operates overall. 

We also gauge the odds Jones is retained as permanent general manager (hint: they’re high), analyze his ideas about overhauling the roster and predict how he might build out the front office if he keeps the job.

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We begin by digging into the Suns’ 117-104 loss to Sacramento on the road on Sunday, in which Devin Booker’s outstanding stat line was not enough for the Suns to beat the Kings.

Then, we dissect why inconsistency is such an issue for Phoenix this year despite more talent on the roster — is it inexperience, leadership, injuries, lack of depth?

We close by projecting the Suns’ next eight games, starting with the Clippers on Wednesday and finishing with seven winnable games coming out of the All-Star break.

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We break down the Suns’ tough performance against Golden State, led by Mikal Bridges, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Deandre Ayton, which ultimately resulted in Phoenix’s 13th straight loss.

Bridges kept Kevin Durant at bay and made 4-9 threes, Ayton tied the most field goal attempts of his career for his 30th double-double of the season, and Oubre put together perhaps his best all-around game in Phoenix. It just wasn’t enough.

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We wonder aloud why the Suns did not make another deal after flipping Ryan Anderson’s contract on Wednesday and discuss what doing that trade and nothing else shows us about how the Suns will approach the offseason.

We also talk about our most surprising trades from around the rest of the NBA, from Marc Gasol to Markelle Fultz, and discuss the top of the Eastern Conference, where four great, deep teams will battle it out this spring for the chance to take on the Warriors in the Finals.

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The Suns acquired an interesting on-court fit on Wednesday but failed to nab an asset in return for helping the Miami Heat escape the luxury tax this season, taking Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington off their books in exchange for Ryan Anderson. We break that deal down.

Phoenix also played a game on Wednesday, losing 116-98 to the Jazz without Devin Booker. We discuss Booker’s lingering hamstring pain as well as Josh Jackson’s strong performance.

Finally, a rapid fire recap of the flurry of moves across the league on Wednesday and how they impact the Suns.

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After LaVar Ball’s double interview on 98.7 FM on Tuesday, we read between the lines of the latest Lakers-Pelicans scuttlebutt to diagnose the truth in the Ball-Suns connection (hint: It feels very real).

We also talk about what it might take to get Ball based on the latest Lakers offers and how the Suns should view Ball’s value.

Finally, we go rapid fire with predictions for the Suns at the deadline as well as the league as a whole.

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On today’s episode of Locked On Suns live from Talking Stick Resort Arena, we chatted about the Suns’ 11th straight defeat. This time, it was against the Houston Rockets as Phoenix fell 118-110.

Josh Jackson and Kelly Oubre Jr. helped carry the scoring load with Devin Booker, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as Houston put their foot on the gas in the second half.

Elie Okobo also showed why he’s still a rookie by following up his best game of the season with arguably his worst. We discussed the growing pains rookie point guards often experience.

Closing the episode out, we circled back around to Harden’s effortless scoring binge. Is this the greatest individual scoring run we’ve seen in the modern era?

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We head back into the Twitter mailbag for a special trade deadline preview edition, using your questions to dissect the Suns’ options ahead of the Feb. 7 deadline.

The Suns could upgrade at point guard early if they have a target in mind now, or hold pat and use bigger salaries like T.J. Warren and Ryan Anderson to grab future assets.

We also break news on the Suns’ scouting situation, their valuation of Lonzo Ball and how they plan to use Anderson’s contract this summer.

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We break down the reported “mutual interest” between Lonzo Ball and the Suns before finishing up our Second Trimester Report Cards looking back at Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges two thirds of the way through their rookie seasons.

Ball’s fit alongside Devin Booker is exciting and he could at a more reasonable price than the Suns’ other options. But can he fix his shooting problems?

Looking back at the past two months or so for Ayton and Bridges, we saw each hit their own rookie wall and suffer through inconsistent stretches. Listen for how our opinions have changed 53 games into their careers.

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Looking back at the two-thirds point in the Suns’ season, we give out grades to three members of the team’s young core in Part One of the Second Trimester Report Cards.

Starting with the backcourt, we take a look at the development and statistics of De’Anthony Melton, Josh Jackson and Devin Booker and how they project moving forward.

Listen to the end for our final grades for each player and why they earned the grade.

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