Locked On Suns - Daily Podcast On The Phoenix Suns

On today's episode, we have a special co-host with Evan as MMAFighting.com's Shaun Al-Shatti joins for a wide-ranging chat on the Phoenix Suns. We have had this in the works for the past few weeks and finally got around to recording together.

Shaun, who grew up a Suns fan, stops by to talk about how this offseason went in his eyes alongside plenty of rapid fire topics on how he views their young core led by Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.

How does he feel Ryan McDonough has done putting together this roster? What about the Trevor Ariza signing for 1-year, $15 million? Just how high is Booker's ceiling with all the additional talent and spacing surrounding him? Is T.J. Warren being underrated by the majority of the fanbase?

This, plus plenty more were talked about during the first 30 minutes of the episode before we went into MMA for the portion of today's show.

What if LeBron James dedicated his entire career to mixed martial arts instead of NBA? Would he have been the greatest fighter of all time?

This was a fun one, so make sure to tune in!

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On today’s episode, a league insider takes us through how he thinks the Trevor Ariza signing might quietly be a key to the Suns taking a step forward in their prolonged rebuild.

Mo Dakhil, who worked with the Spurs, Clippers and the Australian men’s national team, talks about the difficulties of a switching defense, how he would go about building around Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, and why he’s concerned about the vision going forward in Phoenix. 

Mo also discusses his player-development and team-building philosophies, as well as his belief the Suns should operate with the future in mind rather than competing this year.

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On today’s episode, we dive into the offseason for the NBA as a whole, ranking which teams we thought had the best and worst summers in the league. Then, we wrap up with a dissection of the Suns’ position in the landscape of young teams on the rise.

Topics include:How did the Cavaliers, Spurs, Pelicans and Raptors do replacing stars on the move?Did the Pacers do enough to make them a real East contender?Are the Wizards better now?What in the world are the Lakers doing?Finally, we discuss the fact that the Suns will have less cap space than about eight or nine teams even if they dismantle their roster before next summer. Can they still make a leap?

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On today’s episode, we zeroed in on how Deandre Ayton looked on both ends via pick-and-roll situations during Las Vegas Summer League. David Nash wrote an article on this very facet, and we dove in even further on how he looked compared to his tenure at the University of Arizona. Are people unfairly throwing Ayton into the same conversation Ben Simmons went through two years ago?

Also, we analyzed how Ayton and the rest of Phoenix’s young core will slide into how Igor Kokoskov wants to run things as the new head coach. Nash has a great Twitter thread on this while being one of the first advocating for Kokoskov’s hire before it gained steam.

Finally, how should we expect the Suns to perform this upcoming season? Is 30-35 wins a healthy barometer to set, and is it enough to attract big-time names next summer?

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On today’s episode, the focus is Mikal Bridges and the spot he holds in the future of the Phoenix Suns. Our guest, Michael Pina, recently wrote about Bridges and came on to talk about what type of player he can become.

Coming out of college, the only knock on Bridges was that he was older than the rest of his class and perhaps close to a finished product.

Pina’s story runs opposite of that theory, showing the drive Bridges has had since high school to develop into one of the best shooters in college basketball and a premier draft prospect.

We discuss the story, as well as Pina’s thoughts on how the Suns stack up with the rest of the NBA’s young teams.

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On today’s episode, we dissect the Friday morning avalanche of moves that resulted in the Suns moving off of Jared Dudley’s salary to trade for backup big man Richaun Holmes.

Dudley and Tyson Chandler are both not in the team’s plans next season, but did they do their best to capitalize on the cap space they opened up in the Dudley deal?

How does Holmes fit on the Suns’ roster?

Should the team have targeted another playmaker with the 2021 second-round pick they traded with Dudley’s contract?

And finally, how will Davon Reed and Shaquille Harrison fit into the rotation moving forward?

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On today’ episode, Andrew Bernucca of FanSided joins to break down to dissect the European basketball as it relates to the Suns. 

After falling to No. 31 on draft night, Elie Okobo impressed during the first two Summer League contests. How does he fit with Devin Booker long term?

Are we underselling the impact Igor Kokoskov could have on Dragan Bender, and vice versa?

Bernucca gives his outsider’s insight as FanSided’s chief Eurohoops writer.

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On today’s episode, special guest Jonathan Tjarks wiggles his way through the Suns’ present and future.

We briefly discussed the Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto before diving in on the Suns.

Topics discussed include:Deandre Ayton’s ceiling relative to other top picksSummer League takeawaysJosh Jackson and Mikal Bridges as building blocks on the wing alongside Devin BookerHow the Suns stack up with the rest of the league now and in the futureDecision time on Dragan Bender and Marquese ChrissThis was a fun one.

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On today’s episode, we dive into Twitter one final time for the summer to take listener questions in a mailbag reviewing the offseason.

Questions based on topics such as:Expectations for Deandre AytonWhat we know about Brandon Knight and his outlook for 2018-19Decision time for Dragan Bender and Marquese ChrissPossibilities at point guard and forward in the summer of 2019How the Suns can create financial flexibility next yearWe’ll be back with guest episodes the rest of the week, so stay tuned.

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On today’s episode, we discuss the Suns’ four Summer League games through the lens of next season’s rotation.

After getting an opportunity in Las Vegas to play for their next contract, Shaquille Harrison and Davon Reed may hav just earned the chance to stay on Phoenix’s roster next year and have their contracts guaranteed.

What does that mean for the rest of the roster?

Plus, final thoughts on Devin Booker’s maximum extension, inked over the weekend.

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