Locked On Suns - Daily Podcast On The Phoenix Suns

The Suns lost again last night, but these days that’s just not newsworthy enough to be the focal point of a Locked On discussion. 

After briefly swinging through the reasons for a 107-85 loss at home to the Knicks on Friday night, Brendon and Evan discuss the bigger news of the evening: Devin Booker becoming the starting point guard. He struggled in his debut in that role, scoring just 12 points on 12 shots. But what can that lineup change do for the team going forward?

(Yes we touched on the Kanter-Dudley Twitter beef.)

Finally, the co-hosts break down a fabulous Saturday of college basketball, including the Collin Sexton-Trae Young battle and big games for Mohamed Bamba and Marvin Bagley. How are the point guard and big man classes looking for the 2018 draft?

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On today’s episode, Brendon and Evan were joined by Kris and Max, two Suns fans they know from Twitter, about several different topics.

First, they touched oh-so-briefly on tonight’s blowout at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, a loss not worth discussing much at all. Indiana did exactly what they did in Phoenix two weeks ago, dissecting the Suns’ perimeter defense on their way to a huge win.

Next, Brendon and Evan traded off questions about the team’s future, allowing Kris and Max to step into GM Ryan McDonough’s shoes for a few decisions about the team’s future. Who is the best building block for the team moving forward -- Dragan Bender? Marquese Chriss? Josh Jackson?

Is Devin Booker’s real co-pilot available in the 2018 draft, and if so who is it? All four weighed in.

Note: I want to point audio was a little shaky at some points, especially with Max, due to poor WiFi connection on Google Hangouts. Apologies for the cut-outs for mere seconds at points a few times in advance, but it settled down after first few minutes.

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On today's episode of Locked On Suns, Evan and Brendon recap the Suns' 109-105 loss in Milwaukee. After firing Jason Kidd a few hours before tip, the Bucks were able to pull it out but not without Phoenix being bitten by the turnover bug yet again.

Through the first of the episode, we discussed our biggest takeaways for the Suns. This led to the point guard discussion and Tyler Ulis' poor play of late, seeing him attempt 0 shots and Isaiah Canaan takes the majority of second-half minutes.

With the increasing likelihood we see Brandon Knight next year, what's that about to look like next to Devin Booker? We tried to make sense of the point guard situation, which we believe heavily relies on how the ping pong balls play out in May.

Also, we brought up Adrian Wojnarowski's report of rumored friction between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs. How does this relate to the Suns? Is it something to monitor moving forward if you're general manager Ryan McDonough?

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On today's episode of Locked On Suns, Evan and Brendon recap Phoenix’s 108-100 victory over the Nuggets.

We touched on Devin Booker, T.J. Warren, Josh Jackson, and the current point guard situation for them. Should Point Book just continue to blossom with Canaan and Ulis primarily off-ball?

Since Booker returned to the lineup, he has five instances of 30-5-5 games already. That leads the NBA, with Russell Westbrook right behind him with four.

also, we quickly previewed the upcoming contest against Milwaukee. Without Giannis Antetokounmpo once again, can the Suns steal another one on the road?

Listen in, and make sure to subscribe!

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On today’s episode of Locked On Suns, Evan and Brendon discuss ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski’s report of Kemba Walker being officially placed on the trade block. With the Hornets looking to shed cap space while pressing the full-scale rebuild button, Walker plans to be their main piece in whoever helps reshuffle their roster.

For the first 25 minutes, we brought up a lot of angles from a Phoenix perspective. Outside of the Knicks, Pacers, and Clippers, we believe Phoenix is definitely in the running for Walker if they so desire.

First, what would the Suns have to give up? We discussed what value we believe Walker has league-wide, as well as what could intrigue Charlotte. Also, we brought up the inevitable question: Marquese Chriss or Dragan Bender? Who would you rather keep if one has to be shipped away sometime soon?

General manager Ryan McDonough will have a tough decision to make. Keep with the plan of possibly acquiring another top-five pick or trade for Walker and bring Booker some immediate help?

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On today's episode of Locked On Suns, Evan and Brendon recap the Suns' 120-97 loss to the Pacers on Bright Side Night.

By the way, thanks to everyone donating. We sent 2,100 underprivileged children to their first NBA game, so that's awesome!

We gave our takeaways from Sunday's matchup (hello, Josh Jackson!), but also spent the last 30 or so minutes of the podcast discussing our chat with Vice President of Basketball Operations James Jones.

He was surprisingly open about a lot of current situations, so we gave our thoughts on that. Jones touched on the draft, Booker at PG, future team building ideas, and plenty more.

Also, we looked ahead for the Suns as they begin a tough stretch up until the end of January. How will it go for the league's youngest rotation?

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On today's episode of Locked On Suns, Evan and Brendon recap the Suns' 17-point loss to Houston on Friday. For the second consecutive time, the Suns have been blown out by the Rockets on national television.

We discussed the point guard situation for the Suns. With Isaiah Canaan returning Sunday, how should Jay Triano divvy out the minutes? Will Point Book be expanded upon with less Tyler Ulis? There are some ideas we thought of.

Also, we looked at the overall construction of Houston. The Suns not only are one step away, but multiple, including developmental jumps from Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, and Josh Jackson as Brendon pointed out.

Finally, we looked at the monstrous performances from Trae Young, Marvin Bagley III, and Deandre Ayton on Saturday. (Hint: This draft class is turning out to be rather important for the Suns' future.) In the end, we played a hypothetical scenario, too. If Luka Doncic and Ayton are the first two off the board and Phoenix lands at No. 3, who do they select? Young? Bagley? Bamba?

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On today's episode of Locked On Suns, Evan and Brendon discuss more prospects. This time, we look more towards possible names who could be selected, if they end up keeping Miami's first-round pick.

The best fits for Devin Booker could be a secondary ball handler with defensive acumen. We talked about all of the following names in this category: Trevon Duval, Troy Brown, Bruce Brown, Hamidou Diallo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Shake Milton, Landry Shamet, Jevon Carter, Rawle Alkins, and De'Anthony Melton.

This led to a discussion about the red-hot Heat squad, winners of six straight. If the Heat continues to win, should the Suns deal it for a win-now piece? Also, is the 2021 Miami pick Phoenix's "Golden Goose" asset at the moment?

Going back into some prospects, we ended it with two wings who could be possible fits in the 8-12 range: Mikal Bridges and Kevin Knox. If Phoenix continues towards a positionless movement, which sees Devin Booker as the primary ball handler, either one of these names makes sense.

Also, in the beginning, we went over the Suns' injury news revolving around Marquese Chriss (hip flexor) and Josh Jackson (strained hip) for Friday's tilt with Houston on ESPN.

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On this episode of Locked On Suns, Evan and Brendon recap the last 20 games in our second of four stock reports.

We analyzed all of the following players, including Jay Triano: Devin Booker, T.J. Warren, Josh Jackson, Dragan Bender, and Marquese Chriss. 

On all of them, we took in-depth analytical dives while looking at their latest trends over certain portions of this stretch. Booker was only apart of 10/19 games with an adductor injury.

So, how did the grades end up?

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On today's episode of Locked On Suns, Evan and Brendon recap the Suns' best win of the season, 114-100, over Oklahoma City. In the process, we saw #TheTimeline blossom with career-best performances from Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender.

We dived into both of their performances, alongside Devin Booker, TJ Warren, Tyler Ulis, and the short time Marquese Chriss was out there as well.

Speaking of Bender and Jackson, could these two as plus-passers for their positions really open it up for Booker in the season's second half if it continues to gel? Seemingly Jackson, Chriss, and Bender are all putting it together simultaneously, which is a great sign for the future.

We also debated how important the summer of 2018 is for Phoenix. If the Suns finish with 30-33 wins, do they become more attractive to the top tier of the free agent class? Both of us agreed, though, that trading up in the draft could be in the cards with how general manager Ryan McDonough has laid out his assets moving forward.

How does the Locked On Suns crew see the season's second half going for the Suns now after this past week? Will it sustain?

What do you think, listeners?

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