Why Ish Wainright’s return to the Phoenix Suns has the forward feeling good, locked in

Why Ish Wainright’s return to the Phoenix Suns has the forward feeling good, locked in

The halfway point of the burns and gambo show we hit the reset button get you caught up on everything going on in sports but every now and then we have a guest who comes on at 4 o’clock and we’re like you know what let’s let’s

Talk to this guy you know for this guy we’ll we’ll do we’ll throw everything out yeah cuz once upon a time this guy if you remember surprised us here in studio he was like our best friend he kind of was kind of felt like we were we

Were talking with him like every third or fourth week so we are very very happy to welcome back to the burns and gambo show to Phoenix to the Phoenix Suns ish Wayne Wright who joins us here on Arizona Sports ish how have you been man we haven’t talked in a while what big

Deal no I’ve been good I’ve been good just grinding man just staying ready just stay ready I’ve been out here in Scottdale for about two months just training with Bon Compton and uh my my strength and condition Co and so I just been training man just staying ready

We’ve talked a few times me and you is we’ve you know texted back and forth and I think this is you know you stay in this is what you wanted right you wanted to be back here in Phoenix you wanted to be back with the

Suns oh yeah for sure I mean that’s I told I told everybody this is home um and you know unfor unfortunately events happened this this uh summer I was hurt and you know things happen I went to Portland and was H again and and was

Waved and you know I came back home and just trained and stayed kept my head down stayed out the way and you know locked in now I gotta know this is you know I buil I built I built what I built here you know my name and you know a

Part of the uh the team and so that’s what I’ve been W so I’ve got to know when you found out that the suns were going to sign you to this two-way contract did you start throwing up again and run to the restroom and no no no no

This time I didn’t throw I didn’t throw up I uh I don’t know I don’t know I don’t think it’s still hit me you know um I don’t think it hit me yet I think it probably hit me tomorrow doing warm or warm-ups uh if I suit up or anything

Like that um but no I think it’ll hit me once I get on the court um when I it hit me hit me that I wasn’t playing for the Suns when I played when I was with Portland we came back and played and it was the emotional day right there you

Know being actually going to the visiting locker room I didn’t even know where to go to be honest with you so it was different and I and I don’t want to I I don’t want to lead you through a dark path or anything like that but how bothered were you that you weren’t

Playing for the Suns you know we we know this is a business we understand you got to treat it like such but did it bother you that you weren’t a member of the Suns I mean it bothered me of course it’s gonna bother anybody you you play for a

Team for for not just one year but two years and then you go through ups and downs with those guys and then you build relationships with the you know with the coaching staff with the players and the front office and you know the not even

But not just that just the fan the fans um of course it you know it bothered it bothered me I mean it would bother anybody um but I mean I got past that and I’m back and uh back home you know what I mean so it feels good it feels

Good now tell me about I I’m sure it does ish Wayne Wright Our Guest here on the burns and gambo show tell me about the process in which you came back to the Suns on this two-way contract when did it happen when did you get an idea

It was going to happen and how have they kind of described to you what your role is going to be on this team going forward is um I think it’s always been an ideal in a way um uh because you know during the summer you know I was here all summer working

Out um of course my body wasn’t as what what is supposed to be um so I took advantage of that and you know this time that I was I’ve been hurt and you know I’m fully healthy now and so I taken care of my body and I think the role on

A team is actually still the same to be honest with you be you know energy guy um be a leader on and off the court uh and have that presence uh defense for sure knock down open three the same it’s the same role but it’s just time to lock

In even more with that especially with the team that we have and the our goals that we have everybody has the same goal and this is one of our goals that we’re going to have that we have is to win what was your time 20 games left man

What was your time like in Portland I mean no Damen Lillet no nurkic they changed that whole roster up obviously you know they ended up you know signing you what what was what was the time and I know you weren’t there for a long time but what was what was it like in

Portland well well well the time well it rained a lot it does rain a lot there a lot which it was cool it was it was cool um but no u my time up there was actually I mean it was a lot of young guys a lot of

Respect to those young guys they hooping they grind that compete um and I mean it’s still learning they’re still learning but and it it was it was cool it was different it was different like I said it was a whole different organization whole different coaching

Staff that I had been used to at the you know the whole different Playbook um but the time was so short I mean I couldn’t really I was I only played a few games up there um because I ended up getting hurting again I ended up spraining my

MCL but um and so that pushed me out what three and a half four more weeks and so when I got back I played two games and for the remix and then and I played a few games for you know Portland so yeah um it was a short it was a short

SP I didn’t really get a chance to you know grasp everything uh see everything all the you know get get in get in t with the fans or anything like that but um it was it was fun it was fun and I love what they’re doing up there they’re

Gonna be a wrecking ball a whole bunch of young guys up there they’re hungry so I remember when you played here against I remember when you played here against Phoenix I was at that game you knocked down a couple of three-pointers in that game against the Sun so it was good good

To see you do that hey let me ask you you knew de from his time with Phoenix and you knew DeAndre a little bit with his time in Portland do you see any difference with the with the Portland Trailblazers version of DeAndre Aon yeah I mean he’s about business he’s

About business he’s still da da is my bro um I mean he he he’s working he’s working his ta off up there um I mean I I see everybody sees a big difference on that one too but I mean he’s happy he’s having fun he has his little man up

There with him so he’s he’s he’s living his life he’s he’s balling and living his life staying out the way ish Wayne wght Our Guest here on the burns and gambo show for you coming back to the Suns uh I there there have been a

Lot of changes and I know you were here last year too but with all the flips to the roster all the changes in ownership and the coaching staff is it still the same for you being able to play for this organization even though a lot of the faces have

Changed it’s still the same but you got to realize this coaching staff was with me all summer and uh when I first met them in Vegas uh went to dinner with Coach boogo went with the coaching staff and stuff like that um so they they they

Know what I can bring to the table but I mean it’s like I said like you said it’s a whole different team a whole different organization um and I mean I’m ready to do whatever it takes I want to win um that’s the only thing that I really know

How to do especially with the Suns the past two years is Win um and uh that’s what I’m looking forward to to contributing way possible that means I got to stay up and that means I got to stay up stay standing on a bench and you

Know be you know be as loud as possible then I I do that they have to go in there and hold the best player for a couple possessions and get a stop or deflection or something like that that’s cool if I got to knock down one three

That’s cool U but I’m here I’m ready to I’m ready to play I’m ready to give them a all and I’m locked in and all in your journey to the NBA was was terrific I mean we’ve talked about your your time with the Buffalo Bills in the

NFL your all the time you spent in Europe playing for a couple of different European clubs was there any thought that you were going to have to go back to Europe to continue your basketball career um to be honest no that’s something that I I think that came up

One time that came up once uh and somebody asked me that the exact same thing do you think about going back overseas no um I even talked to the guy I even talk to my teammates from overseas bonsy Colston and Brandon Jefferson and DeAndre Lance down all

Those guys I talked to those guys and they’re like no you’re not coming back over here don’t worry about it a team is about to pick you up but you know they they kept encouraging me you know coach bip uh CD chy B said the same thing

Don’t worry about it you about to get picked up by a team you know Mike Smith you’re about to get picked up by a team you know and so I I never really I never really had that thought process in my head even when even when my agents uh

Told me um you know uh Hey the Suns is about to sign you about to sign a twoa with the Suns all right bet let’s get to work we wasn’t going to tell you you know of course teams overseas are going to ask of course teams from China is

Going to ask you know hey what’s what’s the word and offer this and offer that but my agencies know they know how I am they know I’m you know resilient they know that I I’m I want to play I I I’m I’m a NBA player I’m not you know

Overseas or anything like that but they know that this is my it’s my journey it’s my dream so they kept that away from me so I never got a chance to even think about it yeah ish it’s good to hear your voice good to have you back we

Appreciate you coming on for a few uh look forward to bumping in you down at the arena sometime in the near future thanks for the time man we appreciate it congrats on the deal thank y thank y I missed y I appreciate that I see y’all

Soon I talk to y’all sooner all right is thanks my friend good is Wayne all right joining us here in the Arizona Sports Line good to hear his voice good to have him back we we had a we had a good relationship with him for a couple years

Cuz he came on so often a lot of fun thanks for watching Burns and gambo click to see more from the guys and hit the button in the middle to subscribe so you never miss a video from Arizona Sports

Suns forward Ish Wainright joined Burns & Gambo on the Arizona Sports phone line for the first time since re-joining Arizona to talk about his journey back to the Valley and how the forward is ready to contribute to this new-look team.

Video: Felisa Cárdenas and Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports
Photos: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

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