ESPN’s Bobby Marks says Phoenix Suns’ win over Denver Nuggets was almost “season-saving”

ESPN’s Bobby Marks says Phoenix Suns’ win over Denver Nuggets was almost “season-saving”

All right welcome back to the show it is Wolf and Luke on a Friday afternoon we are pleased to be joined right now on the Arizona sports line by ESPN NBA front office Insider Bobby marks Bobby thank you for the time how’s it going I’m good guys how you doing doing well

Bobby doing pretty good um I admittedly encouraged by what we’ve seen from the Suns uh specifically this week so I guess I’ll just go back to the Denver game for a second yeah what do you take out of that I know it’s one of 82 but it

Is against the defending champs it kind of you know I listen I know that Phoenix is going to make the playoffs some somewhere whatever seed they’re going to be it felt like it was almost like a season saving um in that in that perspective just because they had not

Been very good in the fourth quarters as you guys know uh they blew a big lead um the man they couldn’t make a shot and really neither team could at the end of the game Durant gets cold and then all of a sudden H three to tie it and then

Just explodes in overtime um and then you know you pick up the win against Toronto and you have you know let’s face it you got a really tough schedule coming with uh with Boston and Boston twice I think and and um and then Milwaukee um over the next five games

Here so it kind of it saves you just because of how a bunched up teams are um whether you look at Sacramento right behind you Dallas right behind you um you know the goal is to get into that top six somewhere whether it be five or

Six I I don’t think you can get to four um that’s going to be heart you mean you’re going to really have to string some games but I I just thought it was a kind of a season saving and then I think the Toronto game you had you know you’re

You know especially with with book out I think your your role players right whether it be you know Grayson Allen or Royce O’Neal guys that you need to rely on outside of your um outside of you know Kevin and and and Bradley Bobby what is your take when you watch Grayson

Allen right now and what Grayson Allen is doing in the association what is your take on him and what kind of money is he making for himself yeah whatever I watch it it feels like he gets expensive each each each night you know it’s it’s ironic like when you

Look back at the trade uh the eight in nket you know um H you know the big trade holiday all that stuff yeah that’s that a holiday like you know and you know certainly game is involved you know Grayson Allen’s probably the third best player um out of that group um and he’s

Been the most consistent one of the most consistent players just from availability standpoint and what he’s been able to do and yeah I mean it’s he’s going to be expensive you know what’s expensive is it6 million is it $17 million um that’s probably what you’re looking at and then you know there’s the

Luxury tax component and you know my colleague Ramon Ramona Shelor wrote a great article about you know she had talked to you know Matt isia the son’s owner and listen he’s they’re fully aware what’s happening here they’re fully aware of the new CBA and the impact and stuff like that but they’re

All in man and I think you appreciate they’re all in with when they did the the be trade and the cost that’s going to come with it and the goal is you have to retain your own free agents whether it be Grayson Allen or Roy O’Neal even

You know if it’s going to be expensive because the alternative is that all of a sudden now we’re just replacing them with guys on better than minimum contracts right now your safety net is is is a lot looser here um but he is going to be expensive there will be a

Market for him but I do think um you know I think Phoenix is willing to is willing to retain them unless you know get really out of control and what’s out of control in the 20s I don’t I don’t think it’s going to get that high we’re

Talking to Bobby marks yeah saw your your post on X about that too about Royce O’Neal and Grayson Allen being so important Beyond this year you know with O’Neal are you surprised at all how just it’s almost been seamless he stepped in and within his first couple games it

Looked like he had been here for two years no just because I watched a lot of these nets games when he was there um over the last I guess year and a half and I thought I thought he was really good in Brooklyn you know I mean that’s

Kind of they had a lot of those six eight guys um with him and Finny Smith and bridges and cam Johnson um I thought he shot the ball really well in Brooklyn here and he’s a Pros Pro I mean he’s been in a lot of big games certainly

Going back to his days in uh with Utah with with Mitchell and goar there um so and that’s that’s you know as you guys know that’s the hard part mid-season trades are really really hard as far as getting a player that can integrate well on the court also integrate well with uh

With within your Lo so Bobby if you had a choice Point book or Point Beal which one which way would you go on that I would probably I would probably go Point Beal just because I would want to I you know running running a show I

Think takes a little bit out of you um I would want Devin fresh as fresh as he could if he’s playing 40 minutes a night um I as fresh as it gets when we get down to money time um that’s that’s probably what I would probably lean

Towards a little bit more talking to Bobby marks uh Bobby Yousef nurkic has been kind of maybe not under the radar but but he’s been very helpful to the Suns this year and we saw the other night what he might be able to do against Denver how how how pivotal do

You think he is in in a seven game series for this team oh huge I mean you watched you watched Denver last night against Boston and basically any night and joic can do whatever he wants I thought I thought Phoenix figured out a little bit something with if they do

Have to play Denver down the road and to to beat them you basically need um yish to start spraying the ball around I mean seven turnovers which is I think a season high for him I felt like he was a little bit uncomfortable with with nurk

You know he’s not going to be stopped but if you can get him to turn the ball over a little bit here and force some shots um you you’ve got a chance in that series and yeah I mean it’s it’s not going to be you know Durant guarding him

For you know for 40 minutes like we saw you know porzingis last night towards the end of the game here I think you do need a big body to kind of let you know lean on him make him HED here and I thought he did a really good job the

Other night for me Bobby you know just watching Yousef nage watching him all season long it seems like with each passing game now he’s getting more and more physical do you see a different nerk at all do you see him developing into that role for the Phoenix Suns yeah

I mean he everyone yeah listen you’ve got your three main guys and now everyone needs is is a role you know finds a role right whether it be um you know if it’s if you’re using a hockey analogy a guy that can you know you know

Put a guy into the boards here and you know he has 14 rebounds last night against um a Toronto I said you know they said he played really well I thought against against against Denver and you know you know the playoffs are as a are just a different animal a lot

Of it’s going to be based on matchups you might not see him on the court if you’re playing a different team but I think How the West is whether it be Minnesota with goar with Lakers with Davis with um you know certainly with you know Oklahoma City would be

Interesting with with HR as far as stretching the floor a little bit Clippers too um that he’s going to be he’s going to be as important as you know some of these other players on the roster Bobby there there’s games where this Suns team looks like they have major problems then there’s there’s

Times where they look like they could beat anybody we’re 63 games in I don’t think I even know what their ceiling is yet do you I you know it’s funny there there are games when I’m watching this team play Beautiful basketball and I’m saying the apron who cares about the apron who

Cares about having three guys making 150 they’ll just figure it out and then the hard part and you guys the hard part is 82 games man 82 games this grind and it’s like if you’re if you’re nobody not everyone can be I guess Boston and win

40 go 49 and 14 and things looking pretty but still they’ve got some some warts I think here I think no do I know who they are some nights I do some nights I don’t um but the end goal is to get into the top six here in the Western

Conference and uh and get in there in one piece right and then figure out who it’s going to be whether it be Oklahoma City or Minnesota or the Clips in the first round and and and go from there Bobby the teams that you see in the in

The top six in the Western Conference who do you think is the biggest X Factor is it the Phoenix Suns I yeah I Zach L and I did a um I did a pod earlier this morning and he asked there was a question yeah do I I

Just think they’re the wild card because they have three guys that can close right you know you need closers in in the playoffs and you know certainly the Clippers do and Denver does and you know Oklahoma City does and Minnesota does but I think when you’re Phoenix you’ve

Got you you’ve got three of them um on your roster here you know when they’re on the on the on the court now you’re going to have to go out and steal the likelihood if you start on the road you’re going to have to steal game you

Know as far as to to win a series here and I think these you know Durant and and um and Booker have shown they can um so that’s the reason why you went out and got them here is because it wasn’t because you were going to be 60 and 22

And have in cruise to the number one seed it was going to when things got tough you had these two guys to go out and and win games on the road in the playoffs yep Bobby we appreciate the time always thank you man thanks guys appreciate it have a good Friday you

Too thanks for watching wolf and Luke tap to see more and click the button in the middle to subscribe to Arizona Sports

ESPN NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks joined Wolf & Luke to recap the Suns big win over the world champion Nuggets, and the importance of keeping guard Grayson Allen and forward Royce O’Neale beyond this season.

Video: Felisa Cárdenas and Ed Cole/Arizona Sports

Photo Credit: Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images, Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images

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