Beal To Hornets & Durant Trade Packages With Erik Ruby From @PHNX_Sports

Beal To Hornets & Durant Trade Packages With Erik Ruby From @PHNX_Sports

welcome back to Suns Valley Podcast everybody we’ve got a special guest Eric Ruby from PHNX Sports in the house great to have you man thank you for joining us dude super pumped really excited i’ve been talking about it for a little bit and uh I’m glad we could finally get it together we want to be respectful of your time man so let’s just get straight into it i think the first question I want to ask you everybody’s talking about Kevin Durant and we will definitely talk about Kevin Durant but I think more people are interested in first things being first Bradley Beal getting out of our faces so with the news coming out the last couple of days that the Charlotte Hornets are interested in him for whatever reason and I can believe it i can I can lie to myself and gaslight myself into some reasons why they would want that do you see that Bradley be accepting a trade out of the valley at all in the foreseeable future you know I want to say yes i really do i I want to gaslight myself i I think the reality is probably not uh I I would say nothing is impossible but you know if you look at how things have been phrased from him like you know you look at Gambo over the last couple of months it was 100% he’s off the team next year that that was what he was saying right when the season ended and now it’s 100% they want him off the team next year but they’re also asking coaches how they would use them how they would use him in interviews i I don’t know if the Charlotte stuff is legit i I looked into that and I couldn’t find any any confirmation on on that side of things now if any team’s going to talk themselves into Bradley Beal in 2025 it is the Charlotte Hornets so there’s that but I I would say the reality is I I’m preparing myself to see Bradley Beal in a Suns uniform next season whether I like it or not and the answer is I wouldn’t like it i don’t like that you said that okay i’m enjoying it i I I take what Gambo says pretty seriously he seemed pretty serious he said “Come hell or high water.” That led me to believe that we had some sort of power in the situation like say he denies a trade everywhere we can still say “Okay well then we’re cut.” But we can’t even do that he has to agree apparently to the buyout which is just the most insane contract I’ve ever heard yeah it’s not it’s not fun and you’d need him to take less than what his value is to really unlock you and and to wave and stretch and not have it like handcuff you and you’re turning a two-year problem into a five-year problem i mean think about it’s Think about it’s 2029 and you can’t add a free agent on the market because you’re paying Bradley Bill $20 million to play with his kids like it it’s depressing it’s depressing if it’s seeming like the Bradley Bill trade’s not going to happen which with the way you phrase it like the Suns want him gone but he has all the power in the situation then that would lead me to believe he’s still going to be a son in this upcoming season how do you think that whole situation is going to play out do you think that uh A figures out a way to use him properly do you think it’s still going to be drama from Bradley Beal do you still think he’s going to be smiling cuz he has holds all the cards you know what I mean do you think it’s going to happen or you think they’ll figure out a way to make it work if he ends up staying make it work i I guess it just really loosely depends on how you define make it work because do do I think it’ll be better i do i you know we mentioned this on on today’s PH andX Suns because we dove into the the Bradley Beiel stuff on on Monday as well especially the Hornet side of things and and I remember saying this during the season and at the end of the season this is not all Bradley Beal’s fault right now a lot of it is laughing when Steph Curry hits a three over you and jumping up and down like woohoo you know like that’s your fault right to go out and to say you have all the cards and then be shocked when the fan base hates you like that’s your fault right but if if your coach’s coaching plan is to go to a player and tell him to be another player that guy’s not figuring out an actual system and game plan for you right i genuinely believe Mike Boonhoer might be the worst coach I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes from his time here in Phoenix like it it bad from everything you saw on the court to everything that you would hear behind the scenes as far as how he operated how he communicated with people his lack of preparation lack of game planning all of that goes into why Bradley Beal was not in a good spot this past year now the positional overlap is still going to be a problem you’re still going to have Devin Booker i think Bradley Beal could work in maybe a super six-man role that isn’t bouncing back and forth uh and Jordan has been praised for being a little bit more cutting edge on the offensive side of things so can it get better i would say marginally you know I floated out the idea of nobody wants to trade for Bradley Beal a Bradley Beal has a no trade clause b if you do play him this season and let’s say he averages 20 points per game on an eh team but builds his value up because he’s actually being used properly come trade deadline time could you find a team that wants him could you find a team that Bradley Beal wants to go to that’s willing to offer a second round pick and and some other salary to make it match you know that might be something you have to look into but overall I I think the end of the day having Booker and Beal on the same team will never work the way that you thought it could uh two years ago even with Kevin Durant’s shots missing and having a vacuum for Bradley Beal to f to fill you know like I don’t I don’t want to blame everything on Bud although I do think he was a terrible terrible coach much worse than we thought blame everything on Bud i really I think I I think I do i’m with I’m with Eric here i think him coming to Bradley Bill and saying “Hey you need to be like Drew Holiday.” That was just not even the right way to approach it to begin with i think they have threw Bradley Bill off and you know me I’ve been the Bradley Bill apologist all season on on SVP and everybody has you know just lit me a flame for it but I do really I sincerely do think like Bradley Bill is still a good serviceable player i still think if used correctly you can get him for 15 20 a game and and he be a good contributor to the team now you know the like like Eric said the overlap is going to be a problem because you can’t play him at the point he’s going to be overlapping with Book you know positional wise but I still think that there’s no way he just fell off a cliff that’s just my belief i do think that this was the majority of his issues this year were was on Coach Bud i that’s just how I I see it anyway do they call you St louis Sun though is that Is that Homerism there no no no they can’t but that but I do like Bradleyville because he’s he is local but also I did heel turn on him a little bit toward the end of the season especially after the Steph Curry 3 smile on his face that was like the straw for me but at the end of the day I still think he’s going to be he will be a decent serviceable player now do I think he’s going to be all-star caliber 25 28 points a game no do I think that he can give you good minutes and good buckets uh for you know especially if Kevin Durant is traded and as Gabe said he we will be missing those shots yes I do think so and so that’s my hope for Bradley Bill especially if we don’t trade him that he just ends up being a good 32 minutes 15 points a game some assists kind of fill a void there especially as you’re starting to tool around Booker i definitely think that there’s value for Beal around the league i I don’t think the reason why nobody wants to trade for him is because they think he’s a negative on the court and I I was also you know kind of labeled a Bradley Beal apologist throughout the season especially I think back to like Christmas and early January where I’m like you know he’s at least accepted his his role well coming off of the bench like he he had some good games his defense was very up and down but it wasn’t really off par with what you were seeing out of Devin Booker so you can’t really crucify him for that right it it’s the $55 million that goes along with it right like you can see a serviceable player there but with thank you CJ McCollum the modern CBA and the second apron rules and everything any team that looks to add Bradley Beiel onto their team is going to have to take a significant step back somewhere else and he’s just not that caliber of player anymore even if he can bring some value i had a straight up man crush on Bradley Beal for a long time it was bad so I I feel you on being an apologist and having fans hate your guts because you don’t want to get off of Bradley Beiel but pause but I disagree with you guys on the Drew Holiday part of it i think Bud was in the right because I guess it depends on we would need to be a fly on the wall and hear how the conversation went down but if the conversation went like this hey Brad you saw what we did in Milwaukee my system requires this to be successful i need you to study up on what I had Drew Holiday doing in my offense and I need you to attempt to do the things that he was doing and then Bradley Beiel says “Do you know who I am?” And then it breaks down materially from there so I don’t want to I don’t want to get too far into that but I just for the record so let’s let’s move it along here cuz I think we could talk about Bradley Bill for 45 straight minutes because he’s that big of an issue so now that the coaching search is over and the dust has settled can you take me through your view of the process of hiring Jordan Au and just how it played out and how you feel about it now that you’ve um had some time yeah I feel relatively okay about it um the the Michigan State stuff which is what everybody gravitates to at first I think it’s completely valid to to have concerns and to have worries about that but I I don’t think that’s Jordan’s fault that’s Brian Gregory and Matt Ishbia’s fault right i I think for who Jordan is he absolutely absolutely deserves to be an NBA head coach he’s been in contention for head coaching jobs before he’s cut his teeth beyond Michigan State being a video coordinator with the Hawks being an assistant coach for the Nets under three different head coaches then going to LA and then going to Cleveland with with Kenny Atinson and coaching one hell of a Cleveland squad along with Johnny Bryant as well i I think he’s perfectly qualified to be the next head coach of the Phoenix Suns i’m feeling relatively comfortable with him you know in the unknown right i can’t sit here and tell you he’ll be a good head coach i can’t sit here and tell you he’ll be a bad head coach reality is you don’t have any idea how good of a coach Jordan’s going to be the process was interesting i didn’t love how there was like a finalist like a final three and then a final four and then a final five and then a final six and they kept getting added and added that made it feel weird with okay who’s leaking what what are the purposes of this like it just felt disjointed and disorganized but I am glad they took their time right i’m glad that they thought this out but I think it’s all going to be discounted through you know the public’s eyes because the first thing on Jordan’s resume is that he was a video coordinator with Michigan State while he was getting his masters there but I’m much more upset about the general manager side of things and the Brian Gregory side of things than I am Jordan Knot i’m excited to see what he can do and and I think he’s earned it honestly I think what he said is fair about at least as far as him cutting his teeth the path that he took to get here all of those are valid reasons again just with the fan base it’s just that Michigan State connection and as you mentioned with Brian Gregory and just fans are not comfortable with how this has played out you know ever since Ishbia took over you know each coach getting fired and then you know every bit by bit there’s a Michigan guy in the office or a guy from Detroit in the office or or that works there so on and so forth and so we joke about this becoming the Phoenix Spartans or or the Michigan State Suns or whatever you know what I mean but like that’s slowly becoming a reality like as as we look at it from the outside looking in but again I can’t argue with what he said about his path in the in the credentials there he has been in the NBA for a while he has gone to other teams he has sat under other good coaches so he is qualified again it’s just that Michigan State connection that fans are not buying into myself included i’m with him though i’m I’m taking I’m taking the wait and see approach because again we have no idea like what what this is going to look like we have no idea his coaching style we’ve heard things but it’s it’s it’s it’s truly a wait and see situation but I’m with him it’s really the Brian Gregory aspect and in the scouting department and that whole thing that I’m more so worried about than Jordan Kn brian Gregory wouldn’t get a job let alone an interview with any other franchise for his position jordan Kn’s the the complete opposite it’s not his fault but also he wasn’t my number one pick for head coach either so you know there there is some middle ground there i would have preferred Sam Cassell Chris Quinn Johnny Bryant i’d say was probably around five or six as far as my choices but I think still a worthy worthy candidate i’m hopeful that we will end up being pleasantly surprised and we have such a low bar for him how can he do a worse job than what we’ve seen i mean I think that it’s nice it’s a nice change of pace to not go into this like with a marching band and a pep squad like we got our guy mission accomplished George Bush style like we don’t know and I think that’s okay because we’ve thought we’ve known before and been completely completely wrong yeah i was going to say for the first time in two seasons we kind of have to just wait and see like with Vogle we were kind of excited like oh Vogle he’s an experienced coach he’ll get it done we saw how that worked out and then we we were excited about Bud hey another experienced coach championship coach coach the Bucks he’ll come here he’ll do well we like the offensive system and we were kind of fooled for the first what 12 games of the season we thought we were going to be world beaters and then Yeah i mean this time around I I’m def we definitely don’t have that fanfare of like waving the banner with high expectations we can definitely watch and see how this works out again just when you look back you know just four years ago that’s still depressing that you were just in NBA Finals with Monty Williams and now look where you are but such is life so deal with it it could be worse than Michigan State we could have a coach from no offense Ball State and a GM from Ball State and an owner from Ball State which is not as good as Michigan State michigan State’s kind of the cream of the crop as far as college basketball goes that’s fair enough but but here’s my issue is and again my my worry is is what you said you know one of our videos is what if somebody else hires a Johnny Bryant or somebody else and then that coach is just killing it and then we’re stuck with Jordan not and he’s not doing so well you know what I mean like that’s the other side of the thing where it’s like did we really My thing is did we actually do a do the the the interview process justice or was just Johnny or Jordan not going to be um the the choice for them and they just sort of went through the process and had all these interviews and they’re like “Well here’s our guy right here sorry.” That’s that’s my worry is what they actually did let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this let’s talk about the friendliest most cordial man on Twitter Kevin Durant so recently we’ve had the Spurs just take over as the number one destination today you know reports coming out and Gambo’s confirming he thinks it’s the Spurs i think it’s the Spurs as well it just feels that way i need to be honest with you man i I was watching you guys live earlier and this is no shade to anyone that feels this way but with a firsttime GM I do not see the Suns getting what people seem to think they’re going to get for Kevin Durant i understand that Kevin Durant is still playing god mode basketball at 35 36 years old i get that but it seems like fans of other teams have no concept of how he’s playing they’re equating the Suns record and failure to well Kevin Durant must not be that guy when in fact he is that guy on the court i guess what I’m asking is what’s the top package you see the Suns actually getting in return from the Spurs or any team if you feel like it’s going to be a different team uh I you know I feel the same way with the with the Spurs as as everybody else does where there’s smoke there’s sometimes fire now I still think Houston could be on the table i think Minnesota could still be on the table i think the Knicks are going to try to take a big swing as well uh as far as Kevin Durant trade packages go with the new GM you can look at it a couple different ways you know I’m I’m not super confident in him but also if there’s a pretty easy first task it’s hey this guy’s Kevin Durant give me everything you have right like it’s a pretty easy starting point to be like do I need to make a case for who Kevin Durant is he will tell you that you know who he is right so there is a chance that I feel like you get this top-of-the-line package that you know I don’t personally believe is the most likely thing for you to get but I I think that there’s a chance people overpay teams get desperate now is it the Spurs probably not but I think there’s a very slight reality like.1% where you could walk away with the number two pick realistically you’re looking at Devin Vel Kell Johnson Harrison Barnes maybe and the 14th pick and maybe some future draft compensation to me uh I don’t like Vel’s fit next to Deon Booker i think there’s too much overlap there personally I like Vel as a player in a vacuum but I don’t love the main piece coming back for KD being a shooting guard so I would like to have that package maybe be rerouted to a third team uh for more consolidated maybe a better player maybe a higher pick whatever it might be realistically that’s what you’re looking like but because it’s Kevin Durant I do think that some top-of-the-line returns are still on the table especially because Giannis seems like he’s going to be off of it that’s my thing with the Spurs like I I just looking at the salaries like the literally the only way it’s going to match is if those three players that you mentioned are involved and then you know it’s just to me that just seems like such a huge talent overhaul for one player and Kevin Durant now I mean I guess they’re going all in but that’s just my thing is like man Barnes Johnson Vel Barnes I can see he’s a veteran player but the other two guys are younger and it seems to be more building blocks for them to go with Wimi for me it’s just tough seeing them actually doing that but I mean again you mentioned the third team but for me I don’t I know like if they’re smokers if when you said if they’re smokers fire I just don’t see the Spurs being that team that’s just a lot of talent for them to to you know haul away for Kevin Durant yeah but I mean but it’s it it’s Kevin Durant too and and I I mentioned this on the show that Gabe was talking about where you know they they got a little taste of what mortality looks like with with Wem obviously a freak freak injury there and and you hope everything is okay okay you want to see a guy who has the potential to be a number one player in this league play right that being said I I think you see just how fickle these championship windows are just how fickle some big man’s careers are and you think to yourself like I love Facel as a player right i I don’t love his fit in Phoenix i like him as a piece kell Johnson I feel like his he he was ascending and he’s flattened out a little bit not the same peak that you were maybe expecting out of him and Harrison Barnes is is Harrison Barnes right to me if I’m San Antonio and I’m saying this not as somebody who wants a great return for KD if I’m San Antonio I’m I’m pulling the trigger on that deal you keep Stefan Castle reigning rookie of the year you keep the number two pick that you could either trade for other building blocks or you could draft another guard in Dylan Harper or Ace Bailey if you want him to learn from KD right you’re keeping WBY and you’re keeping KD right who’s the perfect fit at the four alongside Webby i I think that instantly vaults them into top four status in the West uh with De’Aran Fox there as well i I I think that’s a home run for the Spurs to I think that’s a buy low package for Kevin Durant to be completely honest like it takes money to make money and and I think that’s a that’s that’s good money for for the Spurs to do that i I don’t think that they’re trading any any top tier prospect or pick in the league for who is still a top 15 top 10 player when he’s on and Kevin Durant it to me it feels like a home run for the Spurs but I I get what you’re saying i wasn’t looking at like the the draft pick aspect and then other teams i was just looking at just salary matches like man that’s a lot of to get rid of for one player but when you put that way million absolutely makes sense yeah if I’m Brian Gregory I’m keeping Harrison Barnes out of this especially if I’m more than likely not getting the second pick i say what you will and this could be wrong now that Giannis has bowed out of free agency i don’t think we get the 14th pick this is a team that does not rush into anything they are more than happy to tank season after season after season so that they can try to recreate that dynasty that they had before that’s their goal they don’t even necessarily care about winning because they’re sitting on a treasure trove of championships they’re not like us okay we have been rushing and rushing and rushing because we’re so desperate they’re like “I’m good i got all the time in the world i don’t have to rush because we are five time six time championships whatever it is at this point 10 time championships.” I can see them not giving up any picks and so I’m going after Jeremy Sohan i want Sohan be here’s why because he and Kellen fit the alignment timeline sohan’s not that great on offense but he is a glue guy he’s very good on defense and rebounding and that’s the type of player and then I want to flip Vel i I agree with you vel on top of Booker in the lineup that’s not going to work i I’m done trying to force Booker into being a point guard point Book I think isn’t where he’s best he’s good he’s not Booker when he’s when he’s at point so I think you try to flip Vela am I crazy for thinking that they don’t even have to come off of a pick if they give us Sohan Johnson and Vel for a 36-y old Durant i’m not I’m not touching any deal that doesn’t involve a pick i I just I can’t There’s no home run aspect to that deal if I’m Phoenix i I think you can get a better deal from another team uh I I get what you’re saying from San Antonio’s perspective maybe they aren’t as desperate right maybe the WBY stuff doesn’t get them as much because they also have the two pick in this year’s draft and they had the four pick in last year’s draft and they have other picks that they’ve gotten in trades like when they traded Derek Wright White and when they traded Dejonte Murray right i just if I’m Phoenix and the best that you’re giving me are like like who the top tier player even if you repackage Vel right it’s it’s Vel on that I think Vel is better than Sohan top 70 player in the league top 50 player in the league maybe on a good day for a borderline top 10 guy who’s going to be in the Hall of Fame walking in backwards on one foot like I just I can’t I can’t do that if if I’m the Suns I I just think that you can you can find some sort of value elsewhere maybe Katie’s value is lower than I think it is but I don’t think it’s no draft picks especially no 14th pick low i think I need to specify i do believe that as we get closer Katie’s camp will put it out there that he wants San Antonio number one and I do think he’s going to cut into our negotiating value a little bit i think that’s possible for sure i you know that’s like worst case scenario for the Suns and it’s kind of what happened with when he went to Phoenix right he’s like I want to go to Phoenix if I’m if I’m Phoenix at that point and you’re just giving me Vel Kell Sohan for KD I I’m saying “All right I’m not going to trade him i’m just going to keep him for a year.” I like at at that point I just I don’t know if I could do that and maybe that’s the wrong choice maybe that’s me being stubborn um I just I don’t know if I could do that or you send him to one of the other teams that’s given you a better offer that does involve picks i mean Ka Katie is going to hoop right like that’s and that’s what the best thing about Katie is is he is going to hoop no matter what you send him to Minnesota send him to Charlotte send him to Timbuktu send him to Alaska it doesn’t matter he’s going to show up he’s going to play basketball at 100% he’s not going to sit out he’s not going to waste a year of his career especially when he missed an entire season because of injury and where that puts him as far as all-time leader in points and rebounds and whatever it could be right all-star games he ain’t sitting right he’s not sitting so he basically said “I want to go to Phoenix.” In Brooklyn didn’t trade him to Phoenix unless they came off 10 total picks half of those being first round picks male Cam and Jay Crowder right so you can say you want to go one place all you want at the end of the day we still have you and you don’t have a no trade clause uh and I don’t like looking at human beings as assets but at the end of the day we control your future and if we aren’t going to get what we want you can come back and you can play basketball for us and we know you’re going to give it your all because you’re Kevin Durant great point i don’t see them coming off Sohan just because of the control there i think it’s going to be a package of Vel Barnes and Johnson just because of salaries and and contract structure only i think Sohan for you I know you’re asking for it but I don’t see them coming off of him just because of the control aspect so there’s always that but I I’m with Eric here i think if you’re the Suns you have to go hardball on this one and picks is the way for me i don’t think players is the way to go i think I want some sort of aspect assets for the future that’s the only way I’m moving KD if you were Brian Gregory and you could push the trade button or not push the trade button would you personally go the route of trading Kevin Durant this off season and getting the best you can or would you just work on getting rid of Beal and try to run it back around a modified team with a coach that the players don’t hate and a system that doesn’t suck you know if I’m Brian Gregory one I’m blessed to be in this position that I did not deserve too uh I you know it’s it’s I hate when people just go well it depends but like honestly it depends right if if what you’re telling me is San Antonio is the best offer and there’s no picks there what I’m doing is I’m going to Kevin Ray and I’m saying this sign an extension with us we will not we will not plan on keeping you for the entire extension i believe that if you sign one now you can be free to be traded in January or by the trade deadline sign an extension so that a team would be willing to part with more for you so that we’re willing to part with you come here play basketball man hoop with Devin Booker we have a new head coach we have a new identity we have a new everything like it’s not going to be the same and we’ll go from there uh I have been team trading for Kevin Durant was not the problem it was what you did after that it was how you built a round book in KD we saw in the playoffs against the Nuggets when they took two games off the eventual champs more games than any other team in that entire playoffs when it was just Devin Booker and Kevin Durant when Book was putting up MJ numbers on both sides of the ball and KD wasn’t far off we know that a nucleus of those two works it’s everything else around them that doesn’t and if you can find a way to get rid of Beal or to just utilize him in a smaller better way you nail the draft this year like you nailed the draft last year you get good prospects and Kevin Durant enjoys playing basketball for your head coach which it was very clear he didn’t last year you can salvage something will you be a playoff team i don’t know but if you can get KD to sign oneplus 1 you could trade him at the trade deadline and then you can move on from there with some more stuff coming back uh that being said if somebody walks up to me right now and offers a great package if the number two pick is on the table if the 10 pick Jabari Smith Tari E is on the table you know at that point I think I’m doing it because you just kind of got to get ready for the future but I’m by no means anti-eping KD i just I wonder what the path forward is if they don’t trade him what’s that smug look for Sundo oh you know how I feel about the Houston package jabari Smith you know me i’m a Jabari Smith stand so yes I absolutely would love that package yeah so you know that’s just my route i’m with him that’s all I’m going to say why don’t you guys get your own show how about you guys just join us together man reason and that’s why we are bums oh stop last last uh question that I’ve got is and this is a little bit more light-hearted but what do you see for Ryan Dunn in his sophomore year any expectations kawaii Kawawaii 2.0 i know no I’m kidding um okay man i Let’s go listen I am so so excited to talk about Ryan Dunn in fact you know we spent so much time this off season talking about Katie and Beal and now Book with the extension and you know we haven’t had time to like appreciate what some of these young guys are bringing ryan Dunn is a certified starter next season i don’t care who’s on the team he’s your starting small forward point blank period uh you work around that you I’m excited to see him get consistent run for the entire season that’s a non-negotiable for me i feel like it’s a non-negotiable with Jordan Knot and defensively I I expect him to compete for an alldefense team next year making it might be a long shot i expect him to compete um and I expect him to be slightly more consistent from deep other than that if we can see some continual development of his off the- roll game he’s developed a floater there for a little bit before he was benched unceremoniously you know I expect him to be probably NBA nerds favorite starting player that’s not like widely acknowledged because his onoff impact will be great the metrics will love him the eye test will love him um I I just I see him being one of the more fun players to watch in the NBA next year and and maybe that’s just the bias but I got very high expectations for that guy the defensive instincts he’s shown that his shots not too far off and the the rim pressure he puts on are all just beautiful fits next to book put him next to a good offensive-minded coach and assistant coach work and develop his shot he’s a bonafide starter next year point blank period i absolutely love the fact that you brought up the point that he was unceremoniously benched him and OSO and all the young guys for that fact and so let me let me extend it to this what’s your expectations for a player like Oso um we on this channel love we love the Jaylen Bridges signing we thought that that was a steal for the undrafted free agency and we also like uh Colin Gillespie we thought he brought a lot and so we think I think at least in my opinion I think developing those four players in particular Dun Oso Bridges and Colin Gillespie are are I’m not going to say essential but but I think should be a focal point for this upcoming season how do you feel about that young core right there you know Jaylen Bridges watching some of his stuff in the GLeague I I think it’s a little bit less D on the 3 and D than we expected i think that’s part of the reason why he he didn’t get called up very excited for him just like as an archetype i don’t know if he gets run this year i’d like to see him get some uh especially if this team is not going to be competing uh I love Gillespie think they should have signed him to a contract before the end of the season um really hope they don’t lose him solid solid bench piece bench guard that that tries hard you know Oso has such clear limitations from a shooting perspective from a size perspective but god damn it he’s so smart he’s so smart he’s so athletic you know I think a backup four five tweener who you you throw him in there against small ball lineups that kind of gives you that spark of energy you know he should be in your rotation i don’t think anywhere near what you expect out of Ryan Dunn uh but I I I think OSO will be a fun guy off the bench next year he should get consistent minutes give me like 10 or so minutes a game run him at the four run him at a backup five depending on the lineup um and just just let him do this pace and space thing that uh that really can unlock when you have a four or five that runs to the rim that passes the ball and that brings the energy um I I’d say for Oso if he can develop a little bit more of a postgame maybe a short floater game that’s more consistent he can work his way up from about 10 minutes per game but uh definitely not as high as as done with those guys but they all bring energy and they’re all fun i think they have a place on next year’s team whether they’re competing or not i do have one more question and this is this is not to do with the young guys but this is a this is about a player that we did acquire at the trade deadline Nick Richards how did you feel about his performance after we acquired him how do you feel about his fit moving forward you know he’s got one year left i had high hopes for Nick Richards you know when we got him i thought he played well i also think that you know with Bud he kind of had his you know you know he just he just wasn’t fit but how do you feel about Nick Richards you know moving forward because that’s one of my favorites anyway yeah you know I think he’s a he he’s a great backup center he he’s a relatively serviceable starting center i I think my expectations for him much like you there high coming in i think part of that is just he’s so sick of watching Yousef Nerkage play basketball that it it just got so frustrating that the idea of an athletic center that can dunk was like “Okay this is our savior right?” Didn’t end up being the savior obviously Bud really screwed with him man i I remember tweeting out like Nick Richards is on the bench with his hood up he has a double double in you know 15 minutes and hasn’t touched the floor since right it it it’s just so ridiculous how he was treated you know I I liked he developed a little bit of a mid-range game uh near the end of the season i thought that was a nice little pleasant surprise um I I don’t think you contend with Nick Richards as your starting center but he’s a very controllable deal i believe he’s on $5 million a year um he’s a serviceable starter for a year you’re not competing and he he’s a great backup clear limitations for the guy but for his contract and and and what he brings um I I love it funny funny story you know I don’t dream about sports that often but for some reason like a week and a half ago I dreamt about Nick Richards taking like the Kevin Garnett midi over and over again like foot on the line three basically and just draining them so I don’t know if that’s like premonition but maybe maybe uh Nick Richards turns into the sun version of Kevin Garnett i I hope it is i I don’t know what it is i just like I really like Nick Richards um I hope he plays him at least he plays himself into some sort of extension and he’s on the Suns for you know at least the next the next few years anyway not like a huge one but 100% agree eric Ruby thank you for hanging out with us where can people find you and follow you uh call Dion Sanders not that hard to find head over to PHNX Sports on YouTube we are live with a Sun Show at 3:00 Arizona time every single weekday plus breaking news pods we went live early in the morning for when Jordan Kn got hired we also are going to be going live after Jordan Kn’s press conference tomorrow you can just find PH and X sports i’m there i do Suns coverage ASU coverage and as a channel we cover all the local valley sports from college to pro uh you can follow me on socials at E R I K R U B Y uh mostly just active on Twitter not very active on Instagram you can follow of course PHX suns though at phnx_sons keeping you up to date with everything but just happy and and proud to be a part of the Suns community uh psychos and sickos as I call ourselves and you know I think that it’s easier to get through times like these with your team when you’ve got community so I love what you guys are doing over at at SVP as as you like that i like that take that from Scott Vampelt call it SVP screw you Sports Center um we’re bald too take that um so yeah just just love that love the Suns community love what you guys are doing and being a part of it so if you are also a fan of growing the Suns community and crazy wild trades and deep basketball analysis and breakdowns you can find all of that with uh with PH andX Suns thank you for hanging out man we’ll see you guys for the next live stream until then go Suns

The Phoenix Suns reportedly could already have a deal in place for Kevin Durant to be traded to the San Antonio Spurs.
Meanwhile a trade partner for Bradley Beal has emerged in the Charlotte Hornets.

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