Could Chris Paul Return To The Suns After All? Plus, Why Dillon Brooks Will Be A Culture Changer!

Could Chris Paul Return To The Suns After All? Plus, Why Dillon Brooks Will Be A Culture Changer!

Today on Locked on Phoenix Suns, are the Suns out of the Chris Paul sweepstakes or is it more or less no to Chris Paul and less Chris Paul saying no to the Suns? What is the best offseason acquisition for the Suns this season? And as well as is the Nick Richards market shrinking or growing? Let’s talk about it all next. You are Locked On Suns, your daily Phoenix Suns podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Welcome back into Locked On Phoenix Suns. My name is Benjamin Garcia, a credentialed media member covering your Phoenix Suns. Thanks for making the locked on Phoenix, making Locked on Phoenix Suns your first listen on this beautiful Thursday. Hey, don’t forget locked on Phoenix Suns is free and available on all platforms including YouTube. So click that follow and subscribe button to do what thousands of other Suns fans have done every day or I guess what Suns fans have done. Become an everydayer and get locked on the Phoenix Suns every single day. Joining me today, my guy, we made a lot we have a lot of things in common. Kevin Ramp both dislikes us. Um I guess I guess he’s my favorite Dodger fan. Is that something that I can say? My god, my guy John Voida of the Suns Jam Session podcast. I wanted to throw some shade at you first off like we got we have 30 minutes to do on the Phoenix Suns, but like I wanted to just like I didn’t wear this hat today. It’s the new Dimeback hat that I’m going wear for Fourth of July. Got it at the game last night. We won. Um but the comment section says I’ve been wearing too many hats recently. So I’ve been trying to tone that down for them. But I just wanted to throw some shade at you for being a Dodgers fan because John being a perfect description of what someone who thinks they have it all together looks like, but then you find out they’re a Dodger fan, they just don’t. What’s up, man? Not much. I mean, I I could show you a couple couple banners I have right right behind me here in my office, but uh you know what? I I don’t take any shade from Diamondbacks fans because there’s at the end of the day, you know, we are products of our environment. And I I was born here in Phoenix. I grew up in LA. 88 World Series was, you know, I started going to Dodgers games in 1988. So, you just you can’t take the emotional connection away from a from a fan, even moving back here in Phoenix back in 1994. So, I I I follow the Dimebacks. I appreciate who they are. I was at games 2, six, and seven of the World Series back in 01 when I was a senior in high or just grad grad high school. So, like I I appreciate it, but I mean there’s nothing you can say to hurt me, man. We have the most beautiful color of blue you’ve ever seen in Panone 294. And the Diamondbacks have the ugliest colors I’ve ever seen. That teal is so gross. Bro,
you’re you’re not going to get me to say anything nice about the Dodgers. It’s okay. I don’t expect you to.
Funny. It’s funny because I I told Brendan today because Brendan is out today. He’s doing some other things and I said, I I go I think I’m going to try out Jon today. And he goes, John is great. He said, just make sure you give him bleak for being a Dodgers fan. So that’s where that came out of for the first couple of minutes. I’m impressed.
He’s a Padres’s fan. He’s a Padres’s fan. These guys not perfect either. Um, anyways, man, there’s a lot of things to get into on today’s show. People don’t want to hear us ramble about baseball, although we could. The Diamondbacks are looking decent right now. However, there are some like kind of insane news. And I I told John to start the show, you know, man, I think I want to go here, here, and here. And legitimately, as he gets on, I said, “Hey, how do you feel about being flexible?” because there’s a there’s like this this real little trickle of Suns news that’s coming in, but kind of a big deal. We’ll start off here. The Chris Paul saga to the Phoenix Suns. We thought it was dead. Gambo comes out, puts the axe to it. Ramona Shelberg says, “No, I actually think who does who uh is pretty tied into the Arizona market?” No, I think Chris Paul’s going to go to the Suns. Gambo comes out and says this really interesting tweet. Um, sticking with what I said, I do believe that Chris wants to come here, even if it means an extremely limited role. I just don’t see it happening. I will say highly unlikely, responding to Roman Ramona Shelberg, who said that Chris Paul is the most likely spot for uh uh Chris Paul here with the Phoenix Suns. So, you know, man, I’ll ask you. Are you surprised that it’s, you know, we can get into the fit and get your opinion on it, but are you surprised it’s a little bit of the Phoenix Suns not saying, “No, no, no, it’s not us, it’s you.” Because I kind of am.
Well, I’ll start by saying, yeah, we had a different uh cadence that we were going to operate relative to the topics, you know, but champions adjust and, you know, just like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the best team in baseball right now. Uh, but I I think you got to look at the history of of this relationship with Chris Paul and it seems like, you know, if you recall, Chris Paul was traded to the Washington Wizards for Bradley Bill two summers ago and he didn’t say the nicest things out the door, right? You know, kind of talking about how Matt Ishb and Isaiah Thomas were part of the conversation that he heard about it through a third party relative or rather than hearing about it from the organization itself. But it sounds like based on Ramona Shelburn’s reporting that he’s willing to bury that hatchet. He wants to come back. He wants to play with Devin Booker. And the question ultimately becomes, does Matt Ishbia want to deal with Chris Paul? Does does Isaiah Thomas, dare I say, want to deal with Chris Paul? I think it’s a great fit. I think that if you bring him in here, especially in an extremely limited role and you put him in a slot that we are definitely uh in need of, we need point guards and to have the point guard even at 40 on this roster is something that I could see as beneficial. I know we’ll talk about momentarily, but I think that the Suns by doing this, it’s one of two things. It’s Ishbia can’t just simply get over the fact that him and Chris Paul kind of had a rocky uh end to their relationship and their time in 2023 or the team is truly embracing the fact that they want to put their head down, go full steam ahead into more of a youth movement and bringing somebody like a Chris Paul even though he’s 40 years old and has one of the best minds in basketball that could ultimately affect the locker room and the development of any player. player who’s going to be on the team. They see that as more of a challenge than something that could be productive for the organization. So, I’m kind of shocked when I heard Gam because if Gambo says it and reaps it, I mean, that’s what he does, right? He reaps these things and typically he’s right when it comes to it. So, I know that there’s Suns fans out there, uh, our readers at Bright Side of the Sun, they’re very much aligned with allowing Chris Paul to come back and be a part of our lives again. But, you know, Ben, it looks like it might not happen. Yeah, I will continue to say well I guess I’ll go there and then we can get it get after if it’s a good idea or not. But what I think it’s more maybe it’s the Matt Ishbia, you know, not wanting to bury the hatchet thing. That’s a really good point. I think the Suns like what they saw in Colin Gillespie. Like that’s the side I’m going to take of it. And also is Chris Paul going to be okay with playing like Gambo mentioned an extremely limited role which it sounds like he is. It’s close to it’s close to home. It seems like he likes that idea. He has a good relationship with Book, but I think the Suns see what Colin Gillespie did last year in a limited role. Like G Brendan and I joke about it a lot that we think Bud was just trying to get fired at some points in the season with how mal with how with just how much malpractice that he was treating this roster with. Colin Gillespie should have got more runway. And I also think of it as Colin Gillespie is like the perfect guy to put 12 to 15 minutes out there because if he doesn’t like it, what do I care? He’s Colin Gillespie. Go sit your ass down on the bench is kind of my idea of it. But I do think he could add something good to this team in terms of would it be a fit here? I totally agree. Chris Paul fits everywhere. Like I have no issues with bringing Chris Paul back to Phoenix. I just wonder if it’s the best use of the Suns roster. He’s 40 years old. I want to see this team play with a lot of pace, move the ball up and down the court. I don’t want to throw older guys out there who can’t run with the younger guys. And how many times last year were you and I sitting next to each other at games being like, “Okay, so they’re down by 10. How much you want to bet by the third quarter they’ll be down by 30?” Because these younger teams, OKC, the Rockets would just run up and down these guys. More athletic, more twitchier, and just able to get to the rim better. And they would fast break points would always be the other team. I just want to see the Suns play with a little bit more pace. I don’t know if Chris Paul can still do that. If he comes here, I’ll welcome it. I totally get the idea of mentoring them. Um, having them here, Malawatch, Malawatch throwing lobs, kicking it out to guys in the corner. He’s still great at that. I will not be upset at all if he comes. However, there’s also just this 2021 son’s vibe that I’m ready to leave in the past where it’s just like, guys, she left you. We actually left her. It’s been a couple years. No more thinking about what could have been because I know what happened. They lost in the second round and the year after that they weren’t one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They were a good they were a good team, but it was time to change things up. We went from, you know, why the Suns potentially don’t want him here and people know my side of it. What’s your side on the Chris Paul thing? Would he be an awesome fit? Do you want him here? What’s kind of your idea there?
He wouldn’t be an awesome fit for all the reasons that you stated. You know, again, based on what Jordan Au said at his introductory press conference, you know, he wants to attack the rim. He wants to pay with play with pace. The key word that he said when he described what the 20 25 26 Phoenix Suns is is going to be is a team that wins possessions and has more possessions because possessions equate to points in the NBA. And he understands how that works mathematically. And Chris Paul, I mean, you look at the last time he was with the Suns, we had the what 22nd overall pace in the NBA. we were just a slower team because he’s a half court player and now he’s you know two years beyond that he’s now at 40. So from a fit standpoint relative to what the Suns apparent are are trying to accomplish I don’t see it but again you look at this as an opportunity to to fortify the point guard position which is so void right now. The only point guard we had as you mentioned is Kong Gillespie and and the team does want to give him more of a run. They resigned him. It’s a guaranteed contract. They want him, I assume, to eventually become their TJ McConnell, but you have to have a starter in front of him. And and Chris Paul’s not that starter. You know, I honestly believe that the way that Jordan and Brian Gregory are molding this team is after the Cavaliers. A lot of comparisons have been made, but you look like Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell. Those are both smaller guards, but they’re combo guards. They’re neither of them are would you say are they are they a great distributor but they’re both people who know how to attack and put pressure on the rim and are threelevel scorers. So the acquisition of Jaylen Green, having Devin Booker, Bradley Bill and that whole situation, having all that around, that’s what you’re kind of looking towards and I feel it’s almost, you know, as we talk about a retread in Chris Paul, we’re almost going to a retread of conversation that we had when we traded Chris Paul, when we acquired Bradley Beal, when we looked at it and there’s the same situation two summers ago like, uh, we don’t really have a point guard. Sabin Lee is the point guard. So, so are we going to do, you know, quote unquote position this basketball? like how many articles am I have to write about positionless basketball this year because it appears that that’s the approach the Suns are going to take. So I why I would like to have Chris Paul around and I’m normally not one who’s big on retreads. Uh you know the pass of the past let it be and let it go. I wouldn’t mind having him as a part of the roster just because I want that brain back. I want that leader back. But in that same breath does bringing back Chris Paul as a leader pull some away from Devin Booker because you’re looking at Deon Booker like we need you to be the leader now. It’s the time you had CB3. You kind of got muted in the Kevin Durant era. Even though if you say that, he’ll come after you on Twitter and tell you that you’re an idiot and a clown and other words that I’m not going to say on your podcast, but I gladly say on mine about who you are for thinking such a thing. But at the same time, this is Devin Booker’s team. He needs to step up and take that next step in his career relative to being a vocal leader who leads by example but leads with words. And if Chris Paul comes in, those are the characteristics that characteristics that he has. Maybe that mutes Booker for another year. Maybe the Suns see that. Maybe that’s why they’re not pursuing him as hard as he’s potentially pursuing them.
It is kind of interesting. You know, we’ll move on, but I think if Devin Booker wanted Chris Paul here, it’s very wildly reported that Deon Booker’s had a lot of say in this roster. I think if Devin Booker wanted Chris Paul here, he would be here. I’m not saying Deon Booker doesn’t want him here. I think that’s his guy and I think he loves Chris, but I I think he could go either way. I think it’s like, oh, if he’s here, awesome. But I’m not really trying to get him here. Of course, he’s not going to say that to him. I just think if if if Booker wanted him here, he’d be here. But the Jordan not thing is interesting is interesting, too. I I wonder how much of a say he’s like I I don’t have anywhere to play Chris Paul in. So, that’s an interesting spot to go. Okay, Chris Paul might not be here. He actually might not be here. He could be, but we’re not sure yet. We do have some offseasons and acquisitions that have been added to this team that weren’t here last year. Who will make the biggest impact? Maybe not the best player, but who will have the biggest impact on winning next year who wasn’t on the roster last year? So, we’ll talk about that next. First, today’s show is brought to you by Monarch Money. Monarch Money. Ever wish managing your money felt easier with Monarch Money? It can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat, it’s like having your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than a budgeting app. It’s complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So, in addition, so in addition to managing your money, you’re also building wealth. you know, the other day, uh, you know, for some people that know, I was like in between jobs recently, and, you know, we were family was fine, but it did take a second for me and my wife to look through our finances and be like, “Okay, we got to cut off some things that we don’t need.” And we realized, “Holy cow, we pay for this subscription service and this subscription service and this subscription service, and we don’t even use them.” With Monarch Money, we wouldn’t have had that issue. It would have been able to help us save that money and help us realize how much we’re spending. So take control of your finances with MonarchMoney. Use code use code lockdown at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com locked.com code locked onmbba for half of your first for half off your first year. Keeping the show rolling. Listen, John, I know you’re you’re looking at you’re listening to me doing the the ad reads and I’m like, listen, that’s that’s normally Brendan’s job. Brendan’s Michael. I’m Scotty. You asked Scotty to come and I I’m going to do a pretty good job, but it’s not going to be as good as Michael. So, you know, hopefully we’ll figure those things out either way.
Hey, listen. Hey, listen. I’ll tell you, Monarch Money sounds great. Do what I did. Marry an accountant. It’s It’s so much better than an app. Listen, man. Our guys over at Monarch Money get it done right. I’ve been using it for a while. your own personal CFO. You got to be using Monarch Money. It saved me money and it will save you money. Give your wife a break. Download Monarch Money, a beautiful sponsor of Locked On Phoenix Suns. All right, John. We have uh a Chris Paul obviously not going to be here, but we have multiple other players who are here this year. I’ll let you take the floor first out of Kam Malawatch and Rashir Fleming, Jaylen Green, Dylan Brooks. Maybe we’ll agree here, but what guy, maybe not the best player. You could go that route if you want to, but who do you think will impact winning the most when it comes to next season from a player that wasn’t on the team last year that is on the team this year? Who would you who would your pick be?
You’d like it to be come on Malawatch, right? Because it’s it’s showcasing that this 18-year-old is making a jump. We’re winning because of him. But that’s just not how the NBA works, right? It’s, you know, people pine for getting draft capital to make draft picks because they want to have that flexibility and that hope. And I think that it’s been nice this over this past week to feel hope again uh by having a draft class coming in that is going to be exciting. And I feel like an upgrade over even last year’s draft class in Ryan Dunn and Oso Igadoro. But I just think that culture is so important to what the Suns need to do to be successful moving forward. And as much as I can’t stand this guy, and if anybody’s ever watched the Suns Jam Session podcast over the years, I repeatedly call this guy the he has the most punchable face in the NBA, flopping around as an Oregon Duck, flopping around the league, pushing people, fake tough guy. I’ve said a lot of things about him. I’m excited to see Dylan Brooks, Ben. I honestly think that he’s gonna be the the when you say who’s gonna help us and make the greatest impact relative to winning, it’s Dylan Brooks because Dylan the villain is going to bring an attitude that we haven’t had since Jay Crowder, you know, and the last two seasons we’ve desperately missed any semblance of an edge. We get super excited when Ryan Dunn disrupts plays on defense because not because he’s the greatest disruptor. Ryan Dun’s an above average defender, but he’s not an elite defender, at least not at yet in his career, nor should we expect that from him. But that’s what you’re going to get from Dylan Brooks, a season veteran time and again. He’s going to be a disruptor. He’s going to have attitude. And the hope is like Jay Crowder, he rubs off on the players around him and impacts the way that they play and from a mental approach because time and again that team last last year was mentally weak and they had no edge to him. So he’s going to impact winning. Now, I don’t know if the winning comes in the form of wins and losses for this team, but in from a competitive standpoint, he’s going to really assist the Suns in making that jump. And I’m excited to see it. And I’m I’m I’m buying all the stock that Dylan of Dylan Brooks, which is really weird for me to say out loud because I’ve been so anti-Ds for so many years, Ben.
So, I Well, you know, it’s funny, man. If people want to pull up old videos of me that I made on Dylan Brooks, I would agree with you cuz I didn’t expect this to be a Dylan Brooks segment. I thought I was mega mind thinking it. But I would agree with you, man, for all the things that you had said. I I’ll echo all of those things and maybe, you know, I’ll briefly push it over to someone else cuz I do think there are other guys on here, too. But that would be my number one pick. I don’t think Dylan Brooks is the best player. I don’t even think he’s the best player that came back in a trade or in the draft. I think maybe you could argue Malawatch could be awesome next year. You could argue Jaylen Green could figure it out. But exactly that, man, this team was pushed around last year. They were soft and mentally soft, too. I don’t want to call guys mentally weak because it feels a little too personal. But like Kevin Durant, man, respond to guys on social media about how great, you know, the leadership is in the locker room, but I see it on the floor every night and it’s not great. I don’t think Dylan Brooks, I would say, is like this alltime leader. But what I do love is that when someone pushes Devin Booker, I know someone’s about to get ejected and it’s probably going to be Dylan Brooks. I need a player to get ejected from this team once every 10 games. And if I was if I was putting my money, it’ be Dylan Brooks.
And and it shouldn’t be Mason Plumbley, guys. Like that was the issue last year. Mason Plumbley was our enforcer. Like that right there is the definition of what was wrong with this team. So going into next season, knowing that you have somebody like that on your team is valuable. Every team needs it. And that’s what creates culture. That’s what creates a bond with players. and last year’s players and the team, you know, no offense to the players, but it’s it felt like from a fans perspective and those who cover the team from a media perspective that it was a job. They came up, they showed up, they did what they were supposed to do. Oh, didn’t win. Okay, time to go back and say the same thing over and over again until it’s like game 80 and Devin Booker’s like, “Yeah, this isn’t working out, is it?” It’s like, “Yeah, it hasn’t worked out all season.” I mean, man, how many times did you and I on your show or on my show or jokingly in the press box where you and I be like, “Do we even need to watch this game? We can just talk about I already know how they’re going to lose.” Oh, yeah. And so part of it is that mental edge I think Dylan Brooks is going to bring to this team as but like if you want to talk about who like the best player be like Impact winning just because we both mentioned Dylan Brooks. I got to be honest with you, man. I’m still highly skeptical about Jaylen Green’s fit with Deon Booker. I still wonder how that’s going to be. I think he’s a good player like on his own. Like I think he could be a good player. Little efficient. Yes. Did I want him here? Probably not. I just don’t know if he’s going to blossom in his role here where he could somewhere else because it’s just not a great fit here. So I don’t know even know if I would go that. I’m buying a lot of stock and come on Malawatch man. I’m buying a lot of stock. That’s the my that was my number one guy who was hoping could fall to the Suns. Turns out Rich Paul was doing us favors in the, you know, in the back and and making handshake deals to keep to get him to the Suns. But Suns have needed a true lob threat. He’s going to get lost at times. He’s 18. I expect that. But for a guy that I project to be Rudy Goar levels of defensive, but I think potentially even better. And people are like, “Oh, how could you say that?” The guy moves better. He’s not He gets switched on guards. Like Rudy Goar gets switched on guards. I remember Chris Paul used to take the guy to the rack. this guy’s going to get switched on to guards and like even if he does get a little he’s got a seven six wings span like it’s not going to be easy for you to be able to just run by that guy. So that’d be another guy that I’d kind of highlight but overall Dylan Brooks is someone who I think is going to impact winning at a really high clip. Yeah, I agree on Kaman Malawatch and I think we’re all super excited because, you know, on on a day, you know, we’re recording this on Wednesday to to publish Thursday, but on the day where DeAndre Aton ends up with the Los Angeles Lakers, it’s one of those situations where you’re just reminded of how disappointed you were with how that project went because he had all the physical tools to be great, but he didn’t have he didn’t have the attitude that you need to be great. He didn’t have the edge. And it appears, and I know it’s early, and and this is the hopeful Suns fan in me that says this, it appears that he does have that edge, that he has that humility, that he doesn’t when he gets interviewed say, “Hey, I just want to get to my next contract.” He says, “I got Yeah, I’ve got the country of Sudan behind me and he’s crying his eyes out, you know.” So, he has a lot of those similar tools that Aton had. He’s he’s taller. Uh he’s he’s longer, but he also has the lateral quickness. That’s what makes DA such a great
prospect and and and somebody who as a Laker who’s going to be good uh on the defensive end. He’s a great, you know, you can gamble on the defensive end. And that’s where, you know, you bring it back to kind of Jaylen Green and I’m with you when you talk about Jaylen Green and a lot of the challenges he’s going to take and things that I haven’t seen from him uh his entire career. But I know that in these situations, Jaylen Green from and Deon Booker from a defensive standpoint, they can gamble a little bit more on defense because they know that Kaman Malawatch in certain lineups is going to be standing behind them. That Rashir Fleming in certain lineups is going to be standing behind them. That Ryan Dunn, Dylan Brooks, those guys are going to be behind them. And you you run it back to those that team that went to the finals. Chris Paul and Deon Booker didn’t have to be elite defenders because they had DeAndre Aton and Male Bridges back there and Jay Crowder, guys who are going to be who are going to collapse appropriately in the paint and pick up and make up for some of your mistakes. And with Malawatch’s length, he’s going to have the ability to swat some of those shots. So, there is a world where this team can surprise me. I don’t have very high expectations going into next year relative to wins and losses, but there’s a world where this team can surprise me. And who knows, maybe Jaylen Green does make that next step. Maybe Devin Booker is doing a little kind of, you know, nudging Ishbia, nudging Brian Greg. Like, listen, we don’t want Chris Paul here. I want to be the mentor to Jaylen Green. I don’t need Chris Paul to do that because he’s a young shooting guard like I was once in the league and maybe I can give him some advice and I he can be my project. Let this one’s on me. I mean, these are all back room conversations and assumptions by me, but there could be an opportunity where this team does surprise a little bit. You know, I’d still like to see a little bit more point guard depth right now, but I’m old school that way and I’m a Phoenix fan. We’re used to having point guards.
Um, from one Phoenix Suns big man to another potential ex Phoenix Suns big man. One ex Phoenix Suns big man to one potential ex Phoenix Suns big man. We’ll get to Nick Richards and his market. Is it shrinking next? Nick Richards back here on Locked on Phoenix Suns. It looks like his trade market could potentially be shrinking. But before we get into because you just mentioned DeAndre Aiden, right? DeAndre Aiden, first off, all those good attributes he had, he had in one playoff run. Which is why when the Lakers fans, who I’ve been messing with all day long, because I was I put something out that basically was like, “Listen, you want Nick Richards, you sent Dalton Connect once already for a former Charlotte Hornets big man, and you sent a lot. You sent two picks, one pick and another pick swap. Both unprotected, I might add. So, don’t try to tell me Dalton Connect is now super untouchable, which it was like I would be surprised they got Dalton Connect back. I’m not trying to be that guy. However, it was hilarious to me to see Lakers fans be like,
“How dare you put out an unrealistic trade?” By the way, would you take Devin Booker for Austin Reeves and Ruie Hutchamora and a first round pick? Would you do that? It’s like like part of it was part of it was like fun like poking fun at them, but also like the Suns have all the leverage here. I guess I would start it with this. Do you think the Nick Richards market is shrinking? And is that really even a bad thing for the Phoenix Suns? It’s not like getting rid of him goes under the second apron. That’s something I have to continuously throw out there. Cut him, get rid of him. You’re still in the second apron. It arrives all the same. So, I’ll let you take it from there.
Yeah, I don’t think there was much of a Nick Richards market to begin with. Uh, you know, there’s two or three teams out there that need a center. He’s a backup center. We knew, we found that out last year, he’s a great backup center. I’m a big Nick Richards fan, but as you watch the season progress last year, you’re like, man, it would really be nice if we had like if he was coming in off the bench cuz he’s he’s he’s ideal for that. Uh I think he’s kind of past the development stage of being somebody who’s going to continue to get better, he kind of is what he is, you know, and I think that, you know, NBA graveyards are filled with names and players, names of players who are big men who just didn’t figure it out, right? and you know, he’s in a situation where he he’s he has some of it figured out. So, he is somewhat uh an option that teams could look at, but I don’t think there’s much of a market for him, especially when you talk about it from a Suns perspective because he only makes 5 million a year. So, like what’s the benefit of the Suns getting off his contract? As you mentioned, Ben, they don’t this it doesn’t get the Suns out of the Second Apron. Anything that we trade has to be 5 million or less. So, we’re not like Daltton Connect actually works from a math perspective, but anything we can’t take back more than we send out. So, what’s the point in in trying to trade off Nick Richards for something a $5 million point guard? I don’t know. I like having that third center there considering how injury-prone Mark Williams is. And the fact that you have a rookie who we’re very high on, but you have a rookie as your backup center in this situation. So, I don’t know if there’s much of a market because he just doesn’t if he if he made 15 million a year, 10 mil, like Royce O’Neal, I’d say that there’s much more of a market that benefits the Suns, but I don’t see a lot of world or a lot of teams that are interested in a center that could give us back something that we actually would want back in return. Yeah, man. I uh literally as you’re as you’re saying that um I’m getting texts from multiple people because the Lakers just got DeAndre Aiden and and honestly I would rather have Nick Richards and DeAndre Aiden if I was the Lakers because I never have to question if he’s going to play hard. In fact, so many times with Nick Richards I was like hey buddy just tone it tone it back like a little. I was someone I took a lot of freaking flak on this show because the Suns traded for Nick Richards and I said for what the Suns have? Yeah, absolutely. He’s better than what the Suns have. But guys, like let me just throw out a caveat and this is where I sometimes get in trouble of he was the second best center on the Charlotte Hornets.
Exactly.
Like you’re asking him to come save you. I like him as a backup guy, but
Nick Richards, here’s the here’s what I like. If you could get two second round picks out of Nick Richards, which I do think is plausible. Um, I would do it because of what the Suns have recently showed they can do in the second round moving up. They’re really good at the wheeling and dealing. I want to have more ammunition for that. But I do kind of like the insurance for Nick Richards behind uh uh uh Mark Williams, but I don’t want Nick Richards clogging Kaman Malawatch’s minutes. I want Kamala Kaman Malaw watch out there a lot to screw up to figure out what it’s like to play in the NBA because next year when I think the Suns could be a destination for some teams if the Suns season goes better than I think it will go like it from what it did last year. I need him to be ready to play next year. Now, is he still going to make mistakes? He’ll be 19 years old. Yes, he’s going to still make mistakes, but I need to get a lot of those out now. So, I see the benefit of trading Nick Richards. I want the ammunition to be able to trade back and forth in the NBA draft like they continue to do, but if they keep them around, the heck do I care? It’s kind of funny. This is kind of like the argument you and I had on Twitter spaces the other day. It was like, well, the Suns need to get under the second apron because this, this, and that. And I’m like, oh, I don’t I don’t really care about those things. And, you know, it’s okay to differ. You might just like the flexibility. You like options. For me, I’m just like, what do I care? And for you right here, you’re saying, I kind of want to keep Nick Nick Richards here. It gives me options. And the same point I’m saying now is I don’t really care. I kind of want to run it out with Kaman Malawatch, which isn’t a great like saying I don’t care is not a great point, but overall it’s a uh uh uh I think it’s a the right move if that makes sense of like I think you should move off and get assets here. So anyways, man, any any final thoughts on Nick Richards?
Yeah, don’t disagree. And again, you can kind of see how I’m built as just a human being. I’m somebody who’s big on having options and I like having those at at my disposal. So when the time comes, you have the ability to make multiple decisions uh and give yourself. But I I don’t disagree because I think you do bring up a good point on the like the second round picks. We’ve seen what the Suns can do with them. We see how they can navigate. But I think the key for the Suns is they need to have somebody identified that they want to add to the team because if you do get rid of Nick Richards, you’re essentially again not getting under that second apron. So you can’t go get anything else. You can’t get anything else anyways. I mean, they’re so far over the cap, it’s ridiculous. My points. Yeah. So, so you have to have somebody identified from a veteran minimum st standpoint who you want to add to this team in this roster that’s going to fill a spot. And again, the way I look at it, Williams is going to be hurt next season. He plays 40% of his games. So, if William if Williams is hurt and then it’s like, come on, Malawatch getting more playing time. Who’s his backup big? Then we’re forced to to go small with Oso Gadoro. But if you got Nick Richards, again, you have those options. And that’s what I like. I like having options. And I don’t like and I don’t dislike Nick Richards. And I love the idea of him potentially coming off the bench if Kaman’s uh playing the primary center because Nick Richards loves to foul. And when he’s a backup big, he can foul all day. So that’s what we need from him. Foul, baby. Foul.
All right. for my favorite Dodger fan, John Voya of I didn’t even mention this at the beginning, but my guy over at Bright Side of the Sun does amazing work there. We have referenced his work multiple times on this show. Not too much. I don’t want to get a swelled head here. And also of the Suns Jam Session podcast. Check that out on YouTube or I’m assuming wherever you get your podcasts as well. My guy John, thanks for joining me and I appreciate you uh blessing the Phoenix Suns fans, man. No, I I appreciate it. You know, a lot of passion goes into covering the Suns and, you know, we got a long off season of having a lot of conversations about what this team’s going to be next year. So, appreciate you. It’s been It’s been like four years since I’ve been on locked on. So, I appreciate
Brendon has man, dude. Brendan has it. Now I know why you were sweet talking me all year. You’re like you’re like Brendan won’t have me on. Have me on, please. Well, actually with that being said, guys, in the chat, let me know if there’s other guys that you want me to potentially reach out to when Brendan takes a surprise sbatical. Brendan will be back tomorrow. Thanks, John, for joining me. And until tomorrow, guys, it’s been locked on Phoenix Suns.

Chris Paul back in Phoenix? The Suns’ roster shakeup continues to make waves.

Benjamin Garcia and special guest John Voita of @SunsJAM dissect the latest Suns rumors, including CP3’s potential return and its impact on Devin Booker’s leadership. They analyze how newcomers like Dylan Brooks could bring a much-needed edge to the team’s culture. The duo also explores Kamala Malawatch’s rookie potential and debates Nick Richards’ trade value. With insights on how these moves might reshape the Suns’ playing style, this discussion covers all angles of Phoenix’s evolving strategy.

Tune in to hear why Brooks might be the key to unlocking the Suns’ winning mentality and how Malawatch could revolutionize their defense.

0:00 Intro: Chris Paul sweepstakes and offseason moves
5:37 Dylan Brooks could impact Suns’ winning most
12:46 Monarch Money ad read
15:45 Kamal Malawatch as potential impact player
22:28 DeAndre Ayton trade and defensive implications
26:46 Nick Richards’ shrinking trade market
32:20 Closing thoughts and outro

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