Ariza looks to help the Suns take the next steps
azcentral sports Suns insider Duane Rankin sat down with one of the newest Suns, Trevor Ariza, and talked with the 15-year veteran about team expectations, shooting, the possibility of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton being ShaqKobe 2.0 — and more. This interview has been edited for clarity.
Question: Fifteen years in the NBA. Does it feel like it's been 15 years?
Answer: Not really. It goes fast, you know. One minute, you’re 18, 19. The next minute, you’re 33. It’s going by pretty fast.
Q: What intrigues you the most about this team?
A: The thing that’s most intriguing is the talent. The youth. You can see the ability. What they’re doing upstairs, I feel like I want to be a part of the change. The culture shift. I can see a bright future with this team.
Q: What should be the expectations for this team this year?
A: You know what, I really don’t know at this point. I just know that what has to change is the direction. They’ve always been able to get really good talent in the draft. They’ve been in the lottery a lot of the times. So they’ve gotten good talent. It’s just that now it’s time for that talent to turn into really good NBA players. Again, the direction needs to change and that’s what we’re trying to do.
Q: How did you and Ryan Anderson become so close?
A: I think it began by asking uncomfortable questions immediately. (Laughs) Somehow, we ended up on the same plane when he got to Houston. I forgot where we were going. Maybe to Las Vegas for summer league or something. That’s where it started. I asked him a few uncomfortable questions that I would think would be uncomfortable. Q: What do you like about Igor Kokoskov
as a coach? A: I love how attention to detail he is. How open he is. He’s very open. He likes to communicate and for a team this young, I think that he’s great because he’s going to hold you accountable and he’s going to teach you stepby-step for how things need to be done.
Q: When you were in Houston, it was bombs away from 3. Are we going to see that here in the same mode or not for you?
A: If I’m open, I’m going to shoot it (smiling). Bottom line: If I’m open, I’m going to shoot the ball.
Q: With Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton and the whole ShaqKobe 2.0 talk. They’re not even close to that yet, but in time, could they?
A: It’s definitely a possibility. I don’t see that it couldn’t be. Devin is an unbelievable scorer who can fill it up in a variety of ways and young fella is unbelievably talented with the skill, touch. Strong. Has strength. Can get up and down the court. Protect the paint. He has all that.