PG Elie Okobo encouraged Suns are showing interest in his potential.
“Devin is ready to take another leap. If Devin can take that leap, I’d consider that a success. If Josh Jackson can build on the second half of last season and do it consistently. If Mikal Bridges, Elie Okobo, as rookies, if they make tremendous strides, and more importantly, if Deandre is consistent. I think all those things will translate to success.” – Phoenix Suns interim general manager James Jones.
Four of the five names weren’t surprising.
Answering a question Friday about defining success for this season, Phoenix Suns interim general manager James Jones said the franchise must continue to develop “our young core,” starting with Devin Booker.
Jones then mentioned second-year pro Josh Jackson, first-round picks Bridges and the 7-footer Ayton, the No. 1 overall selection, but also named Okobo, who plays a position Phoenix has been working this offseason to upgrade – point guard.
Okobo averaged only 4.3 points in four preseason games, shooting just 27.8 percent from the field, but Jones must really like the rookie out of France to name him while defining the team’s future success.
“That feels good,” Okobo said after Saturday’s practice. “That means he thinks I got a lot of potential to improve. I’m going to show him he’s not wrong. That’s why I’m working hard every day on the court and in practice. Shooting a lot, work in 5-on-5. Shooting the ball a lot because I need to be ready with this being my rookie season.”
Phoenix opens the 2018-19 season Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
“I’m really excited for it,” continued Okobo, the first pick in the second round of the 2018 draft. “My first NBA season and hopefully we’re going to do good as a team, too.”
Starting one preseason game, the 6foot-2, 180-pound point guard out of France averaged just 1.3 assists and made only 2 of 7 shots from distance this preseason.
Second-year guard Shaquille Harrison received three preseason starts while Isaiah Canaan got the nod in Phoenix’s final preseason game at Portland.
Harrison is the best defender of Phoenix’s four point guards. Canaan is the most experienced, as he’s entering his sixth season, and De’Anthony Melton is a rookie acquired in a trade with Houston. But Jones sees Okobo being a part of Phoenix’s future success along with Booker, Jackson, Ayton and Bridges.
“Ultimately, that will make us competitive,” said Jones, who played 14 NBA seasons with his last one being 2016-17 in Cleveland. “Every night, when you watch us on TV, even if we don’t win, you’ll say that at some point in the game, we had a chance to win that game. And we either lost it because the other team was better or we lost it because we didn’t execute. That would be what I would consider success.”
First-year head coach Igor Kokoskov, the man Jones helped hire, offered up his own definition of success following Saturday’s practice.
“Our goal is to get better,” Kokoskov said. “Take it one game at a time. We don’t want to overthink and overanalyze our season and get us some unrealistic expectations, but when the team gets better and things click at one point, a lot of good things can happen. Right now, we’re competing with ourselves and trying to find the best of this team and we’ll go from there.”
Veteran advice
Phoenix is four days away from opening the season, but the buzz remains about owner Robert Sarver firing General Manager Ryan McDonough earlier this week.
That’s far from an ideal way to enter a season, but as Jones said Friday, “there’s never a perfect time” for a shakeup of that magnitude.
Ryan Anderson can see how this situation could rattle players, but he’s seen plenty in his 10 NBA seasons.
“I’ve experienced it all,” Anderson said.
So not only does the veteran forward have an idea of how to handle this sudden change in Phoenix, but he has advice for how others should handle it, as well.
“For me, you just want to keep your head on straight, do your job, be on time, work hard, help the young guys,” Anderson said. “I’ve really learned just to focus on what I can control. I think that would help everybody in times of uncertainty or newness. Just control what you can control. Keep your head on straight and just play basketball.”
“... I’m working hard every day on the court and in practice. Shooting a lot, work in 5-on-5. Shooting the ball a lot because I need to be ready with this being my rookie season.” Elie Okobo Suns guard