Hungry Suns eager for season, whenever it begins
All in or else.
That’s how Deandre Ayton describes the environment of Phoenix Suns’ locker room.
“If you’re not all in completely, you’ll be pointed out,” Ayton said.
Holding each other accountable is a part of the team culture the Suns believe will carry them levels of success the franchise hasn’t achieved in years.
“Just the traits and demands we place on our guys,” Suns General Manager James Jones said. “If you’re going to be a Phoenix Sun player, this family. You’re going to be in our building, you have to, A, be able to adapt. Do whatever it takes to win.”
Jones and Ayton participated in a virtual chat on Wednesday with ESPN’s Maria Taylor for Suns current and potential season ticket holders to discuss a variety of topics that included the culture Phoenix has established under Monty Williams.
“If you’re a high-character person, high-character player and you’re highly competitive, that’s our culture,” Jones said later. “And if you’re not those things, like D.A. said, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. We won’t have to push you out the door. You’ll walk away because you’ll realize this environment may not be the right environment for you.”
The 30-minute chat concluded with Ayton expressing a desire to carry over the success Phoenix had in the Orlando Bubble into next season.
“Starting a winning legacy,” Ayton said. “Being a part of that puzzle that brings a lot to the table. Just taking that load and embracing that load as well. Getting everybody better around me and leading this team to greatness. Being the best person I can be no matter how the season goes. Being that guy.”
Phoenix (34-39) closed out the longest season in NBA history by winning all eight of its “seeding” games in the Orlando Bubble.
“I’m looking forward to the first game of the season to continue the momentum that we built,” Jones said. “The competition. To see how our guys respond to the challenge. We’ve had some success and we’ve raised the bar. I’ve said before, we wanted to raise the floor and now, we’re raising the ceiling. So when we get to the regular season to see our guys compete with heightened expectations. I believe they will surprise a lot of people.”
Next season may begin sooner than expected for the Suns and the rest of the league.
After NBA Commissioner Adam Silver previously said starting the 2020-21 season on Christmas felt “too early,” reports have surfaced that the NBA is targeting Dec. 22 as a date to begin the season.
The Associated Press is reporting this will be a 70- to 72-game season with the NBA finals ending in June as it has normally done in an effort to get the league back on its usual schedule.
“We’re just rolling with the punches,” Jones said. “Every day is something different. We’re finding out daily that this next season is upon us. So we expect there’s a good chance we could be playing basketball very soon.”
Silver initially talked beginning the season in January, but AP reported starting in December instead of mid-January could “generate a difference of roughly $500 million in revenue.”
The league lost out on $1.5 billion in large part due to coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of 171 regular-season games.
Having the bubble at Walt Disney World Resort cost nearly $200 million as players, coaches and staff underwent
daily COVID-19 testing. That factored into the financial losses, as well as the yearlong rift with the Chinese government that witnessed NBA games not shown on state television there, according to AP.
Silver initially pressed pause on the season March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. The season resumed July 30 and ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the finals in October over Miami.
The Suns nearly had an opportunity to face the Lakers in the first round as they came up a game short of the play-in tournament for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“We just meant business as soon as we got there,” Ayton said. “Coach set the tone early. We all started to get to know each other’s personalities on and off the court being together for so long. We dialed in. We bought in.”
Now the Suns are looking to build off that momentum for next season.
“The bubble presented us an opportunity to play faster,” Jones said. “To crash the offensive glass, stretch the floor and to shoot.”
With that being said, Jones noted he’s looking to add shooting when it comes to the Nov. 18 draft. The Suns have the 10th overall pick. Stanford’s Tyrell Terry and TCU’s Desmond Bane have had lengthy
conversations with the Suns during the draft process.
Terry shot 40.8% from 3 in his one and only season at Stanford while Bane knocked down 44.2% of his 3s his senior year at TCU.
“They’re going to play open basketball and 3-point shooting is going to become a premium for them,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said earlier this fall. “I think (Bane) fits there. I think he fits the culture. I think he fits what they’re looking for in character. That’s what I understand they’re looking for. A big part of it is character on and off the floor.”
The NBPA has to agree to the terms to start the season in December, but if free agency begins a week or so after the draft as reports have indicated, the league is on course to start up in December.
The Suns have one unrestricted free agent in backup center Aron Baynes and restricted free agents Dario Saric, Frank Kaminsky III, Cheick Diallo and Jevon Carter. The Suns have to extend a qualifying offer to Saric ($5 million) and Carter (nearly $2 million) to make them restricted free agents and have the option to match offer sheets for them. Kaminsky III and Diallo are under team options.
Teams can begin extending qualifying offers next month, according to league sources.
“You don’t sacrifice the character for anything,” Jones said. “I know in sports, a lot of people like to talk about (getting) the talent. Talent matters. It’s usually until you have problem, and we have a team filled with guys that aren’t character problems. When we leave there, we don’t worry if they’ll be in trouble. When they come to the arena, we don’t worry about whether or not they’ll cause trouble.”
Jones added the players “protect the team at all costs by keeping themselves and their teammates out of harm’s way.” So whenever free agency begins, Jones said the Suns will stick to their formula when determining who to pursue.
“If you don’t fit, we won’t target you regardless of your talent,” Jones said.
Whenever the season begins, the odds are against having fans attend games in the arena amid the pandemic. This would be disheartening for Phoenix because Talking Stick Resort Arena is undergoing an $230-million renovation project.
Starting the season in another bubble environment isn’t out of the question, but if fans are able to attend games at the arena, the Suns will have an even bigger boost going into next season.
“Having a great arena coming in and the season we just finished off 8-0, it’s a lot,” Ayton said. “It’s a lot coming into this arena and we want to start a whole new culture. We’re just ready and we’re embracing it. We’re very thankful and we know we got to put in some work while we’re on that floor.”
The Suns also have a $45-million practice facility in Phoenix that was scheduled for completion this month. Whenever completed, the new facility will give the team another momentumbuilding component and be a major draw for free agents.
“With all that facility has to offer with multiple courts, the multiple pools, the treadmills,” Jones said. “You name it, anything a player needs to get better, we have it. When you see our young guys, you see our players and the growth that they’ll have and the jump that they’ll make after we have some time to spend in ‘ The Lab,’ I think it’ll speak volumes.”