Yuma
Suns are my Kryptonite!
I didn't see anyone here specifically talking about this. I heard a couple podcasts reflecting on this. There were a lot of interpretations into what was said, not said, body language, etc.
My observations on Ishbia and what he said. Much better this time than last season. Last season there was a tone deafness, and startling non admission to obvious short comings. This season there was much less deflection by Ishbia, and some actual acknowledgment of what went wrong. At least you feel he actually sees what we are all seeing. Personally, I have been harping on the Suns needing an identity of what Suns basketball is all about. Ishbia said that they will build that identity around what the community is. I don't know what that means, but as a lifelong Suns fan, when our squads have played hard and out hustled the other teams, our fans seem to respond to that type of play the most. When a guy leaves it all on the court, our fans typically applaud a guy as he heads to the bench for the effort he just showed. We haven't had a lot of that in the past couple of seasons. Ishbia said his biggest mistake was not conveying what Suns basketball should be. Ishbia mentioned the Steelers and said, you know what type of football and players that are Steelers. He wants the Suns to have an identity like that.
Bartlestein: He took some ownership that him and JJ were supposed to construct a winning team. Then he kind of distanced himself from JJ by saying he was in charge of things like building the new Mercury facilities, and other projects like that, and he thought he did a good job with those things.
JJ: This was the most candid I have heard him ever answer questions. Someone asked what went wrong with the KD and Beal trades. JJ didn't ever mention Beal, but said the biggest mistake was not giving KD and Booker a defensive squad to support them. He admitted this was over the three seasons with KD and Booker. That's a long time not to try and get defensive players in support of Booker and KD. He said they did have players who were capable of playing better defense, but obviously that didn't happen. Kind of a shot to some players it seems. I know most of us on this board have been begging for some defensive help. JJ also mentioned how the league has changed with teams getting bigger and more aggressive defensively. It was obvious after he spoke that he KNOWS the problem. Which makes you wonder why it wasn't addressed more.
ALL three guys kept saying change was coming. Change and identity were the two most used words.
My observations on Ishbia and what he said. Much better this time than last season. Last season there was a tone deafness, and startling non admission to obvious short comings. This season there was much less deflection by Ishbia, and some actual acknowledgment of what went wrong. At least you feel he actually sees what we are all seeing. Personally, I have been harping on the Suns needing an identity of what Suns basketball is all about. Ishbia said that they will build that identity around what the community is. I don't know what that means, but as a lifelong Suns fan, when our squads have played hard and out hustled the other teams, our fans seem to respond to that type of play the most. When a guy leaves it all on the court, our fans typically applaud a guy as he heads to the bench for the effort he just showed. We haven't had a lot of that in the past couple of seasons. Ishbia said his biggest mistake was not conveying what Suns basketball should be. Ishbia mentioned the Steelers and said, you know what type of football and players that are Steelers. He wants the Suns to have an identity like that.
Bartlestein: He took some ownership that him and JJ were supposed to construct a winning team. Then he kind of distanced himself from JJ by saying he was in charge of things like building the new Mercury facilities, and other projects like that, and he thought he did a good job with those things.
JJ: This was the most candid I have heard him ever answer questions. Someone asked what went wrong with the KD and Beal trades. JJ didn't ever mention Beal, but said the biggest mistake was not giving KD and Booker a defensive squad to support them. He admitted this was over the three seasons with KD and Booker. That's a long time not to try and get defensive players in support of Booker and KD. He said they did have players who were capable of playing better defense, but obviously that didn't happen. Kind of a shot to some players it seems. I know most of us on this board have been begging for some defensive help. JJ also mentioned how the league has changed with teams getting bigger and more aggressive defensively. It was obvious after he spoke that he KNOWS the problem. Which makes you wonder why it wasn't addressed more.
ALL three guys kept saying change was coming. Change and identity were the two most used words.
Last edited:
