Triano Hired as Associate Head Coach

[Arizona's Finest]

Didnt see this on here but I think this is a great move. Really well respected guy and a nice buffer for young Watson. Maybe now we can get Nash to come back to team as Special Consultant?

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...tab-jay-triano-associate-head-coach/84575284/

 

[JCSunsfan]

Just the type of hire I wanted him to make. The fact that he gave him the title Associate Head Coach, rather than just an assistant show some humility on Watson's part. The jury is still out on Watson, but this is a good sign.

BC. This is experience. Like you want.

 

[sunsfan88]

Just the type of hire I wanted him to make. The fact that he gave him the title Associate Head Coach, rather than just an assistant show some humility on Watson's part. The jury is still out on Watson, but this is a good sign.

BC. This is experience. Like you want.

He had to give him associate head coach title because or else there is no need for Triano to leave Portland and come to Phoenix for the same exact job title. And I don't know if that's even allowed in the NBA because I know in the NFL you can't leave your team and go to another team unless you're getting promoted (unless your contract expires of course).

Associate head coaches also make more than regular assistant coaches.

Let's hope Triano is a better associate head coach than Longbardi was.

 

[BC867]

Just the type of hire I wanted him to make. The fact that he gave him the title Associate Head Coach, rather than just an assistant show some humility on Watson's part. The jury is still out on Watson, but this is a good sign.

BC. This is experience. Like you want.

Yup. This will be a test for Watson. Hopefully the combination will work.

Before that, there will be jockeying for positions and playing time. And team approach.

 

[slinslin]

Jay Triano coached Jamal Murray already.

Jamal Murray sees himself more as a PG than a SG and that he played what was needed from him at Kentucky since they had Tyler Ulis.

I guess this raises the chance of us drafting Murray should the Celtics pass.

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/e...en-s-basketball-team-debut-012314389-nba.html

“He’s got a great poise to him, he knows how to control the game, he moves the basketball, can score the basketball. We’re working with him continuously on how to defend against men,” Triano said. “He’s got a confidence about him. I asked him if he was tired once and he said ‘Coach, I’m 18.’ He’s got that attitude where he wants to be on the floor, he’s a great kid to coach.”

Triano could also have an impact on:
- Drafting Maker who spent the last year in Canada, Triano might have some inside info.
- Pursuing Dwight Powell from the Mavericks who played for Triano for the Canadian National Team

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

That's an interesting connection.

The more I look into the top candidates for the 4th pick, the more I'm sold on Murray. I'm pretty much rooting for us to grab whomever falls between Murray and Bender.

It's crazy to me that we might end up with yet another combo guard from Kentucky, but I think Murray is a combo guard in a good way. He's got reasonable shooting guard size and (potentially) point guard skills.

I think you could play Bledsoe, Murray, and Booker together more easily than Bledsoe, Knight, and Booker. And if you can develop Murray as a point guard, the potential of a Murray and Booker backcourt could be tremendous.

Of course, a forward would be great, but picking for need seems like a bad idea when you consider this is the highest the Suns have picked since 1987, and I'm just not at all sold on Jaylen Brown.

 

[Mainstreet]

Initially I was sold on Murray, then had a flirtation with Brown but now I am locked onto drafting Henry Ellenson. I think Ellenson can be a solid NBA player and he is young enough to get there as he only turned 19 in January.

Paul Coro writes some about Ellenson:

“I wasn’t always taller than them when I was in fourth grade and they were in sixth and seventh (grade),” Ellenson said at draft combine, where the Suns interviewed him on May 13. “So I had to figure out ways to score. That was on the perimeter. I played point guard all the way up to eighth grade.”

That skill created from family games and a court IQ created from family genes are evident. His mother, Holly, played guard at Wisconsin-Eau Claire and is the girls coach at Rice Lake High School, where Henry was held on the bench for a game at 4 days old. His father, John, played at Marquette and Wisconsin. His brother Wally played with him at Marquette and is a former NCAA high jump national runner-up. His brother Ellwood plays at Valley City State in North Dakota. His younger sister, Ella, is a Division I recruit.

His guard skills became so good that his coach approached him before his sophomore year and said, “Hey, you’re 6-9, let’s work on your post game.” That created what Ellenson calls “a mismatch problem” with his inside-outside game that scouts know well, as they now try to get to know him better as a person.

“I want teams to know my character,” Ellenson said. “I want teams to know I work hard. This is something I’m committed to, being good and being the best that I can be.

“I feel like I handle the ball really well. I think I can stretch the court out and hit shots and also go inside and bang out tough buckets. I think that versatility is intriguing to a lot of teams.”

Ellenson averaged 17.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a freshman at Marquette, where the team went 20-13 but did not make the NIT. Ellenson shot 44.6 percent from the field and 28.7 percent on 3-pointers, although his 74.6 percent free throw shooting and evident shooting mechanics suggest his long-range efficiency will improve to be a stretch big man in the NBA.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...te-henry-ellenson-nba-suns-workouts/84763566/