Brian Gregory introduced as Phoenix Suns general manager, seeks to align the identity

If “identity” and “alignment” were a drinking game, you would’ve blacked out by the third question.

The Phoenix Suns are pivoting. Not with a screeching, tire-smoking U-turn, but with a quiet veer, a subtle lean into something that feels familiar. Comfortably institutional. Even if that institution just stumbled to a 36-46 finish and left fans blinking in disbelief.

Rather than fish outside the organizational pond, Mat Ishbia cast his line inward. Deep inward. Past the war room, past the coaching staff, past the layers of front-office insulation and down into his own nostalgic core. His choice? His VP of player personnel, Brian Gregory. The guy who once paced the sidelines next to Tom Izzo and Ishbia at Michigan State back when NSYNC was poppin’ on the radio. Oh, you dirty pop, you.

Gregory now holds the keys to the franchise. Not as a scout. Not as an advisor. As the general manager. He’s never done the job. Not for a day. Not even in theory. Gregory’s NBA front-office résumé reads like a blank Word doc. Zero experience, zero precedent, zero blueprint.

Yet here we are.

On Tuesday afternoon, Brian Gregory took the mic for the first time since being handed the reins. No warm-up act. No soft landing. Just a man with a background in college coaching, a Rolodex of old Spartan memories, and a new title that might as well say “Good Luck” in bold Helvetica. Maybe it’s Calibri. Hopefully it’s not Comic Sans.

The press conference kicked off with Brian Gregory echoing “alignment” and “identity” like he was reading off a whiteboard in a conference room at The Westin Kierland, terms repeated with the cadence of a TED Talk, but none of the clarity.

Over and over again. This, clearly, is the company line. The branding directive from on high.

I get it. These things are what they are. Introductory press conferences are the corporate theater of sports. Polished, hollow, and preloaded with buzzwords. Nobody walks away from them with their worldview shattered or their faith restored. Action is the currency that matters, not platitudes.

Still, this one was a tough watch. I’ve never heard the word “alignment” used so many times outside of a chiropractor’s office. It felt less like a vision and more like a mantra from a leadership retreat PowerPoint. Maybe Emergency Chiropractic Arena is in the cards!

There were some glimpses of substance, though.

Brian Gregory emphasized the importance of the draft, something that has often been treated like an optional ingredient in Phoenix’s team-building recipe. That alone suggests a pivot; a recognition that sustainable growth doesn’t always come in blockbuster packages.

Maybe this front office will start valuing picks as assets, not just trade chips. Of course, the Suns have a need for draft capital. And Gregory’s affinity for development? Hmmm.

Could this be a hint that the Suns are eyeing trades to recoup draft capital? Maybe. But as always, there’s only so much you can glean from a podium and a few practiced soundbites. No franchise-altering vision is ever fully revealed at an introductory press conference.

Then there’s the lingering question of how this reshuffling — James Jones shifting into a senior advisor role — will mesh with CEO Josh Bartelstein’s expanding influence. The hope, of course, is that someone finally grabs an apron and takes command of the kitchen. Because for the past two years, it’s been all steam and shouting. Too many cooks, no recipe, and even less cohesion.

The new GM may have preached clarity and defined roles, but his words sketched a familiar outline: Josh Bartelstein remains involved in “every single aspect.” The same phrasing James Jones once used, like it’s printed on a laminated cue card tucked somewhere in the owner’s suite.

Gregory says the relationship is strong, just as Jones did before him. And maybe it is. But at what point does a “great relationship” stop signaling “alignment” and start sounding like nobody’s really steering the ship? Is this synergy, or just synchronized swimming in circles?

If this new direction is going to lead anywhere, it needs more than echoed buzzwords. It needs structure. Actual roles. A hierarchy that does more than harmonize at the podium. It has to lead behind the curtain, too.

On the murkier side, Gregory sidestepped questions about the futures of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal with the kind of grace that only comes from media training or unease. Or both. He shared warm anecdotes: a Durant hug in the weight room, dinner with Beal to discuss summer plans. But no real answers. No commitments. Just vibes.

What he did commit to, however, was Mat Ishbia.

Gregory was candid about the relationship that landed him this job, owning the challenges it brings. He leaned into his competitiveness, speaking repeatedly about accountability. How the media and the fans should hold him to a standard. That’s noble. That’s brave. But when he said his job is to “execute the vision of Mat Ishbia,” that’s where the tremor settles in.

At some point, ownership has to trust the people they hire to be the architects, not just the contractors. Ishbia’s ambition and open wallet are undeniable, and fans are right to be grateful for that after years of austerity under Robert Sarver. But true competitiveness isn’t just about spending money. It’s about building something durable, and that means empowering basketball minds to shape the team, not just follow marching orders.

Gregory says he’s aligned. Says his identity is rooted in experience. But if that experience is going to mean anything, it has to be allowed to lead. Otherwise, alignment becomes another word for control. And identity? Just another word we keep repeating until it loses all meaning.

It’s an interesting strategy that the Suns seem poised to execute this offseason. A general manager without general management experience. A head coach who, most likely, will be without head coaching experience. It begs the question: Are these hires about bold, forward-thinking leadership, or are they calculated moves to install voices who will nod along, avoiding any semblance of pushback? On the surface, it feels like the latter.

Sure, you can toss around buzzwords like “identity” and “alignment”, but the real question is what exactly are you aligning to? Is this new identity one built on agreeable voices unwilling to challenge the status quo? Is this a shift away from valuing feedback, dissent, and perspective as tools for growth? At its worst, it feels like the NBA’s version of a one-party totalitarian state, an organization wary of criticism, allergic to friction, and perhaps too eager to hand the keys to the players.

Time will tell whether this strategy leads to cohesion or collapse. But if history teaches us anything, it’s that franchises built on yes men rarely stand for long.

If you’d like to align your identity by watching the full press conference, here you go.

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