Your weekly Inside the Suns analysis straight from the BSotS community who live and breathe the team.
Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team.
Each week the Fantable – a round table of Bright Siders – give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1 – Many fans have doubts that Oso Ighodaro will ever be a starting level center in the NBA. What do you believe he needs to improve on to change those fans’ minds?
Ashton: Osasere Benjamin Ighodaro, out of Mesa, AZ, is labeled as a power forward. Let’s start there. Do I see him as a starting-level center? No. But as a developing power forward? Yes.
I just pulled off Rod Argent’s singular “yes or no” comment answers. It was on my bucket list.
We will never know if development was stunted by the head coaching or front office regime, if it stunted his growth, but he is certainly worth keeping around to develop in his natural position, at power forward. But in the end, he was a rookie! His minutes per game may have been too much filling a vacuum at center.
OldAz: It’s easy to understand why fans would have those doubts because Oso does not fit the mold of any starting centers currently in the league. He is not a big bruiser who can push people around and dominate the boards, and he has no outside shot and is a liability from the free throw line. Yes he is a good passer and plays with a high basketball IQ, but others bigs who play that game (Jokic, Draymond, etc) are decent to great shooters.
On the other hand he plays with energy and effort and can guard outside the paint, which is important as more teams play smaller and more “5 out” types of offense. I think Oso needs to forge his own path and maximize what he can do. His floater from 10 feet got a lot better as the year went on. If he can become an above-average free-throw shooter and maintain the high-energy defense, then I think there is a path for him to be a 25-minute-a-game center (which is basically a starting center for most teams). There were many games last year where his +/- was significantly better than almost everyone else on the team. His presence was the catalyst to making it all fit and work.
Thus, Oso starting and taking on a bigger role really depends upon the mix of teammates around him needing what he brings to the floor to maximize the team results, and a coach/GM/ organization to realize that team results do not always equal putting the 5 best individual players on the floor.
Rod: I think the kid has the smarts to do it, but not all of the tools to do it… yet. Two things he needs to do ASAP is bulk up/add some muscle and develop at least a mid-range jump shot. As long as other centers can back off him when he’s 10 feet or more from the basket, he’s a liability on offense that allows the other team to clog up the paint. Bulking up so that he won’t be easily pushed around inside shouldn’t be much of a problem as long as he’s willing to put in the work in the weight room. I also think that he needs to become more aggressive offensively. Maybe that will happen if he can develop that mid-range jumper.
His relatively short wingspan (for his height) will always be a bit of a problem though but it’s not something that would keep him from being a good starting center if he improves the other things. Note that I said good, not great, starter.
Q2 – Do you believe going with a first time head coach next season is a better option for the Suns than hiring an experienced head coach?
Ashton: I really want to go against the grain here and present a Brad Stevens argument. Not only that, but college coaches are becoming wiser in the NIL era dealing with player demands and contractual negotiations. But the NBA is not ready yet for college coaches to make the jump to the professional level. I personally think the league is slow to adapt, while the college ranks are leaning towards professional coaches filling their GM, head coaching, and operational roles.
Kevin Young (KY) anyone? He is killing it at BYU. Belichick in college football?
I do think it is worth exploring but I would take an ascending coaching star out of the NCAA ranks. Not the Hurleys.
OldAz: This is such a tough question because fans and media always approach this from the same perspective: retread coaches & past success vs. up-and-comers and fresh ideas. The reality is that it is more about the individual, the situation, and some organizational commitment than about these larger stereotypes. The Suns tried all different avenues during that dark stretch from out-of-the-box first timers that stunk, to first-time coaches with varying success. Monty was the right coach at that time, not because of what category he fell in, but because he fit the need of that team, and the organization showed more commitment to stick with him and let the team grow together.
I am far more interested in seeing someone that actually does many of the 5ings Gregory talked about in his introductory press conference. While there was a lot of corporate speak and it was not convincing, the content of a lot of what he said is true, and if a new head coach can be aligned with that vision (energy, effort, toughness, player development, etc) then I really don’t care if it is his 10th stop or his first.
Rod: At this point, I think the roster changes made (hopefully) this summer may have more of an impact than who the Suns hire as their new head coach. With former head coaches, you pretty much know what you’re getting but — as we’ve seen — that doesn’t always work out. And with 1st times head coaches, that certainly doesn’t always work out either (we do not want to hire the next Earl Watson). Whoever it turns out to be, I just hope he’s flexible in his approach and tries to build a system around the players he has rather than trying to force them into playing in a system that doesn’t suit them.
Q3 – The Suns had 5 players (T. Jones, Morris, D. Lee, Plumlee & Bol) on vet minimum contracts this season. Would you want any of them back for 2025-26 if they returned on vet minimums again?
Ashton: Context dependent. Do the Suns open a bunch of cap space? Were the players utilized correctly in the past?
Otherwise, I would clean the house if the Suns chose to not retain any of these players and have the cap space to do so, then fine, I will not lose any sleep.
So, I will side with the “blow it up” crowd. I never expected that statement to come out of my fingers. But the stench must be removed.
The reality is, these are players that are being told by their agents they can make more on the open market and when they do not, then they accept a minimum contract to keep relevant. I see all five in that position.
Because there is always another hopeful NBA player willing to accept the minimum under this CBA.
OldAz: The ultimate decisions on KD and Beal will determine what the team needs, but regardless of that outcome, I don’t see a need for Bol, D Lee, or Tyus Jones. We have already seen Tyus be a liability on defense and not really be the field-general when he is on the floor. Similarly, Lee is a one-tool player (shooting) that is fine for one of the last players on the bench. Finally, the Bol experiment has run its course for me. He may have all this tantalizing potential, but he is a defensive liability and shows no intention of improving on that end. His presence is exciting, but does not usually make the team better.
That leaves Plumlee and Morris, both of whom I could see back if the market does not get them a better offer elsewhere. However, that really depends on the rest of the roster. If the Suns resign Gillespie and give him a shot, then Morris is behind both point Book and CG so again we would be talking about an end-of-the-bench option. Good for the Suns, but I think MM would want more. Plumlee took a lot of grief from some fans, but as a backup center, I actually think he is pretty good, and depending on what the roster looks like, around him may still be the best option for a backup big. He brings size that Oso does not have and the roster will really need 3 centers regardless of how it is constructed.
Rod: Honestly, I don’t see any reason to be in a hurry to bring any of them back but it also depends on who the Suns select in the draft and what else the Suns can get done via trades and how quickly they can get those things done. Unfortunately, the Suns aren’t likely to have much to offer free agents (vet minimums and maybe the taxpayer MLE if they can get below the 2nd apron) and trades – especially big trades – rarely happen very early on when free agency begins.
The Suns will need some minimum salary players to fill out the roster eventually and, while I’m not certain who all might be available for the vet minimum this year, I am certain that there will be other options which may or may not at least be better fits if not better players. For example, if you can find a center that can actually shot at least fairly well from the outside, why bring back Plumlee and not have a single center on the team that can shot from beyond 10 feet?
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Suns Trivia/History
May 9, 1976: Suns-Warriors highlights from their wild Game 4 finish (end of regulation + both overtimes) in the 1976 Western Conference Finals—beginning with Keith Erickson’s game-tying shot with two seconds left.
Phoenix defeated Golden State, 133-129, in double overtime. pic.twitter.com/dLLkCTbpeQ
— NBA Cobwebs (@NBACobwebs) May 9, 2025
On May 14, 2007, after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 104-98 to tie their Western Conference Semifinals series 2-2, Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for one game by the NBA for stepping off the bench and onto the court after Robert Horry’s hit on Nash in the final minute of the game even though Stoudemire and Diaw never got close to the altercation on the court. Horry also received a two-game suspension from the league for his flagrant foul on Nash and for striking Raja Bell above the shoulders in the subsequent fracas.
On this day in 1994… Kevin Johnson drove baseline and got way up for the emphatic slam! #NBAVault #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/M842HgALcK
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) May 15, 2022
On May 16, 1976, the Phoenix Suns defeated the defending NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors, 94-86 in game seven of the Western Conference Finals to earn their first ever conference championship and a trip to the NBA Finals to face the Boston Celtics.
Last Week’s poll results
Last week’s question was “The hiring of Brian Gregory as the Suns new GM is…”
03.4% – A good move.
46.2% – A bad move.
50.4% – I have no strong opinion on the hiring yet.
A total of 236 votes were cast.
Important Future Dates
May 11-18 – NBA Draft Combine
May 12 – NBA Lottery
June 16, 19 or 22 (following the end of the NBA Finals) – Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents
June 25-26 – NBA Draft
June 30 – Teams may begin negotiating with all other upcoming free agents (beginning at 6 p.m. ET)
July 6 – Teams may begin signing free agents to contracts (12:01 p.m. ET)
July 10-20 – Las Vegas Summer League
This week’s poll is…
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