Here is what the Suns’ president of basketball operations said
Here is most of what Phoenix Suns general manager and president of basketball operations James Jones said following Tuesday’s practice at the Verizon 5G Performance Center.
On extending Grayson Allen:
“It’s magic for us, right? We talk about, it takes everyone and everything. The one thing we wanted to continue to keep was our continuity. We had the opportunity to keep Grayson here, and (Suns majority owner) Mat (Ishbia) was like, ‘You know what? I value his family atmosphere, I value the culture that we’re building.’ Because guys like Grayson value that, and that’s where they want to be. And so, to be able to keep him with the group and have him be a part of our core, I think is a testimony to this group to where guys sacrifice for each other, they make each other better. They stay connected, they compete, and they play the game the right way. And it makes it a fun atmosphere. So for me, I’m just excited we get to keep the best shooter in the league with us.
“He’s one of us. He’s one of us, right? Like I said before, selfless teammate, a guy that’s played big games, played big minutes for some really good teams. He’s played with the best, and everywhere he’s been, he’s won. The best players on all those teams raved, they gush about the type of player he is but more importantly, the type of teammate he is. So I was excited that we got him, and I think you see why we love him.”
On Allen being interested in staying:
“It was huge for us. He said it before, he wanted to be here. He wants to be here, we want him here. It’s a perfect match. What we’re about, he’s about. We want to win at everything. And Grayson said that not only do I want to win, I want to win here in Phoenix, and I’ll show you. I’ll take less to come here and be a part of something special and compete for a championship. And those are the types of players you bet on every time.”
On the regular season:
“Our team is whole now. You look at what we’ve done, we’ve won 49 games, we’re the sixth seed. If you win 49 games in the other conference, you’re the two seed. You win three or four more games, you’re talking about being a top-2, 3 seed. You can look backwards or you can look forward. I look forward to continuing to build the momentum that we’ve built over the last 10 games. I think we’ve started to see our team come together. There’s always been a narrative, when the ‘Big 3’ are together. But I think, if you look at our success, you see it’s much deeper than that. When our team is connected, we’re really, really tough to beat.”
On Bradley Beal:
“Just the balance, right? Brad has picked his spots. I have to credit him a lot for being patient. It’s not easy to be the third guy. And I think the third guy not in talent, but just in usage. When you come to a team with Devin and Kevin, who are two of the league’s best scorers, and someone has to sacrifice. He’s done that. But now, he really understands, he’s striking a better balance of understanding he’s the only Brad Beal that we have. There’s not a guy like him on our team or in the league that can do the things that he can do. And he’s just picking the right time to show everyone what he’s capable of.”
On what Kevin Young, who accepted the head-coaching job at BYU, has meant:
“I mean, I’m so excited for him. We’re so excited for him, but it’s bittersweet. We’ve spent a lot of time together. He’s been instrumental in what we’ve built here in Phoenix, but it’s an opportunity for him to show the world how great of a coach he is. They’re extremely fortunate to have him. It’s bittersweet.”