NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner sat down with the newest head coach of the Phoenix Suns.
NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner sat down with the newest head coach of the Phoenix Suns, Mike Budenholzer. He got some great insight from Bud, including a preview of what the Suns starting lineup will be and much more.
Full story here: The Q&A: Mike Budenholzer eager to start next chapter in Phoenix
Here are some key takeaway snippets that caught my eye. I highly recommend reading the entire thing for a more in-depth look at Coach Bud’s headspace entering the season.
Some takeaways from Coach Bud’s Q&A interview with @AschNBA ✍️
– “Play fast” (mentioned several times)
– Starting five: Tyus, Book, Beal, KD, Nurk
– Called Book “Glue Guy” in Olympics
– Finding a hybrid of what fits the team’s style of play (volume of 3’s, drop defense, etc.)…— Zona (@AZSportsZone) September 27, 2024
What is the key to tapping into the talents of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beat and the team’s potential overall?
“Putting the players in position to play together. Play fast.”
The full quote goes in a little more detail, but I’ll stop it at “Play fast.” This has me excited for the tempo the Suns will likely play with, leaning into their offensive identity and creating calculated chaos offensively, which is where they will thrive. Transition buckets, more threes, and drop coverage leading to (hopefully) more outlets and leakouts in fastbreaks seem to be the plan.
For a long time, Tyus Jones had the label of “best backup point guard in the NBA.” Last year he was the starter in Washington but that team struggled. What does he bring as a free-agent addition?
Certainly we feel like Tyus has established himself as a great starting point guard in our league and he will be our starter. When you put him out there with Kevin, Brad, Book and Nurk [Jusuf Nurkic], we feel like we’ve got a strong starting five. And a really strong bench behind them.
Confirming this starting lineup ahead of camp seems unusual from a Suns coach, as the organization has typically kept everything very close to the chest or tight-lipped personnel-wise. We should not be surprised that Tyus Jones was listed as a starter after his initial quote to ESPN when picking the Suns and taking that discount. It’s a small starting five, but the versatility the bench will have in O’Neale, Bol, Dunn, and Okogie combined with the steady guard play of Morris and Allen makes it a potentially lethal bench unit.
This quote about Tyus also stood out, as he seems bullish on his prospects in the rotation.
“But to have a point guard who’s got the IQ, the experience, the leadership, the ability to communicate, with everyone trusting him – his coach and his teammates – yes, we feel like Tyus has got that in him. He’s got that DNA.”
Coach Bud goes in detail about how grateful he is for the opportunity and it seems he is in excellent spirits and excited for the season to begin. We are too, coach.
Again, check out the full story here if you missed it above or are too lazy to scroll back up.