Recapping the State of the Suns and open practice

What did CEO Josh Bartelstein, GM James Jones, and Head Coach Mike Budenholzer have to say about the upcoming season?

On Saturday, the Phoenix Suns held their annual State of the Suns event, immediately followed by an open practice, where fans could get one last glimpse of the team before the regular season begins.

This year, the event was held at Mullett Arena, on the campus of Arizona State University. The Mullett is also the home for the Suns’ new G-League affiliate, the Valley Suns. So, this event was also our first look at the minor league squad’s new home floor.

Nothing too exciting or unordinary about the floor – although, using two-tone below the three-point line create the logo is a nice touch.

The Valley Suns and Mullett aside, the event kicked off with Amanda Pfulgrad sitting center court with Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein, GM James Jones, and Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

Now, Bartelstein and Jones have been at these events before. So, we have a general idea what to expect. But one thing Bartelstein emphasized that I do not recall being discussed in the past is the organization’s focus on providing not only players with great experiences and facilities, but providing the same to the players’ entire families.

Bartelstein, for instance, discussed upgrades that the team made to the “family room” at the arena (which I did not know existed). He emphasized recognizing that the players are more than players – they are people. And by ensuring that the organization’s appeal is about the person, not just the players, they move away from relationships that are “transactional.”

The front office is striving to make the Phoenix Suns a destination, and we see that taking effect already.

That said, I was more interested in hearing what Coach Bud had to say – as the new guy in town. His tone echoed that of Jones and Bartelstein, focusing on the people, not just the players. For example, when asked what excited him most about the roster, he was quick to discuss what great people they all are:

Frankly, this type of answer is exactly why I love Coach Bud. Everything he says comes across as real – as sincere. He does not provide canned answers to questions like “what excites you about this roster.” And I think that sense of “real” is exactly the kind of coach – and person – that guys like Devin Booker and Kevin Durant can connect with. Obviously, Frank Vogel lost the locker room last season. For better or worse, that ran through Book and KD.

I don’t foresee the same fate befalling Coach Bud.

Coach Bud, of course, talked X’s and O’s, also. And, more importantly, he got into everyone’s favorite topic of conversation these days: three-point shooting. It sounds like the team is fully-bought in on letting it fly:

As for the open practice portion, the Suns started off – as they always do – with a three-man weave:

After that, the team treated the crowd to a scrimmage – with referees, timeouts, and everything. It was not the most efficient scrimmage, but the team certainly displayed the increased propensity for taking the three. We even saw Nurk hit a couple during the scrimmage.

On top of that, we got to see a little rookie-to-rookie love between Oso Ighodaro and Ryan Dunn:

Overall, it was a fun-filled morning/early afternoon with the Suns before the regular season kicks off. In addition to the above, we found out that Royce O’Neale likes to wear his jersey backwards for some reason:

And we got to see JO give a little love to some young fans:

My main takeaway? The vibes are immaculate and I can’t wait for the regular season to start.