Evaluating Triano

[JCSunsfan]

I really like Warren, but I do think his game is somewhat situation specific. If the mid range and post area is clogged then he isn't going to produce... at the same time he won't kill us because he isn't selfish. But still, against teams that have long defenders that rotate on the interior, I think he will not put up consistent scoring numbers until he develops a reliable 3pt shot.

At the same time... to over hype him, I feel like he provides everything Carmelo Anthony should. He rebounds well for his size, he hustles, he isn't selfish, he has a killer game within 16 feet. If OKC offered him for Melo straight up, I'd decline.

I get what you are saying about TJ being what Melo should be, but I would not take Melo for free.

 

[Raze]

When I was at the Jazz game on the 25th I watched the Suns bench and body language was really good but it seemed like whoever was closest to the coaches was always talking with a coach or two and Triano himself seemed to give a lot of attention to Bender and Len in particular, whether it was in timeouts or they were by the bench.

Jay has already done more coaching in 5 games than Earl did in his entire tenure. I love the energy and body language. They look like a winning team. I'm truly shocked.

 

[Ronin]

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[Mainstreet]

At the same time... to over hype him, I feel like he provides everything Carmelo Anthony should. He rebounds well for his size, he hustles, he isn't selfish, he has a killer game within 16 feet. If OKC offered him for Melo straight up, I'd decline.

Yes! I'm still seeing a sweet corner 3 that Warren put there without hesitation the last game.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Yes! I'm still seeing a sweet corner 3 that Warren put there without hesitation the last game.

Yep. I don't want Warren becoming a three point gunner. 2 a game or so is just perfect, if they are open.

 

[Hoop Head]

Warren needs to show he has a respectable outside shot more than actually develop a good 3 point shot just so defenses can't sag off of him. He doesn't need to become a volume 3 point shooter who shoots more than 1 or 2 a game, just take them when they're open. Kind of like what Tucker did while he was here.

 

[Mainstreet]

Most of all, Devin Booker wants the Suns to keep Triano.

Booker said Monday that he’d like to see Phoenix retain interim coach Jay Triano, who has led the Suns to a 10-18 record since taking over for the fired Earl Watson three games into the season.

“Me and Triano have that relationship. He’s somebody I’m comfortable with and somebody I’ve been around for a long time,” Booker said. “I love Triano. I don’t make those calls (hiring a coach) but he’s been doing a wonderful job since he’s been here and I would vouch for him. He’s been really good.”

The same can be said of Alex Len.

Triano also has the support of center Alex Len, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Len, who is putting up career numbers in points (9.1), rebounds (9.2), field goal percentage (53.2) and free throw percentage (76.3), said he might be more inclined to sign a new deal with the Suns should Triano get the full-time job.

“I definitely love Jay and love playing for him,” Len said. “It would be something to think about.”

I am one of those who are not against keeping Len for the right price.

The Republic | azcentral.com Published 2:39 p.m. MT Dec. 18, 2017 | Updated 2:47 p.m. MT Dec. 18, 2017

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...dallas-take-mavericks-monday-night/961072001/

 

[JCSunsfan]

Most of all, Devin Booker wants the Suns to keep Triano.



The same can be said of Alex Len.



I am one of those who are not against keeping Len for the right price.

The Republic | azcentral.com Published 2:39 p.m. MT Dec. 18, 2017 | Updated 2:47 p.m. MT Dec. 18, 2017

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...dallas-take-mavericks-monday-night/961072001/

Steve Nash, Devin Booker, Alex Len. Good group to have in your corner. I am not sure Triano wants the job though. He likes being an assistant.

 

[Mainstreet]

Steve Nash, Devin Booker, Alex Len. Good group to have in your corner. I am not sure Triano wants the job though. He likes being an assistant.

If Triano is not hired as the next head coach, he should be strongly recommended as an assistant coach. I'd like for the Suns to keep him in the organization

 

[Raze]

Steve Nash, Devin Booker, Alex Len. Good group to have in your corner. I am not sure Triano wants the job though. He likes being an assistant.

Sometimes the most reluctant leaders make the best ones. He's more than proven himself in the early going here. The team just seems to respond to his professional approach. 11-18 since he took over. Plus 2-4 without Booker.

 

[Hoop Head]

The team wanted to keep Watson also. While I value Booker's input and think the team should listen to him and take his word into account I'm not sure they should use that as reasoning to possibly make the same mistake twice.

 

[Errntknght]

I'm in no rush to vote on keeping him - by this time last year, I knew I wanted to see no more of Watson and I was already leery of Horny about this long into his first year. So far, no red flags for Triano but I want to see how much player developement he gets from the guys the rest of the year. He's added some players and that's all gone quite well - though I am getting impatient to see Peters on the floor. It will be interesting to see how he handles incorporating him, Reed and Sauce into the rotations. He's going to have his hands full.

It's a deep team with Book being the only real standout so far. Even Len does not stand out that much (in the expected, downward, direction.) Ulis has been quite a disappointment as a floor general compared to last year and I am loathe to lay that at Triano's feet. Mike James hasn't looked as good as we hoped for as a playmaker either so its possible Triano is the common problem. Canaan will give up another data point. If he gets worse the longer he plays we will have to wonder what is going on.

 

[JCSunsfan]

So far, I like Triano. He coaches basketball. I know the players like him, which is not bad.

Len has looked so much better under Triano. He has done something interesting with Len. While Triano is alternating games with Monroe and Chandler, Len is playing solid minutes every game. He seems to have a much better sense of what he can do and what is expected of him. And do look now, but Alex Len is one of the best rebounders in the NBA.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Just some further thoughts on Triano.

1. He has gone 11-18 since taking over--without any benefit of training camp.
2. He did this with the Bledsoe distraction
3. He did this without an NBA worthy pg.
4. 7 of those 18 losses were without his best player in Booker.
5. The team is actually running a discernible offense now.
6. Alex Len has prospered under his coaching. He has managed Len well and put him in a position to succeed.

He is definitely making a case for himself. The funny thing is that I do not know if he really wants to be a head coach.

Many pundits were projecting the Suns as the worst team in the NBA this year, and that was WITH Bledsoe.

 

[Mainstreet]

Triano would be an ideal mentor for an assistant coach to eventually take over the team but it seems these situations never work out.

 

[elindholm]

Len's transformation is remarkable. His skill level has not improved, but he has been assigned a role in which his skill set can be maximized. I give Triano credit for that. Most coaches, even big-name ones, come in with a "system" and ask the players to conform with it. Triano, by contrast, has taken a collection of spare parts that don't fit all that well together and figured out a way to make something out of it. It's a more sophisticated, more difficult, and less ego-driven concept of what it means to be an NBA coach. Maybe it wouldn't work for many years or with a team that's already very good, but it's getting decent results now, and that shows that Triano has real skill, not just a crib sheet of catchwords masquerading as coaching knowledge.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Len's transformation is remarkable. His skill level has not improved, but he has been assigned a role in which his skill set can be maximized. I give Triano credit for that. Most coaches, even big-name ones, come in with a "system" and ask the players to conform with it. Triano, by contrast, has taken a collection of spare parts that don't fit all that well together and figure out a way to make something out of it. It's a more sophisticated, more difficult, and less ego-driven concept of what it means to be an NBA coach. Maybe it wouldn't work for many years or with a team that's already very good, but it's getting decent results now, and that shows that Triano has real skill, not just a crib sheet of catchwords masquerading as coaching knowledge.

To me, the fact that 7 of his 11 losses were without Booker is profound.

Suns without Triano 0-3
Suns without Booker 2-5
Suns with Triano and Booker 9-13

 

[Carolinacacti]

Really want to see what happens when Reed and Sauce come back. But to all the Len haters. If I was GM, I would be calling his agent today for a sit down.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Really want to see what happens when Reed and Sauce come back. But to all the Len haters. If I was GM, I would be calling his agent today for a sit down.

I would too. But I would be praying he doesn’t turn into Omer Asik, who looked like he was going to be great when Houston signed him.

 

[Raze]

So now Jay is winning without Booker. 3 of their last 4. Umm, if you asked me how many games this team could win in a season without Booker, I might have said 3. It's uncanny what he's doing with this squad.

Jay continues to prove his metal.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

So now Jay is winning without Booker. 3 of their last 4. Umm, if you asked me how many games this team could win in a season without Booker, I might have said 3. It's uncanny what he's doing with this squad.

Jay continues to prove his metal.

He’s indeed doing a pretty good job. But beating a depleted grizzlies team by 2 is hardly something to crow about. Meh this whole season feels like one of those awful seasons where the young guys don’t really developed or show anything and mid-level vets somehow squeak out a bunch of meaningless wins against teams resting players to rob us of an impactful draft pick.

 

[Errntknght]

He’s indeed doing a pretty good job. But beating a depleted grizzlies team by 2 is hardly something to crow about. Meh this whole season feels like one of those awful seasons where the young guys don’t really developed or show anything and mid-level vets somehow squeak out a bunch of meaningless wins against teams resting players to rob us of an impactful draft pick.

Triano is giving the young guys the chance to develop, and if they fail to do so that gives us useful information, too. Take Ulis, for example; we now have a strong indication that he is not starter material and may not even be a worthwhile backup. And Len has morphed from a pain in the patoot to a competent backup, at least. Jackson has to go through the learning phase where his brain catches up with his quick feet - and there are small signs he's making progress. Bender is gradually developing confidence as several people have noted. He (and/or McD) have picked Canaan off the trash pile and Jay has him utilizing (most of the time) capabilities few would have guessed he possessed. Triano, himself, has a learning curve of how to best deploy the weapons he has, and he's clearly making good progress. The one thing that bugs me is that he is not working Peters into team... he may be right in so doing, but I don't understand it.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Triano has the bearing of a head coach. I remember when John Wetzel was coach. He just was not "presidential." I can't remember the commentator that said it. It think it was Al McCoy, but that would seem out of character for him.

Triano is "presidential". He carries himself like he belongs there. But he does it in a no nonsense sort of way.

 

[Hoop Head]

Interesting piece about Booker having a say in who the next coach is, according to McD. I'm fine with Booker having a say but I think it's way too early to make this known. This could result in Triano catering to Booker too much in order to get a good word in. I don't think Triano is that type of coach and he's said he's not interested in being the full time coach but that's just one of the potential drawbacks from this statement by McD.

http://arizonasports.com/story/1359...says-devin-booker-say-front-office-decisions/

 

[SirStefan32]

Eh, I don't think anyone could cater to Booker too much. This team sucks right now, and Booker is the only star on the team. Second-best player is a level or two bellow, and seems happy to yield to Booker. I am trying to create a scenario in my head in which Triano could possibly cater to Booker too much, and I am coming up blank. It's good to let the young fellow know how much he is valued.