Exit interviews for Suns after 2014-15 season

[Mainstreet]

There are too many interesting comments from Suns players and staff to list. However, here are a few from Paul Coro.

Paul Coro @paulcoro · 1h 1 hour ago

"Coach Jeff Hornacek on a common theme from #Suns players' exit interviews: We didn’t have all guys that were just concerned with winning."

Paul Coro @paulcoro · 1h 1 hour ago

McDonough on Knight being a RFA: "We all learned from Eric’s (Bledsoe) situation last year. I think & hope this one will go a lot smoother."

Paul Coro @paulcoro · 2h 2 hours ago

Brandon Knight is "optimistic" about returning to the #Suns after his restricted free agency. http://bit.ly/1aWRiw7

Paul Coro @paulcoro · 3h 3 hours ago

Reggie Bullock: "They told me that they see me as a player that definitely can be great in this league & definitely can fit in the system."

Paul Coro @paulcoro · 5h 5 hours ago

Brandan Wright is interested in returning to the #Suns."Being called young is pretty much over with. We've got to take the next step."

Paul Coro @paulcoro · 6h 6 hours ago

Gerald Green: "I think they want me back as well...Actually, it was a good conversation (w/Lon Babby) so I'm a little positive about that."

Paul Coro @paulcoro · 7h 7 hours ago

RFA Brandon Knight on PHX: "I like the way I've been treated so far. Top-class organization. I'm looking forward to a future with the Suns."

Plus plenty more.

https://twitter.com/paulcoro

 

[sunsfan88]

I really hope its one or the other with Knight and Bledsoe, not both.

Really tired of us stockpiling all these PGs to use as "assets".

 

[Mainstreet]

The comment noted below (from first post) really caught my attention.

"Coach Jeff Hornacek on a common theme from #Suns players' exit interviews: We didn’t have all guys that were just concerned with winning."

I wonder if indeed, this means what it says. Any other interpretations other that a lot of players had another agenda?

 

[Mainstreet]

I really hope its one or the other with Knight and Bledsoe, not both.

Really tired of us stockpiling all these PGs to use as "assets".

I think the Suns will give it another try with two PGs but they will need a backup PG who is not overly ambitious.

 

[sunsfan88]

The comment noted below (from first post) really caught my attention.

"Coach Jeff Hornacek on a common theme from #Suns players' exit interviews: We didn’t have all guys that were just concerned with winning."

I wonder if indeed, this means what it says. Any other interpretations other that a lot of players had another agenda?

When will the coach himself actually start taking responsibility instead of just blaming everything else?

 

[BC867]

The comment noted below (from first post) really caught my attention.

"Coach Jeff Hornacek on a common theme from #Suns players' exit interviews: We didn’t have all guys that were just concerned with winning."

I wonder if indeed, this means what it says. Any other interpretations other that a lot of players had another agenda?

JUST concerned with winning? Pulling together as a team to win should be, of course, the primary goal of a ballplayer.

But omitting ANY consideration of a professional player being concerned with his development and playing time is unrealistic. The teams that finish strong in the playoffs certainly have guys who LEAD their team to victory.

The constant quotes from little Jeffy are very naïve. He is talking himself out of being the man at the top on the court.

 

[Absolute Zero]

The comment noted below (from first post) really caught my attention.

"Coach Jeff Hornacek on a common theme from #Suns players' exit interviews: We didn’t have all guys that were just concerned with winning."

I wonder if indeed, this means what it says. Any other interpretations other that a lot of players had another agenda?

Not sure, but I saw another quote from Hornacek where he said that the problems didn't start during the trade stuff. He said right off the bat, players were complaining about their roles on the team.

I think they signed IT as insurance, not being sure if they would be able to resign Bledsoe. But it really backfired when you start the season with 3 guys who believe they should be the starting point guard and getting minutes as such. IT had the same attitude, the dude just reeks with confidence. So team chemistry was messed up from the get go it seems.

 

[Catlover]

The comment noted below (from first post) really caught my attention.

"Coach Jeff Hornacek on a common theme from #Suns players' exit interviews: We didn’t have all guys that were just concerned with winning."

I wonder if indeed, this means what it says. Any other interpretations other that a lot of players had another agenda?

I don't know how to take it. When I read it I thought he was just summing up what some players told him in exit interviews but most people here seem to believe he was accusing players instead. Maybe more will come out to establish context in the next few days?

 

[sunsfan88]

IIRC, this isn't the first time that Hornacek has called out the players publicly.

 

[Mainstreet]

I tried my best to understand this quote from Hornacek. My best guess is that there were one or more players that were not concerned with winning on the Suns roster. Maybe one... maybe more. I had to look at the use of the word "all" from every direction. However Paul Coro uses "a common theme" so I don't know.

https://twitter.com/paulcoro/status/588478458084335616

 

[FArting]

One of Brandon Knights quotes he talked about being mentally tough.

Tony La Russa wants the Dbacks to be mentally and physically tough.

 

[mojorizen7]

The comment noted below (from first post) really caught my attention.

"Coach Jeff Hornacek on a common theme from #Suns players' exit interviews: We didn’t have all guys that were just concerned with winning."

I wonder if indeed, this means what it says. Any other interpretations other that a lot of players had another agenda?

The players aren't buying into his system.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Re: Hornaceks comments. There were players that were more concerned about personal agendas (pt, how their brother is being treated, frustrated with role) than winning.

The elephant in the room question would be--who?

Before the trades:
1. Plumlee. Frustrated with pt when Len moved into the starting role.
2. Goran. Yes. As much as I like him, he preferred a trade to winning.
3. Zoran. This one is probably a slam dunk.
4. IT? Maybe. Had only one way to play, his way, regardless of coaching or others.

Now. Well, thats a little tricky. We saw positive comments regarding Knight, Wright, Green. I don't think the rookies played into that scenario that much, so we would not be talking about Warren, Len (virtual rookie). I doubt PJ is in the "not concerned about winning" category.

So that leaves Bledsoe, Archie, and the twins. Is it one, two, three or all?

I am guessing that the Suns are done with brothers on the team.

 

[JCSunsfan]

BTW. When Hornacek was asked where the Suns need to improve he said,

"Size, rebounding, outside shooting."

BC, you ought to love this guy.

 

[Griffin]

I tried my best to understand this quote from Hornacek. My best guess is that there were one or more players that were not concerned with winning on the Suns roster. Maybe one... maybe more. I had to look at the use of the word "all" from every direction. However Paul Coro uses "a common theme" so I don't know.

https://twitter.com/paulcoro/status/588478458084335616

I think that's what some of the players were implying themselves during their exit interviews, not Hornacek. Hornacek just summarized what was being said by the players, that not everyone was on the same page. Which is what you'd expect on a young team without veteran leadership, where players are still trying to make a name for themselves. Priorities will vary.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think that's what some of the players were implying themselves during their exit interviews, not Hornacek. Hornacek just summarized what was being said by the players, that not everyone was on the same page. Which is what you'd expect on a young team without veteran leadership, where players are still trying to make a name for themselves. Priorities will vary.

That seems to be the case. In today's Paul Coro article at azcentral he writes.

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said he heard two common themes from players Wednesday:

• "The fact that we didn't have all guys that were just concerned about winning;"

•"Hey, it was my first year of actually playing that many minutes. A lot of times, I was just trying to figure it out myself."

Both attest for the teams' critical need for leadership. McDonough said the current players with the best leadership potential are two of the youngest – Knight, 23, and Alex Len, 21.

My curiosity is the comment:

"The fact that we didn't have all guys that were just concerned about winning;"

My concern, are those the player's thoughts before the trades made at the trade deadline (from a historical perspective) or were some of those players still on the Suns season ending roster?

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...s-needed-compete-western-conference/25856235/

 

[Mainstreet]

I just reread those comments from the quoted article. So McDonough thinks Knight and Len have the best potential to be leaders. What about Bledsoe?

 

[Catlover]

I just reread those comments from the quoted article. So McDonough thinks Knight and Len have the best potential to be leaders. What about Bledsoe?

There are good leaders. There are poor leaders. There are people incapable of leadership. Bledsoe falls in the latter group, he will never be much of a leader.

During the post-trade interviews, Babby and Mcdonough both said that they had players that weren't focused on winning and they cleaned house of them. Or something along those lines. I believe Jeff and the interviewees were talking about players that are no longer in Phoenix, for the most part.

 

[Phrazbit]

I think it was both, guys who got shipped out and a few who are still here. I suspect the Twins and Green are among the "not worried about winning" group. Green, while I'm not a fan of his, I can see it from his perspective. He was in a contract year and his role shrunk, I think justifiably so, but still, he probably feels as though it cost him a ton of potential salary.

As for the Twins, we heard plenty from their own mouths to cause questions about their mentality. We never should have traded for Marcus, they feed off each-other.

 

[Mainstreet]

There are good leaders. There are poor leaders. There are people incapable of leadership. Bledsoe falls in the latter group, he will never be much of a leader.

I just can't believe McDonough came right out and said it even if it's true. It makes me think Len and Knight might be the cornerstones of the franchise so if a PG gets traded it could mean Bledsoe would be that player.

During the post-trade interviews, Babby and Mcdonough both said that they had players that weren't focused on winning and they cleaned house of them. Or something along those lines. I believe Jeff and the interviewees were talking about players that are no longer in Phoenix, for the most part.

I'm leaning towards Phrazbit's comment about it being both. Post-trade interviews does not mean the Suns rid themselves of all the chaff. Exit interviews might have revealed more flaws with some players.

In regard to Green, I think he is a player the Suns should keep on a reasonable contract as a shooter but I am not looking for him to be a defensive player. The Suns need more shooters. The twins are something that I'm kind of neutral about. I could live with them if the Suns added more depth upfront.

Paul Coro writes today.

The Suns' plan is to balance out their roster better, both in experience and position. The plan is to continue to grow the franchise in the classic draft-and-develop manner. They want to re-sign players like Brandon Knight, a restricted free agent, and Brandan Wright, an unrestricted free agent with Bird rights to exceed the salary cap.

Should I look for the return of Channing Frye?

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor.../?hootPostID=45cf59c13c6d67ee973623cfb487db64

 

[elindholm]

The plan is to continue to grow the franchise in the classic draft-and-develop manner.

Well that's specific.

I wonder how they expect to beat the other teams in the league? Better drafting, or better development? It's not enough to do those things "well"; you need to do them better than your competition.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Well that's specific.

I wonder how they expect to beat the other teams in the league? Better drafting, or better development? It's not enough to do those things "well"; you need to do them better than your competition.

not only that, but the above implies they've been good at doing that so far. Meanwhile, Archie was parked on the bench most of the season and Warren barely saw any time this season. And Len... well, it looked like mid-season he was coming on, but then them foot problems crept back up unfortunately.

 

[Mainstreet]

Well that's specific.

I wonder how they expect to beat the other teams in the league? Better drafting, or better development? It's not enough to do those things "well"; you need to do them better than your competition.

I'm guessing through the draft unless they can leap ahead with the right trade. I'm wondering why the Suns have not looked towards South American players more. The Suns definitely need better scouting even though McDonough seems to paint a portrait of knowing every potential NBA player.

 

[SirStefan32]

To get good through the draft, you need to have decent picks. Suns are stuck in the proverbial purgatory. Drafting at #13 is not going to produce significant movement.

Play Archie, TJ, and Len. Bogdanovic too, when he gets here. Screw the winning, screw the Bledsoe/ Dragic/ IT/ Knight types who will win you a few games but not make you a very good team. You develop players while probably getting good picks. It's no coincidence that the Suns' best asset is the guy they picked when they got that #5 pick.

 

[Cheesebeef]

To get good through the draft, you need to have decent picks. Suns are stuck in the proverbial purgatory. Drafting at #13 is not going to produce significant movement.

Play Archie, TJ, and Len. Bogdanovic too, when he gets here. Screw the winning, screw the Bledsoe/ Dragic/ IT/ Knight types who will win you a few games but not make you a very good team. You develop players while probably getting good picks. It's no coincidence that the Suns' best asset is the guy they picked when they got that #5 pick.

bingo.