Igor Kokoskov will be Suns new head coach

[sunsfan88]

C'mon guys. There will be TONS of whining and told you so's no matter who is drafted and how well he does. If its not about the first pick, it will be about the second pick. Or the trades that happen or free agency, or the trades that don't happen, or McD's ears or something. There is always TONs of griping and complaining. The only question will be about what.

Dude the Suns have missed playoffs for 8 STRAIGHT YEARS. Phoenix Suns have the 2nd biggest playoff drought in basketball! We’ve never won a championship and we’ve made the Finals one whooping time in franchise history.

On top of all that, the team is regarded among NBA circles as the 2nd biggest laughing stock in the league and the wide consensus among most NBA insiders/experts is that Robert Sarver is the worst owner in all of basketball.

You act as if the Suns are a team that’s had so much success and we’re coming off like back to back titles and yet fans are still complaining or something. There’s Spurs fans complaining aboud Buford and Pop despite them having won like 5 titles in 15 years or whatever....and you have the audacity to blast Suns fans for complaining? That’s hilarious.

Fans who have still stuck around for this franchise for all these miserable years have EVERY RIGHT to complain until the team can starts contending for a championship again.

 

[SirStefan32]

You really think his D against 2s and 3s... the guys who are in the majority THE most athletic players in the league will be okay?

I don’t see it there and playing Josh out of position on D means that you have Booker/Doncic having to D up against 2s and 3s which I think will be a disaster defensively.

He is not as bad as people think. His foot work is solid, he is pretty damn strong for a kid his age, and he has the size to defend 2s and 3s.

Another way to look at this... that team is a disaster defensively right now. They were a disaster with Bledsoe (supposedly a great defender, though I disagree) at PG. It's not like they are a defensive juggernaut right now. None of the other top prospects are known for their defense. Ayton is not very impressive defensively, and Bagley is downright awful. Young couldn't guard a chair that was missing two legs.

I'm drafting Ayton if I have the number one pick, but he has issues too. Doncic has his issues, but the concerns are way overexerted there. He is not Steve Nash defensively.

 

[SirStefan32]

Dude the Suns have missed playoffs for 8 STRAIGHT YEARS. Phoenix Suns have the 2nd biggest playoff drought in basketball! We’ve never won a championship and we’ve made the Finals one whooping time in franchise history.

On top of all that, the team is regarded among NBA circles as the 2nd biggest laughing stock in the league and the wide consensus among most NBA insiders/experts is that Robert Sarver is the worst owner in all of basketball.

You act as if the Suns are a team that’s had so much success and we’re coming off like back to back titles and yet fans are still complaining or something. There’s Spurs fans complaining aboud Buford and Pop despite them having won like 5 titles in 15 years or whatever....and you have the audacity to blast Suns fans for complaining? That’s hilarious.

Fans who have still stuck around for this franchise for all these miserable years have EVERY RIGHT to complain until the team can starts contending for a championship again.

Philli was a laughing stock before this season. That's not something to worry about. Winning will take care of that problem.

 

[sunsfan88]

Funny thing about all these homeristic takes is that these people are the ones who also immediately turn on the team once the season begins and starts bashing the team hard once they realize the team sucks...all the others were already expecting it so they’re more level headed at that point.

I’ll say this much...everything that’s being crowned about Kokoskov and McD right now was also crowned about Hornacek and Watson.

Hornacek was supposed to be the former Suns legend that returns the Suns back to contention. He was going to have his own statue built outside the Suns arena after the success he’ll bring here.

Watson was supposed to be next young coach on the rise. He was gonna be the Pete Caroll of basketball because he was such an amazing “players coach”.

Can we ever stop counting the chickens before they hatch please....

 

[sunsfan88]

Philli was a laughing stock before this season. That's not something to worry about. Winning will take care of that problem.

I agree. So how about we actually win first before being so ignorant about fans having criticisms of a team that hasn’t made playoffs in 8 straight years (not even Philly had this long a playoff drought btw).

 

[Cheesebeef]

He is not as bad as people think. His foot work is solid, he is pretty damn strong for a kid his age, and he has the size to defend 2s and 3s.

Another way to look at this... that team is a disaster defensively right now. They were a disaster with Bledsoe (supposedly a great defender, though I disagree) at PG. It's not like they are a defensive juggernaut right now. None of the other top prospects are known for their defense. Ayton is not very impressive defensively, and Bagley is downright awful. Young couldn't guard a chair that was missing two legs.

I don't know how you can say he's not as bad as people think and then slam Ayton who put up 10 plus boards a game and 2.5 blocks and calling Bagley downright awful. If Bagley's downright awful, Doncic ain't far behind. No quibbles with Young.

And again, that's not to say Ayton is Hakeem... far from it. But he's a decent defender who's got the tools to be a GREAT defender. Doncic simply doesn't have those athletic tools and never will.

I'm drafting Ayton if I have the number one pick, but he has issues too. Doncic has his issues, but the concerns are way overexerted there. He is not Steve Nash defensively.

He may not be Steve Nash defensively in the Euro league where he's not going up against the best athletes in the world and in a game that emphasizes offense over defense, but I think that kid's gonna look like he's growing roots against the best athletes in the world in the NBA.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I know everyone says we need talent. And we do need a star player. But we do have some talented players. We need good coaching.

Sure, we're not completely devoid of talent but until our kids grow up, we really don't know what we have. If Bender and Chriss were both playing like the draft position, we'd probably be in search of role players instead of stars. But I won't count them as "talent" until we see them play at a high level.

As for coaching, I'm hoping that we'll step up our game as far as assistants go. I love the Igor hire but no more Ty Corbin's on the bench please. If Igor is functioning as Head Coach, he's going to need coaches that can develop the young guys (including Booker, Jackson and Warren).

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Hold up. Ayton doesn't rank in the top 20 in blocks per game (1.9), Block percentage, Defensive Win Shares, his steal rate is amongst the worst in NCAA (0.7). His block percentage is the lowest of any center projected in the first round.

He ranks in the 0th percentile on defending the pick and pop. He plays terrible in space

His team ranked 75th in defending the 2 point FG (rim). He is actually a better jump shot blocker than rim protector because he can't adjust to screens and rolls fast enough.

There is a ton to be worried about with Ayton defensively. You saw it on full display against teams like Colorado and Buffalo where they just exposed him.

 

[Raindog]

Come on, man, it's OK to not like the guy, but now you are just making things up. Doncic is by far the best passers in this draft. Anyone who's watched two full games knows that.

I meant that he has no other skills that make him superior to anyone playing 1 (PG) in the NBA. His passing and his ballhandling aren't extraordinary for the requirements of the PG position. His size may be, but that's it. That is what I said.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

That isn't correct though. He has elite over the top and pocket passing.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Dude the Suns have missed playoffs for 8 STRAIGHT YEARS. Phoenix Suns have the 2nd biggest playoff drought in basketball! We’ve never won a championship and we’ve made the Finals one whooping time in franchise history.

On top of all that, the team is regarded among NBA circles as the 2nd biggest laughing stock in the league and the wide consensus among most NBA insiders/experts is that Robert Sarver is the worst owner in all of basketball.

You act as if the Suns are a team that’s had so much success and we’re coming off like back to back titles and yet fans are still complaining or something. There’s Spurs fans complaining aboud Buford and Pop despite them having won like 5 titles in 15 years or whatever....and you have the audacity to blast Suns fans for complaining? That’s hilarious.

Fans who have still stuck around for this franchise for all these miserable years have EVERY RIGHT to complain until the team can starts contending for a championship again.

Made the finals twice in our history

 

[Carolinacacti]

Good news, If the Suns don't get the top pick and Ayton. Igor will coach Len up.

 

[Raindog]

Good news, If the Suns don't get the top pick and Ayton. Igor will coach Len up.

I assume you are joking, but just checking. It would take a team of Igors working around the clock 24-7 to coach Len into being anything other than the erratic, stumbling robot that he is apparently destined to be as an NBA player.

 

[sunsfan88]

Good news, If the Suns don't get the top pick and Ayton. Igor will coach Len up.

Len may not be receptive to his coaching, he’s already gone on record saying he preferred Triano over Kokoskov.

 

[sunsfan88]

Hold up. Ayton doesn't rank in the top 20 in blocks per game (1.9), Block percentage, Defensive Win Shares, his steal rate is amongst the worst in NCAA (0.7). His block percentage is the lowest of any center projected in the first round.

He ranks in the 0th percentile on defending the pick and pop. He plays terrible in space

His team ranked 75th in defending the 2 point FG (rim). He is actually a better jump shot blocker than rim protector because he can't adjust to screens and rolls fast enough.

There is a ton to be worried about with Ayton defensively. You saw it on full display against teams like Colorado and Buffalo where they just exposed him.

How does Doncic fare in defensive statitistics?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Len may not be receptive to his coaching, he’s already gone on record saying he preferred Triano over Kokoskov.

What? Cmon. I need to see that quote.

 

[AzStevenCal]

What? Cmon. I need to see that quote.

I don't think that's exactly what he said but I could see it being interpreted like this. IIRC, he said he liked Triano and was hoping he'd get the job but Koko is a good hire too. Something like that.

 

[Mainstreet]

Doncic/Booker back court... ugh. If they do this, we just learn nothing from our double combo guard experiment, thinking that this time it ‘ll Work... because they’re bigger!

It primarily didn't work before because Dragic wanted to play PG. The same may be true of Knight.

The Suns have been playing Booker at PG as a change of pace and because of need. Doncic is projected as a SG with ball handling skills. So playing both together, if the Suns go this direction, makes a lot of sense. Both can handle the ball and both can play SG. The Suns have never had the perfect combination to do this. I can see it working.

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

Len may not be receptive to his coaching, he’s already gone on record saying he preferred Triano over Kokoskov.

Len wont be a Sun so it doesnt matter what he prefers. We'll finally rid ourselves from this albatross. (fingers crossed).

 

[Mainstreet]

What? Cmon. I need to see that quote.

I don't think that's exactly what he said but I could see it being interpreted like this. IIRC, he said he liked Triano and was hoping he'd get the job but Koko is a good hire too. Something like that.

I see no reason why Len wouldn't be receptive to being coached by Kokoskov.

This is what Len actually said. See below:

“I personally hoped they would hire Triano,” center Alex Len said in a text to azcentral sports. “I loved playing for Jay and I think he would have more success if he had a little bit better roster. But about Igor, all I heard is only great things about him as a person and coach. I think he will be a great fit and hopefully will be able to turn around this franchise.”

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...enix-suns-igor-kokoskov-head-coach/575429002/

 

[Hoop Head]

I don't know how you can say he's not as bad as people think and then slam Ayton who put up 10 plus boards a game and 2.5 blocks and calling Bagley downright awful. If Bagley's downright awful, Doncic ain't far behind. No quibbles with Young.

And again, that's not to say Ayton is Hakeem... far from it. But he's a decent defender who's got the tools to be a GREAT defender. Doncic simply doesn't have those athletic tools and never will.



He may not be Steve Nash defensively in the Euro league where he's not going up against the best athletes in the world and in a game that emphasizes offense over defense, but I think that kid's gonna look like he's growing roots against the best athletes in the world in the NBA.

Stats aren't everything. Amare averaged 9.1 rebounds with 2.1 blocks with the Suns in Shaq's first year here, does that mean he was a good defender? I don't think anyone has ever confused him for a good defender before. When you're trying to figure out how a players defense is you can't get an accurate picture by the box score, you need to watch them play.

 

[Hoop Head]

How does Doncic fare in defensive statitistics?

He averages 1.1 steals and 5.1 rebounds, not sure what defensive stats you're looking for.

For what it's worth, he's 1st in FT attempts, 9th in total steals, 10th in steals per game, 4th in assists per game with 4.8, 10th in total number of defensive rebounds, and 4th in PPG while averaging 16.3 ppg. That's all Euroleague rankings.

You can view more stats of his here...

https://www.basketball-reference.com/euro/players/luka-doncic-1.html

 

[Chris_Sanders]

How does Doncic fare in defensive statitistics?

In his league?

10th in his league in steals, 10th in defensive rebounds, Blocks 0.4 per game. They don't do advance stats there.

 

[Mainstreet]

There are reports Fizdale turned down a 4 year offer from the Suns.

http://arizonasports.com/story/1518283/report-new-knicks-coach-david-fizdale-turned-down-suns/

Let him go to New York.

 

[Hoop Head]

There are reports Fizdale turned down a 4 year offer from the Suns.

http://arizonasports.com/story/1518283/report-new-knicks-coach-david-fizdale-turned-down-suns/

Let him go to New York.

That isn't very surprising, if true. Fizdale strikes me as the type of guy who would rather be in New York and the big market. He also had issues with ownership in Memphis so working for Sarver may not have been all that appealing. I don't think James Dolan is better, but at least there you're in New York. Failing with the Knicks is almost expected also, so I don't see there being a lot of pressure on him. We'll see what happens but I'm happy with Igor right now. I prefer him to Fizdale based on all I've read about Igor over the last day and a half.