"All of the following players on the Suns’ roster saw growth with the help of Kokoskov and his staff:
Josh Jackson - shot mechanics,
Dragan Bender - confidence and finishing high around the rim,
Mikal Bridges - aggressiveness and play-making, and
Deandre Ayton - defense. All four saw rapid development in each of these categories from Game 1 to Game 82. And even more members of the roster saw progressions, albeit on a more gradual path."
Man... this is just saying something with very little evidence backing it up. Dragan Bender barely saw the floor and when he did, looked like the same thing he did last season. Bridges... playmaking improved? No. Not one bit. Dude was a stud on D, but did very little else. Jackson's shot mechanics moved the needle not at all on his overall shooting and he went up from 6% from 3... which is okay. And the less said about Ayton's D the better.
The reality is the youngins didn't improve so much through the course of the season as much as the talent around them did, getting a boost from Oubre and Johnson. It was only once those additions were made did the Suns in any way shape or form look like they belonged on a basketball court.
that said, he had a disastrous PG situation to deal with and thus, he gets a little more rope to hang himself next season. But not much more unless we see real improvement from the guys above... improvement that isn't measured by "I say so" but W's in the standings.
