Press Conference today. 4/24/19

[Ronin]

Duane Rankin

@DuaneRankin
·
16m

"It's not as if we go into the season and into these decisions and say, let's make a decision that's going to create more chaos and instability. ... My promise is every decision that I make will be with stability in mind." #Suns GM James Jones. (link: https://bit.ly/2UFfSbn) bit.ly/2UFfSbn

 

[Ronin]

Gina Mizell
@ginamizell
·
1m

James Jones on firing Igor Kokoskov: "I have a ton of respect for Igor. He's an extraordinary human being. A really good coach. The wins & losses this year weren't the factor that I really focused on. It was just a collective set of issues that I thought we could improve." #Suns

 

[BC867]

Here is an article on the local AzCentral.com.

No need to recap it. It says what many of us have been saying for a long time.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...&utm_campaign=narrative&utm_term=article_body

And I agree with what Stef posted . . . before he said he was joking.

When Jones announced that Igor's firing was his decision and his alone,
it is conceivable that Sarver could have said something like, "You're the
GM now. You tell the Press that it was strictly your decision."

Who knows what happened, but it is a possibility, based on Sarver's
history of meddling and micro-managing.

 

[Ronin]

Gina Mizell
@ginamizell
·
3m

James Jones on the timing of Igor Kokoskov's firing: "The knee-jerk reaction is to just say 'OK, let's get a head start on this process.' We wanted to make sure we were thinking this thing through and really giving ourselves time to make the best decision for us." #Suns

 

[AzStevenCal]

That's exactly what Sarver would order him to say.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I am joking.

So, Sarver got to you too?

 

[Ronin]

Gina Mizell
@ginamizell
·
11m

Jones added that hiring somebody with NBA head-coaching experience is "gold," but that "you don't want to box yourself in...some of the game's best coaches are assistants who became head coaches." #Suns

 

[Ronin]

Gina Mizell
@ginamizell
·
12m

James Jones on the qualities he's looking for in the #Suns' new coach: "We want a leader. Someone that can relate to our players. Someone that will challenge them. Someone that will force them to thrive in a competitive environment."

 

[Proximo]

Gina Mizell
@ginamizell
·
11m

Jones added that hiring somebody with NBA head-coaching experience is "gold," but that "you don't want to box yourself in...some of the game's best coaches are assistants who became head coaches." #Suns

Translation - we really want Monty Williams, and if he goes somewhere else we have to settle for an assistant because no one else with experience (other than Kidd) will take the job.

 

[Chaplin]

Here is an article on the local AzCentral.com.

No need to recap it. It says what many of us have been saying for a long time.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2019/04/23/robert-sarver-blame-phoenix-suns-endless-coach-hiring-cycle/3548011002/?utm_source=azcentral-AZ Memo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=narrative&utm_term=article_body

And I agree with what Stef posted . . . before he said he was joking.

When Jones announced that Igor's firing was his decision and his alone,
it is conceivable that Sarver could have said something like, "You're the
GM now. You tell the Press that it was strictly your decision."

Who knows what happened, but it is a possibility, based on Sarver's
history of meddling and micro-managing.

Since when has Sarver not let out that he was behind moves? He's not smart enough to stay quiet if he was the one that made the decision. It would come out SOMEHOW.

 

[Chaplin]

Gina Mizell
@ginamizell
·
11m

Jones added that hiring somebody with NBA head-coaching experience is "gold," but that "you don't want to box yourself in...some of the game's best coaches are assistants who became head coaches." #Suns

Translation: "I'm covering my butt for when we hire an assistant to be head coach."

 

[BC867]

Since when has Sarver not let out that he was behind moves? He's not smart enough to stay quiet if he was the one that made the decision. It would come out SOMEHOW.

Suppositions of what happened do not rule out what might have happened.

It remains a possibility that Sarver, who was forced to take a step back from
being a publicity hound, had enough common sense to lie low publicly.

Which doesn't necessarily mean that he is, or isn't, still micro-managing.

We'll never know, Chap. Unless he hogs the spotlight again. He is an
egomaniac, but he is not stupid. I believe that someone got to him and
advised him to step out of the limelight. But not necessarily from ruling
with an iron hand. Who knows? It might have been Jerry or Adam Silver.

 

[Yuma]

The question was "when asked how much input Robert Sarver had on his decision to fire Igor Kokoskov". He said the decision was his and his alone. That is not answering the question at all. That is asking the hearer to infer that Sarver had no input. He could have been directly told to fire Igor, and the decision to do it was still his decision. I don't personally care either way - we've been dealing with political double-speak for ages now...

I agree. It doesn't say how much input. He decided after input. I get that. The question was how much input by Sarver. He did dodge the question.

 

[Chaplin]

Suppositions of what happened do not rule out what might have happened.

It remains a possibility that Sarver, who was forced to take a step back from
being a publicity hound, had enough common sense to lie low publicly.

Which doesn't necessarily mean that he is, or isn't, still micro-managing.

We'll never know, Chap. Unless he hogs the spotlight again. He is an
egomaniac, but he is not stupid. I believe that someone got to him and
advised him to step out of the limelight. But not necessarily from ruling
with an iron hand. Who knows? It might have been Jerry or Adam Silver.

We've certainly heard all THAT before.

 

[Yuma]

Here is an article on the local AzCentral.com.

No need to recap it. It says what many of us have been saying for a long time.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2019/04/23/robert-sarver-blame-phoenix-suns-endless-coach-hiring-cycle/3548011002/?utm_source=azcentral-AZ Memo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=narrative&utm_term=article_body

And I agree with what Stef posted . . . before he said he was joking.

When Jones announced that Igor's firing was his decision and his alone,
it is conceivable that Sarver could have said something like, "You're the
GM now. You tell the Press that it was strictly your decision."

Who knows what happened, but it is a possibility, based on Sarver's
history of meddling and micro-managing.

Or, since Sarver is the boss, it could have been, "You're the GM. It's your decision. I would hire a new guy myself." Knowing Sarver's the boss, Jones may do what Sarver suggests.

 

[Chaplin]

I agree. It doesn't say how much input. He decided after input. I get that. The question was how much input by Sarver. He did dodge the question.

He didn't dodge it. Come on. He answered the question. Did he get input from Sarver? Sure he did. To think he didn't is naive. But there's no evidence that Sarver said, "Fire him." In fact, from what I understand, Sarver was moving forward expecting Igor to go at least another season. James Jones gets promoted, Igor gets fired. Pretty straight forward.

And for a moment, let's say Sarver did tell Jones to fire him. So what?

 

[SirStefan32]

The thing is... every owner has input and final say. The question is whether or not he just approves whatever GM proposes, or if he "insists" on a different approach. I am guessing most owners sit down with the GM and they talk through it.

 

[Chaplin]

The thing is... every owner has input and final say. The question is whether or not he just approves whatever GM proposes, or if he "insists" on a different approach. I am guessing most owners sit down with the GM and they talk through it.

Further, what would the possible reason to say, "It was my decision," vs, "we all sat down and thought this was the best course of action for the franchise."?

 

[Yuma]

He didn't dodge it. Come on. He answered the question. Did he get input from Sarver? Sure he did. To think he didn't is naive. But there's no evidence that Sarver said, "Fire him." In fact, from what I understand, Sarver was moving forward expecting Igor to go at least another season. James Jones gets promoted, Igor gets fired. Pretty straight forward.

And for a moment, let's say Sarver did tell Jones to fire him. So what?

The question was how much. I didn't see a quantitative response. Did he have little input? Did he weigh in with a lot of input? I see what the journalist/media person was looking for. To answer it was my decision dodges the "how much" of the question. Just pointing out that technically, he did not answer the question asked.

 

[elindholm]

James Jones is the best thing that happened to his franchise I am sure of that.

I'm assuming that's a joke, which is why I liked it.

 

[Mainstreet]

If the Suns interview Monty Williams and like him, they should probably hire him right away instead of going through more interviews.

The Suns had a chance with Budenholzer but didn't seal the deal.

 

[Yuma]

If the Suns interview Monty Williams and like him, they should probably hire him right away instead of going through more interviews.

The Suns had a chance with Budenholzer but didn't seal the deal.

I totally agree. I have listened to old school former NFL GMs on Sirius. They always said, you never let them leave the building.

 

[Chaplin]

The question was how much. I didn't see a quantitative response. Did he have little input? Did he weigh in with a lot of input? I see what the journalist/media person was looking for. To answer it was my decision dodges the "how much" of the question. Just pointing out that technically, he did not answer the question asked.

I took it as him saying it didn't really matter how much input Sarver had, it was James Jones' decision. He even made a point of saying it was his job and he was going to do what he felt was best.

 

[Yuma]

I took it as him saying it didn't really matter how much input Sarver had, it was James Jones' decision. He even made a point of saying it was his job and he was going to do what he felt was best.

I think why the reporter asked a quantitative question is the narrative of Sarver meddling. I think that's why the question is framed the way it was asked. James Jones could have said, "I informed Mr. Sarver that I was replacing Igor, and he replied it was my decision." Which is different than, "Mr. Sarver came into my office and said he thought we should replace Igor. After considering his input, I made the decision to let Igor go." I think the press is trying to suss out how much autonomy James Jones really has.

 

[slinslin]

I'm assuming that's a joke, which is why I liked it.

No it wasn‘t.

I trust James Jones more than any Suns GM I could think of.

 

[Yuma]

No it wasn‘t.

I trust James Jones more than any Suns GM I could think of.

Oh, I trusted Jerry C. the most. Too early for James Jones to be trusted.