Locked On Suns - Daily Podcast On The Phoenix Suns

Latest Episodes:

LOCKED ON SUNS 8/15/18: Going bananas with hypothetical questions for former host Kellan Olson Aug 15, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode, we welcome back former host Kellan Olson to celebrate episode No. 300 of the show.

To properly celebrate, we dove right into the Suns’ present and future, chatting about various hypotheticals, including:How good does Devin Booker have to be for it to translate to more winning?Is Josh Jackson the only real top-notch trade asset on the Suns?How long before we finally see the cash-in trade Ryan McDonough has been building toward?We get into all of it (and plenty more) in a very fun episode.

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LOCKED ON SUNS 8/13/18: We go month by month through the 2018-19 schedule Aug 13, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode, we break down the Suns’ 2018-19 schedule month by month, ending up with a very early projection of the team’s record next season.

The Suns have two road trips longer than four games before the calendar flips to 2019. That means they get the very best Eastern Conference teams out of the way early on, but it’s a tough way to start.

However, Phoenix has a real opportunity to make up ground in January and February and gel as a team to finish the year.

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LOCKED ON SUNS 8/10/18: Getting hyped about Suns-Mavs opening night with Nick Angstadt Aug 10, 2018

Show notes

The Suns are playing on national TV the first week of the NBA season!

To pump up the excitement of that matchup, at home against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 17, we brought on Mavs Moneyball contributor and Locked On Mavericks co-host Nick Angstadt to discuss the team’s offseason and the future of this sudden rivalry.

We get into plenty of the connections between the teams, and what to watch for on opening night:Why the league and ESPN got the matchup rightNick’s reaction to the trade that brought Luka Doncic to DallasThe Mavericks’ offseason compared with the Suns’Ranking the two teams’ young prospects

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LOCKED ON SUNS 8/8/18: Draft news and your Twitter questions Aug 08, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode, we break down the announcement that the NCAA is allowing agents into the game, talk about the guys who could be involved in the class of 2019, and circle back to the Suns with a Twitter mailbag.

The back-and-forth between college basketball and the NBA continues with this news, leaving the NBA to adjust its rules as it gears up toward allowing high school players back into the draft.

And since we’re on the topic of the draft, a quick preview of the top four guys in the class — R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Zion Williamson and Nassir Little.

Finally, five Twitter questions on what to expect this upcoming season.

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LOCKED ON SUNS 8/6/18: Debating ESPN and Vegas win projections plus expectations for Devin Booker Aug 06, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode, we break down how our predictions differ from Kevin Pelton’s statistical projections at ESPN and the Vegas betting odds. Then, we dive into Devin Booker’s growth and how his improvement will determine how good the Suns will be next year.

Pelton has the Suns at 27.2 projected wins over at ESPN, a number potentially weakened by the tanking Suns’ underperformance last season. Bovada in Vegas has the season line at 28.5 wins for Phoenix.

We are on the record as having the team between 30 and 35 wins assuming relative health, but it’s difficult to argue with models slightly lower on the Suns.

Of course, Booker will make or break this team’s improvement. Is he ready to make the leap to the upper echelon of efficient NBA scorers?

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LOCKED ON SUNS 8/3/18: Talking Suns with Shaun Al-Shatti, a Suns fan and Senior Editor of MMAFighting.com Aug 03, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode, we have a special co-host with Evan as MMAFighting.com's Shaun Al-Shatti joins for a wide-ranging chat on the Phoenix Suns. We have had this in the works for the past few weeks and finally got around to recording together.

Shaun, who grew up a Suns fan, stops by to talk about how this offseason went in his eyes alongside plenty of rapid fire topics on how he views their young core led by Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.

How does he feel Ryan McDonough has done putting together this roster? What about the Trevor Ariza signing for 1-year, $15 million? Just how high is Booker's ceiling with all the additional talent and spacing surrounding him? Is T.J. Warren being underrated by the majority of the fanbase?

This, plus plenty more were talked about during the first 30 minutes of the episode before we went into MMA for the portion of today's show.

What if LeBron James dedicated his entire career to mixed martial arts instead of NBA? Would he have been the greatest fighter of all time?

This was a fun one, so make sure to tune in!

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LOCKED ON SUNS 8/1/18: Taking stock of the Suns' future with Mo Dakhil Aug 01, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode, a league insider takes us through how he thinks the Trevor Ariza signing might quietly be a key to the Suns taking a step forward in their prolonged rebuild.

Mo Dakhil, who worked with the Spurs, Clippers and the Australian men’s national team, talks about the difficulties of a switching defense, how he would go about building around Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, and why he’s concerned about the vision going forward in Phoenix.

Mo also discusses his player-development and team-building philosophies, as well as his belief the Suns should operate with the future in mind rather than competing this year.

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LOCKED ON SUNS 7/30/18: Wrapping up the offseason with a look across the NBA Jul 30, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode, we dive into the offseason for the NBA as a whole, ranking which teams we thought had the best and worst summers in the league. Then, we wrap up with a dissection of the Suns’ position in the landscape of young teams on the rise.

Topics include:How did the Cavaliers, Spurs, Pelicans and Raptors do replacing stars on the move?Did the Pacers do enough to make them a real East contender?Are the Wizards better now?What in the world are the Lakers doing?Finally, we discuss the fact that the Suns will have less cap space than about eight or nine teams even if they dismantle their roster before next summer. Can they still make a leap?

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LOCKED ON SUNS 7/27/18: Deandre Ayton's pick-and-roll impact and getting to know Igor Kokoskov with David Nash Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode, we zeroed in on how Deandre Ayton looked on both ends via pick-and-roll situations during Las Vegas Summer League. David Nash wrote an article on this very facet, and we dove in even further on how he looked compared to his tenure at the University of Arizona. Are people unfairly throwing Ayton into the same conversation Ben Simmons went through two years ago?

Also, we analyzed how Ayton and the rest of Phoenix’s young core will slide into how Igor Kokoskov wants to run things as the new head coach. Nash has a great Twitter thread on this while being one of the first advocating for Kokoskov’s hire before it gained steam.

Finally, how should we expect the Suns to perform this upcoming season? Is 30-35 wins a healthy barometer to set, and is it enough to attract big-time names next summer?

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LOCKED ON SUNS 7/26/18: Mikal Bridges' future and more with Michael Pina of Vice Sports Jul 26, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode, the focus is Mikal Bridges and the spot he holds in the future of the Phoenix Suns. Our guest, Michael Pina, recently wrote about Bridges and came on to talk about what type of player he can become.

Coming out of college, the only knock on Bridges was that he was older than the rest of his class and perhaps close to a finished product.

Pina’s story runs opposite of that theory, showing the drive Bridges has had since high school to develop into one of the best shooters in college basketball and a premier draft prospect.

We discuss the story, as well as Pina’s thoughts on how the Suns stack up with the rest of the NBA’s young teams.

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