Sun(day) On A Tuesday Suns Column: Media Day
By Spencer Hann
A full offseason’s worth of drama. Abrupt Twitter statements. Legal trouble. Public trade request.
Markieff Morris had himself quite a summer. One that was seemingly all put behind him with his opening statement at the Phoenix Suns Media Day.
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“Looking forward to the season,” he said. “Not really trying to look in the past, so I don’t really want to talk about what happened this summer. I just really want to look forward to this upcoming season. Glad to be back with my teammates and glad to be back with my team.”
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The entire scrum of media was actually quiet for a few moments afterward, trying to digest Markieff coming out in his first official comments to Phoenix media and being THIS professional.
Even more moments of silence after this really surprising answer:
Question: “Do you still want to be traded, Markieff?”
Markieff: “I want to be here.”
The Suns’ big man continued on, calling his relationship with head coach Hornacek “great,” saying “it’s not about me” in reference to goals coming into the season and called this year’s Suns, “our best team yet.”
While his widely known contempt for the front office is still there — Markieff coyly responded, “You should ask Ryan” when asked about his relationship with the Suns general manager — the professionalism that was displayed is an encouraging sign for the organization. Watching Markieff’s body language throughout Media Day, he clearly did not share the same level of enthusiasm as his teammates, yet it was clear he was determined to keep to himself and not draw any negative attention. Baby steps.
Four More Media Day Takeaways:
1. The Other Perspective
Markieff’s perspective and view on things has been widely publicized (mainly by himself) over these last several months, but it was incredibly interesting to finally hear general manager Ryan McDonough’s side as well.
The young GM stayed firm in his stance on the situation and didn’t seem to flinch at any questions pertaining to the Markieff saga, stating, “I don’t think we did react, you didn’t hear any statement from me,” in relation to his power forward’s trade request.
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When discussing how the failed pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge may have affected their relationship with Markieff, there was no remorse from McDonough. “Are we going to stop chasing elite players and trying to win a championship? No. We are not going to stop that and I don’t apologize for that.”
On not letting Markieff know about the trading of his brother:
“We don’t preface trades or run them by players to get their opinion, that’s not something we have done and not something we are going to do.”
Speaking on a potential rift between himself and Markieff:
“He is not the first and certainly won’t be the last player to have a problem with the front office. It happens. I view my job first and foremost to put the most talent on the floor as we can. If that rubs some feathers along the way, so be it.”
Kudos to McDonough for not backing down, sticking up for the Suns front office and making it clear the players will not control anything outside of what happens on the court.
2. Eric Bledsoe is excited. Like REALLY excited.
Staying in Phoenix for the summer, working out, leading voluntary pickup games and supporting the Summer Suns all served as great signs that the normally reserved guard was trying to take the next step in becoming a leader.
But boy, oh boy, there was nothing like listening to him firsthand today. No exaggeration, Bledsoe seemed like an entirely new person. Upon taking the podium, the Suns’ most talented player was all smiles, cracking jokes and incredibly outspoken.
Already sensing what his answer would be, I asked Bledsoe how excited he was for the season.
“I can’t wait man, I can’t wait. It’s been a long offseason and I have put in the work and I am definitely ready for it.”
Whether it was alluding to his team winning more pickup games than Brandon Knight’s team, calling out “Tony Buckets” (T.J. Warren’s nickname) in the middle of his speech or complimenting Tyson Chandler and Ronnie Price’s impact as leaders, Bledsoe’s excitement was palpable.
It’s a new confidence and aura of a serious leader, leaving an impression on everyone in the organization, specifically his coach.
“That first week [of the offseason] Eric told us, ‘I’m not leaving, I’m staying in Phoenix all summer’ and that’s what he did and it was very encouraging to us and great to see. You can just tell in the pickup games we have played he is ready to take that next step to be a leader,” Hornacek said. “You have seen him be dominant for six or seven minutes, then he’s in cruise control. We have talked to him about being that dominant person the entire game and he has worked his tail off this summer to do that.”
Before he left the podium, I had one last question for the rejuvenated, energetic Bledsoe.
“Are you a top-5 point guard in this league?”
“I am, yes, I am,” he responded.
And after this season, most of the league will be in agreement.
3. Defense
It seems like every single year, the Suns make a point of saying their defense must improve. Yet, the talking has not translated to consistent defensive play on the court. Could this year potentially be different?
“We’ve already told the guys that the offense has kind of driven the defense the last couple years and we want to try to reverse that,” Hornacek said. “We can be a pretty good defensive team.”
With Chandler or Alex Len patrolling the paint at all times and Bledsoe and Brandon Knight harassing opposing guards, the formula is definitely there to change the general perception of the Phoenix Suns and how they play defense.
“Nobody is going to come close to the rim if [Tyson] and I are on the same court at the same time,” Len said.
Only time will tell, but with the Suns’ seemingly renewed joy in everything basketball related (once again, no exaggeration, the vibe was unlike anything last year), it’s not out of the realm of possibility for Phoenix to actually become passionate about their defense.
“We are going to put a lot more emphasis on defense,” Knight said.
4. EVERYONE LOVES TYSON CHANDLER.
There was not a single player at media day who didn’t bring up Tyson Chandler unprompted. Bledsoe has shown great signs of becoming a leader, Knight is a vocal teammate and P.J. Tucker has been referred to as the heart and soul of the Suns. However, make no mistake about it, Tyson Chandler is the undisputed leader and chief in town.
- “Tyson is the main guy and whatever he has to say, I’m going to listen.” — Eric Bledsoe
- “We think that base is covered.”– Jeff Hornacek, referring to Chandler and how hard it was last year not having a locker-room presence to police the younger players.
- [Chandler] is going to do all the things that lead your team to a championship. He’s leading us already and being a leader on our team, for the month of September.”-Brandon Knight
- Even Markieff Morris couldn’t help but to state the importance of the Suns new general: “We are super excited to have him. He has been through a lot and he is going to help a lot in the locker room.”
To sum up what the Suns should become under his watch , Chandler put it best: “This year we are going to be a family.”
Next: Ryan McDonough, Suns Teammates Speak On Markieff Morris Situation