Camaraderie
Coming in early to develop on-court chemistry, adding Tyson Chandler and getting Markieff Morris back were all major developments that could help the Suns compete for a playoff spot in 2015-16. But as we saw last season, talent and hypothetical fit don’t matter if the players aren’t happy with their situation.
There’s a chance that someone like Archie Goodwin or Jon Leuer might grow frustrated with his role as the season goes on, but for the time being, the chemistry and sense of camaraderie at Media Day was palpable beyond all the positive things everyone was saying about their new teammates.
When Brandon Knight took the podium to address the media, Ronnie Price threw a balled up piece of paper at him from the seating area above. The projectile startled Knight at first, but once he realized what had happened, he quickly smiled before taking the first question. Later, Knight brought the incident up again:
"“Guys are already in here playing with each other, joking around with each other and we have a fairly new team. So for you to see a teammate of mine come in here and throw something at me I think speaks volumes, because this is my first time playing with Ronnie Price. “We’ve never been teammates before, this was my first time meeting him this summer. But we spent so much time together and communicated so much that we’re kind of already brothers….So I think that’s one of the biggest reasons I can say we’re gonna make the playoffs this year because we’re already together and when we come against adversity we’re gonna pull closer together instead of fragment apart because of the relationship that we’re building.”"
You could see other small examples of the relationships that are being built in Phoenix. Alex Len spoke highly of his new mentor Tyson Chandler and Chandler reciprocated the love, saying:
Chandler on Alex Len: "I don't think he knows how good he is, to be quite honest." pic.twitter.com/z5PZCknfg8
— Valley of the Suns (@ValleyoftheSuns) September 28, 2015
When Eric Bledsoe first sat down at the podium, he called out to T.J. Warren, beaming, “Tony Buckets!” Bledsoe then brought Warren up again when asked about how the Suns offense will improve in 2015-16, while also dropping the information that Warren had been on the winning team the most times during pickup games.
Though Knight may have pointed out the on-court chemistry first and foremost, he also acknowledged the importance of the new players merging with the old players off the court too.
“What people don’t understand is it’s not just being on the court and working out in September, we all workout wherever we’re at,” he said. “But when you’re here in Phoenix, I think it shows that you’re committed to the team but you also get that chance to build off the court. You get that chance to bond off the court instead of being away from the team.”
With the Phoenix Suns more balanced and cohesive that we’ve seen in the past, this team has done all it could this summer to start building the chemistry — both on and off the court — needed to survive in the brutal Western Conference.
Next: 5 Things You May Have Missed From Suns Media Day