Phoenix Suns should not let Josh Jackson’s harsh words be a distraction

Josh Jackson showed again why he will not be missed by Phoenix Suns fans when he lashed at on Instagram about his former team.

Just when I thought Josh Jackson took a huge step forward in doing his time quietly in the G-League and eventually earning a spot back on the Memphis Grizzlies roster, he took another step backward when he publically bashed the Phoenix Suns organization on Instagram.

In a now-deleted comment, Jackson said:

"“(The Suns’) entire organization is unproductive. Stop blaming 20-year-old kids for 15 years of sucking.”"

Firstly, it has only been 10 years of sucking.

Josh Jackson bashes the Phoenix Suns, but it can’t be a distraction.

Josh was a tough outing in my book. I really believed the Phoenix Suns made the right pick after Lonzo Ball was selected with the 2nd pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. My emotions between love and hate for the 4th overall selection soon began to battle as the following Summer League began.

Josh very quickly looked out of place on the floor and began to play his own game of “drive to the hoop and let’s just see what happens.” His teamplay vanished and doubt began to creep in, but I still held strong.

The following season, when the Suns added Deandre Ayton, I thought he would help the team improve in many areas, but instead, his impact was sporadic at best.

In a way, Josh was right, right? By hoping the next big draft pick was going to be the team’s savior and being disappointed when he wasn’t is kind of what he was saying by blaming 20-year-old kids. How dare us.

However, that is more year to year. Nobody blames the players for the past 10 years of sucking, only the front office. Then again, there has to be some kind of accountability on Josh’s end.

Along with the lack of production on the floor, off-the-court issues clanked Phoenix Suns’ headline news like Josh Jackson’s jump shots off the rim. Nobody knew if Josh would rebound in time to change his attitude and save his job. The opportunity was given, but nothing (from the fans’ experience) was respected by Josh. Suns fans are lucky that this is in the past with no reason to revisit but I forgot about social media!

Will Jackson’s comments be a distraction for Suns players, mostly concerning Devin Booker? No. I believe at most, Booker and Josh are friends and the NBA is a business.

My question is, did Booker want Jackson out of Phoenix? I would say yes. This is just a hypothesis, but all major team decisions are at least discussed and sometimes decided by Booker. In the near future, that may also include Deandre Ayton.

I am not breaking news here, but I truly believe the only reason Booker has not spoken out against the Phoenix Suns is that he is the Phoenix Suns. Another way to know that Booker is not affected by this is he is rarely responsive on social media.

Going back-and-forth between online trolls will get you nowhere. Just ask Kevin Durant. The ones that suffer the most are the ones focused on the past. Suns fans are all trying to move forward (except the ones arguing that we should have traded for Jason Tatum or have taken De’Aaron Fox) and focus on the future, not the past.

Decisions that were made by Josh have to be accepted as a learning experience by him and the Phoenix Suns’ front office. That is why he is no longer with the organization and was easy to part ways with. Continuing to let comments like this be a distraction when the franchise is undergoing a change in philosophy would, like Josh Jackson, be taking a step backward.