3 Immediate takeaways from Phoenix Suns' media day

The Phoenix Suns held their 2024-25 media day on Monday, with the assembled media eager to get some time with all areas of the organization. Owner Mat Ishbia was his usual frank and honest self about everything from the direction of the franchise to Kevin Durant's contract extension, while Grayson Allen said all of the right things.

There was also considerable buzz around new point guard Tyus Jones - who it was confirmed will be going straight into the starting lineup - and what that can mean for everybody else. Bradley Beal mentioned how it allows him to be the player we didn't get to see last season, while Josh Okogie felt he brought the heart rates of everybody down with his calming presence.

There was a lot more to unbox - including these three immediate reactions.

As you can probably imagine not all of it is good - but we're at a point in the year before the season has began - that optimism should rightfully be high. There will be more to come once the dust has settled at Footprint Center, but this is everything you need to know right off the bat as we enter another campaign full of hope.

3. Everybody wants to be here.

One theme that quickly emerged was the fact that most players spoke about how much they wanted to be in Phoenix. Durant brought up that the organization, fans, location and guys already on the roster were what helped free agents such as Jones, Monte Morris and Mason Plumlee decide to head there.

Bol Bol said it was a "no-brainer" for him to come - and although he will find opportunities hard to come by this season - there's no doubt last season was his most consistent in the league. It didn't have the same highs as the previous campaign with the Orlando Magic, but he found a home, a modest role and a connection with The Valley faithful.

Josh Okogie - who many believe is a trade candidate this coming season - mentioned how after hitting free agency he soon realized heading back to the Suns made sense for everybody. Beal was also quick to speak about how much he is going to enjoy the situation he has found himself in as well.

Devin Booker's love for the team is obvious, but really this was just an outpouring of love from a bunch of guys who seem to realize what a great opportunity is in front of them. There are far worse places to play basketball than Phoenix - and if these good feelings can carry into the regular season - the wins are sure to follow.

2. Last season was a failure.

It was refreshing to hear both owner Mat Ishbia and General Manager James Jones go on the record and say that last season did not go the way they had planned. Everybody knew this already - that playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves still haunts - but they could have ignored the ugly ending to last season and pretended everything was great.

Jones took it once step further again, claiming that last year's roster didn't "enjoy the grind" that trying to scale the mountain requires. Given that Durant is a multiple time champion and that Booker is the franchise cornerstone who they have built this thing around, Jones was not mincing his words with how he phrased that particular quote.

Both are right though, last season did fail to live up to expectations despite winning 49 regular season games. Head coach Frank Vogel paid for it with his job, and Ishbia didn't rush head first into the second apron to be swept in the opening round of the postseason. Things need to rapidly improve in 2024-25.

Luckily the organization now has a real point guard in Jones, a healthy Beal, a stockier Allen coming off the bench and even a full season of Royce O'Neale. Ja Morant may have been elsewhere claiming his own team was getting slept on, but you can now make the case that the Suns are flying under the radar. That is a spot we haven't seen them in since trading for Durant, and it will suit them.

1. Changing roles in Phoenix.

New head coach Mike Budenholzer was forthcoming on how he sees certain players helping the Suns this season, and one nugget of information he readily offered up was with starting center Jusuf Nurkic taking more 3-pointers. Given this roster has the league leader in 3-point percentage last season (Allen, 46.1 percent), this caught everybody by surprise.

But really what coach Bud is trying to do is get the most out of this group in ways we've never seen before. Nurkic is a career 28 percent shooter from that area and has averaged 0.6 a game for his career, so anything above those tiny numbers is a bonus. Similarly he may also use the bigger Allen in different ways too.

This wasn't explicitly mentioned, but Allen could conceivably play some minutes at the four if he's gone from his previously listed 195 pounds to a monsterous 230. As it happens Nurkic slimmed down a little this summer, and so these are two guys who could see their roles change some in what will surely be a revamped offensive system.

Then there are guys like Bol - and even Beal - who could have different roles to play with this group. Bol may find himself out on the perimeter more where he truly belongs, while the addition of Jones and also Morris means guys like Beal can get back to playing the way they are most comfortable. This roster might have many returning faces, but the way they play will absolutely change.