Suns GM Directly SPEAKS OUT Potential BLOCKBUSTER Trade...

James Jones has spoken out and said that the Suns are keeping their big three intact. And that is some big news for this team. They obviously want to be contenders. They have a lot of contracts tied up, being a second apron team. So what are some of the moves the Suns can make if they keep this big three alive? And is this the smart decision with bringing in new head coach Mike Budenholzer with James Jones? We'll be breaking down all that and more on this episode of Suns Digest. I'm your host, Blue Bloods, with my co-host, CJ Pierre. Before we dive in on all this Phoenix Suns news, 95% of you guys who watch our videos are not subscribed, so we'd greatly appreciate it if you guys hit that subscribe button down below, as this is the place for daily Phoenix Suns content for you guys, with all the drama, all the speculation throughout the offseason. If you want to stay in tap with your Phoenix Suns, hit the subscribe button, as this is the place for you. But CJ, let's dive into the video at hand today. Make sure to grab a snack, as it's going to be a jam-packed episode. It might be mentioned in the introduction. The big three is staying. If you want to look at this Reddit post, Suns GM James Jones tells Burks and Gamble that there is no scenario in which Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal would be traded this offseason. Now, CJ, if you want to look at the salary cap with this squad, we can see in the future they have three guys in Durant, Beal, and Booker locked up on $50 million contracts. So it does seem like it would be hard to even possibly move off of one of these guys. When you hear this from the GM, James Jones, what are your kind of initial thoughts and reactions to hearing that the big three will be back in here in Phoenix this season? I mean, I think personally, I think it's great news. I feel like Phoenix Suns fans didn't really get what we were promised last season. There were a lot of injuries to all the players. Bradley Beal, you know, didn't really start the season. Devin Booker then got hurt. Then KD got hurt. it just kind of you know there was a lot of flux a lot of changes going and they never really had an opportunity to really gel uh on the court together and i think that uh given you know an off season with uh Mike Budenholzer at the helm i think uh having those three players have have a chance to really gel really like refocus take uh the lessons that were learned uh from last season all the things that didn't go wrong and really try and adapt in and really channel in on this new offensive system that Budenholzer is going to bring in I think all the players are going to enjoy it that gives them the chance to jack up more shots and we know star players they love the jack up shots I think this is going to be a really a big big year for a player like Bradley Beal I think Suns fans were kind of disappointed with his addition his contribution to the team really didn't feel like they got the return on the investment that they made in him specifically and I think that uh knowing that the GM James Jones wants to bring all three of these guys back I mean Devin Booker is you know the star he's the franchise player he's been here this entire time Kevin Durant we're he's one of the better players in the world probably top 10 players still in the world and he's someone that you know is super valuable and then you have Bradley Beal who was supposed to be that third piece uh the Chris Bosh to the situation if you will if you want to compare it to the Miami Heat big three of LeBron, D Wade and Chris Bosh um Bradley Beal you know he's the one he's kind of the wild card in this situation he does have that no trade clause so that might also be a factor and uh James Jones saying that hey i don't know if i might be able to trade this guy but uh at the very least he's coming out he's was stealing some confidence uh in these players within these star acquisitions and uh i think Phoenix Suns fans should be should be optimistic for sure and this is the thing as well we're looking at Bradley Beal we're looking at these other players you mentioned not the fans being the highest on him i won't i won't lie i was the one raised my hand over here i i was kind of skeptical of making this trade and you know the no trade clause all that type of stuff kind of raises some speculations with this acquisition but James Jones, the injuries definitely battered up this team from the start, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker getting sidelined, so you've got to see how they can come through those and hopefully they can ball out but you mentioned some great additions, Mike Budenholzer getting hired so if you guys did not know we already had a video breaking down three massive changes that are coming to the Phoenix Suns when Budenholzer had his press conference his introductory statement, if you guys missed those videos too check that out as we look at this offseason outlook as well, CJ, you can see that the Suns are very limited, 209 million dollars already in committed salary with their first round pick if they do keep it in their 22 uh draft selections as we know kind of weird speculations on the draft picks, search obviously the head coach they did find that bringing back Rosa Neal brought a video breaking that down, but CJ kind of looking at that and kind of breaking that down, I do have a question for you, is this the right decision for the Phoenix Suns bringing back this big three, I know you kind of mentioned that obviously the fans would like to see it, I kind of think that it's a smart decision because we didn't get to fully see it work together, but are you in agreement with James Jones, are you in agreement with Mike Budenholzer, this whole front office that this team is a competing team the 49 winning team last year can be a top dog in the Western Conference, I do, I think this is the the team that the Phoenix Suns need going forward, I think that if you look at the roster and you look at the pieces that are in place you know you look at Kevin Durant, you know he's a stretch four, you know can shoot from anywhere on the court, can play iso ball, when you look at Devin Booker he's a great ball handler, can attack the can attack the paint uh he's a decent shoot, decent shooter, really good shooter, uh particularly from the mid-range and then you have Bradley Beal who is a natural scorer, uh natural with the ball in his hands natural with you know making plays for himself and I think that if those, that's the core of what you're trying to do, I think that's a really good starting point, I think obviously what needs to happen then is is are they able to make adjustments, you know on the outer pieces you know the ancillary players you know the role players, are they going to be able to find the pieces that then fit to allow those three guys to to really capitalize on their talents and I I think that GM James Jones, Mike Budenholzer, they feel like that they are going to be able to do that, I feel like they looked at last year the injuries, the dysfunction, you know particularly with uh former head coach Frank Vogel and you know you have a lot of reasons as to why things didn't really work out, now you've made some adjustments, you brought a new coach, brought a new offensive system players who are probably going to be reinvigorated uh chip on their shoulder something to prove you know they've got a lot of people downing them I think that this is going to be the right catalyst so I definitely think it's the right move to bring back the big three I feel that you know because you don't have as much flexibility being a second apron team uh really trying to do what you can around the margins to to improve what you already have is the right direction uh and hopefully that in in turn not only yields results but allows them to make significant moves that secure them moving forward for sure cj you brought up some valuable points there you know we kind of broken down in some of our recent videos talking about some trade pieces Nazir Little his name has been thrown around the market Nurkic which his name has been thrown around the market and you imagine being a second apron team they're gonna have to work around those i just kind of retool find their you know underappreciated point guard maybe find some more wings find a rebounding center but cj before we end the video i wanted to raise one question to you surfing through the Suns reddit and i stumbled upon this Nurkic needs to recruit his boy Robert Covington back now we know Robert Covington is one of those guys around the edges a guy who could be a veteran uh minimum player coming into this squad had runs with the Clippers and the Sixers the last couple years couldn't really find a role with those teams now the Suns do decide to keep Yusuf Nurkic as their starting center possibly bring back Drew Eubanks do you think that this is a smart move going after a three and D guy and Robert Covington as a potential vet minimum acquisition, I think so i think um Robert Covington he you know has a reputation as a solid player and a good teammate uh he's kind of bounced around the league uh he's had stops at Houston, Philly, Minnesota Portland as you said and and uh the Clippers and and i i think you know that time you know when he was in Portland playing with Nurkic uh they were able to develop some chemistry now Covington probably wouldn't be one of these like main rotational guys he'd probably be more of a of a depth veteran player veteran presence that you'd have on the team to help mentor any younger assets if the Suns acquire any younger assets but uh i think when you look at his capability as a player he's uh you know a little on the downtrend on the down end of his prime He's 33 years old. He's not really seeing the court all that much, but he's still a solid three-point shooter, still a smart and active defender, decent rebounder. You know, he knows where to be on the court, knows when to box out and these sort of things, and he could probably be someone that can make some timely buckets. I think he has a profile that's very similar to Royce O'Neal. He's probably not as young, not as athletic, but he has similar tools to what Royce can, And so he can probably guard some of these, you know, bigger perimeter players as opposed to when Royce O'Neal maybe is guarding, you know, like, you know, he had some time on like a player like Anthony Edwards. Robert Covington probably wouldn't do that. But Robert Covington could match up with even a Karl-Anthony Towns, per se, if we just want to use the Minnesota Timberwolves matchup as an example. I think that, you know, when you've got to refine guys, you know, on these margins, bringing in guys on veteran minimum, I think you can do a lot worse than Robert Covington. so I definitely think that this is a decent idea and something that the Suns might want to consider I'm glad that we're kind of on the same page here when I saw it I was kind of questioning it thinking like Robert Covington a little bit older in age has had some stints that really worked out but I think it'd be a great veteran locker room guy especially with some of these older guys in the locker room having I'm kind of calling it weird saying old but Kevin Durant by the deal some older veterans in this league having another guy like Robert Covington in that locker room to help out and be a great role piece to help out and like we mentioned this team is strapped in cap being a second apron team so just finding those guys on the margins potentially a two million dollar year a one million dollar year could be a guy that could play over who says David Roddy or something like that even though he's a younger has more expectations you have a more ready NBA guy in Robert Covington to go for that matchup i think another i think another interesting thing before we wrap it up um is what that dynamic would mean if they were bringing Robert Covington because you know he the use of Nurkic is the is the kind of the piece in terms of the the relation in terms of their connection as former teammates. What does that mean if the Suns were to look at Robert Covington? Does that mean that Jusuf Nurkic might stay? Does his name kind of come off the trading block as, you know, that's another name that's been speculated in terms of who the Suns might want to move off of? So all these different dynamics, you know, it's kind of you got to figure out, it's got to be who you know, who you think can come in, and does Robert Covington or players like Robert Covington look at the Suns and say, hey, that's a place where I can go win a championship. next year exactly and it's also kind of with the Phoenix Suns uh front office mind basis too do they want to go after these veteran role players to compete for a championship or do they want to go kind of into the young assets some untapped potential guys who could you know blossom or be a breakout player for them it all is up to James Jones, Mat Ishbia, even Coach Bud kind of helping to find those players to really get their team ready to go and once again be a contending team in this Western Conference they say that they can be let's see in the offseason if they give us a roster or a team that looks like it can but from our boys Bruce and CJ here we're going to be signing off on this video as we broke down the big three remaining in Phoenix for the foreseeable future and we're both ecstatic about that if you guys enjoyed the content here on the video make sure to hit the like button hit that subscribe button as we're trying to get to 1000 subscribers on Suns Digest from your boys Bruce and CJ we'll catch you guys in the next video have a great rest of your day and go phoenix suns