Phoenix suns player development personnel

[Ghost of Kleine]

Here's a little background on the Phoenix suns player development coaches:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.brightsideofthesun.com/platform/amp/2018/6/11/17448028/report-phoenix-suns-hire-jason-staudt-and-devin-smith-onto-igor-kokoskovs-staff-breaking-news .

Cody Toppert and Devin Smith. Both went undrafted, and are advocates of more of a European style of play. They have had a far share of experience in the euroleague. But apparently have no tangible experience as to what it takes to succeed in the NBA unfortunately.

Cody Toppert( Director of player development).

Cody Arlyn Toppert (born January 10, 1983) is a former American professional basketballplayer and assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. At 6'4" (194 cm), he was a left-handed guard who was a strong outside shooter and quick enough to drive past defenders and finish in the lane.

Devin Smith-

Devin Michael Smith (born April 12, 1983) is an American former professional basketballplayer who last played for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Super League. Standing at a height of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m),[1] he played mainly at the small forward position, and he was an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2015. As of 2018, Smith would be named a player development coach for the Phoenix Suns.

I'd really like to see us actually add some talented former players that have actually played in the NBA and can reflect on that experience to help the growth of our youngsters.

1- Big man development mentors:

Hakeem Olajuwan/ Kevin Garnett/ Tim Duncan/ Patrick Ewing.

2- Shooting guard/small forward mentors: Reggie Miller/ Paul Pierce/ Dwayne Wade/ Glenn Rice.

3- point guard mentors: Steve Nash/ Gary Payton/ Tim Hardaway/ Mark Price/ John Stockton.

There's just so many ways to improve our players' development, IF Sarver is just willing to spend.

Which player mentors would you most like to see work with the players on our roster if possible, and why?

[bwgood77]

1- Big man development mentors:

Hakeem Olajuwan/ Kevin Garnett/ Tim Duncan/ Patrick Ewing.

2- Shooting guard/small forward mentors: Reggie Miller/ Paul Pierce/ Dwayne Wade/ Glenn Rice.

3- point guard mentors: Steve Nash/ Gary Payton/ Tim Hardaway/ Mark Price/ John Stockton.

There's just so many ways to improve our players' development, IF Sarver is just willing to spend.

Which player mentors would you most like to see work with the players on our roster if possible, and why?

I always see this stuff mentioned, but what makes you think these NBA superstars, who made millions in the NBA and most if not all are doing other things, want to suddenly become player development coaches?

I imagine we look into everyone we can in this respect. I think at some point maybe James Jones, if he is still around, might be able to get someone he played with like Kyle Korver to maybe be a shooting coach if he wanted...or at least ask...heck, Jones himself could do that.

I found this interesting from Zach Lowe's article today...

1. Joey Buckets, 3-point champ
Joe Harris is perhaps the best story of perseverance and growth in the NBA over the past half-decade. He braced himself for a long stint in another league after he underwent foot surgery in January 2016 and the Cavaliers flipped him to Orlando; the Magic immediately waived him.

Brooklyn plucked Harris from the D-League six months later. Kenny Atkinson, the team's coach, suggested Harris watch film of Kyle Korver and installed some of Korver's pet Atlanta sets for him. Harris couldn't believe it. "I was taken aback," he told me in 2017. "I mean, Kyle Korver is the O.G. -- the ultimate shooter."

Two years in the basketball wilderness made Harris timid -- a curse for any shooter. "He was like that battered [deer] you find in the forest," Atkinson recalled. "He had no confidence."

He does now. Harris has drained a preposterous 47 percent from deep. He's comfortable snapping into his shooting motion from a dead sprint, and he has a quick-trigger release to evade defenders trailing him around screens.

He has hit 46 percent of his tightly-contested 3s and 46 percent on pull-ups, per NBA.com. Atkinson loves devising ever more complex ways to spring him -- including this circuitous bad boy:


Harris aborts a double pindown and begins a casual jog across the court, only to U-turn around one last screen while D'Angelo Russell and Jarrett Allen draw all the eyeballs. Good luck following that.

Harris can handle, too. Brooklyn has scored 1.21 points per possession any time Harris shoots after dribbling around a screen, or passes to a teammate who lets fly right away -- the second-highest mark among 206 players who have used at least 75 ball screens, per Second Spectrum. That number is not a fluke; it was beefy last season, too.

Most of those aren't pick-and-rolls in the normal sense. They are more like catch-and-rolls; Harris rockets up from the wing to the top of the arc, and catches a pass at the same moment he curls around a screen. He drives from there -- with a head start. His pick-and-rolls continue Brooklyn's offense. Harris hasn't yet shown the ability to resettle that offense when it bogs the way someone like Joe Ingles has. He takes only 0.9 pull-up 3s per game -- 109th in the league.

If those things come, Harris will be primed for a raise from his $8 million salary when he hits free agency next season. He's a feisty, smart defender who relishes when opponents assume otherwise. Teammates and coaches love him.

And he just outdueled Stephen freaking Curry in the dude's hometown at All-Star Weekend. What a story.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26046302/10-things-like-including-warriors-genius

Would be nice if we scooped up Trajan Langdan as GM to start using these kinds of tactics...and take a lot of what the Nets have been doing and bring it here.


A lot of people think Kenny Atkinson is one of the great young upcoming coaches, but his rookie year he was 20-62....of course they didn't fire him. Then he went 28-54..not a big improvement but they stuck with him.

Now he is 30-30.

[Ghost of Kleine]

1- Big man development mentors:

Hakeem Olajuwan/ Kevin Garnett/ Tim Duncan/ Patrick Ewing.

2- Shooting guard/small forward mentors: Reggie Miller/ Paul Pierce/ Dwayne Wade/ Glenn Rice.

3- point guard mentors: Steve Nash/ Gary Payton/ Tim Hardaway/ Mark Price/ John Stockton.

There's just so many ways to improve our players' development, IF Sarver is just willing to spend.

Which player mentors would you most like to see work with the players on our roster if possible, and why?

I always see this stuff mentioned, but what makes you think these NBA superstars, who made millions in the NBA and most if not all are doing other things, want to suddenly become player development coaches?

I imagine we look into everyone we can in this respect. I think at some point maybe James Jones, if he is still around, might be able to get someone he played with like Kyle Korver to maybe be a shooting coach if he wanted...or at least ask...heck, Jones himself could do that.

I found this interesting from Zach Lowe's article today...

1. Joey Buckets, 3-point champ
Joe Harris is perhaps the best story of perseverance and growth in the NBA over the past half-decade. He braced himself for a long stint in another league after he underwent foot surgery in January 2016 and the Cavaliers flipped him to Orlando; the Magic immediately waived him.

Brooklyn plucked Harris from the D-League six months later. Kenny Atkinson, the team's coach, suggested Harris watch film of Kyle Korver and installed some of Korver's pet Atlanta sets for him. Harris couldn't believe it. "I was taken aback," he told me in 2017. "I mean, Kyle Korver is the O.G. -- the ultimate shooter."

Two years in the basketball wilderness made Harris timid -- a curse for any shooter. "He was like that battered [deer] you find in the forest," Atkinson recalled. "He had no confidence."

He does now. Harris has drained a preposterous 47 percent from deep. He's comfortable snapping into his shooting motion from a dead sprint, and he has a quick-trigger release to evade defenders trailing him around screens.

He has hit 46 percent of his tightly-contested 3s and 46 percent on pull-ups, per NBA.com. Atkinson loves devising ever more complex ways to spring him -- including this circuitous bad boy:


Harris aborts a double pindown and begins a casual jog across the court, only to U-turn around one last screen while D'Angelo Russell and Jarrett Allen draw all the eyeballs. Good luck following that.

Harris can handle, too. Brooklyn has scored 1.21 points per possession any time Harris shoots after dribbling around a screen, or passes to a teammate who lets fly right away -- the second-highest mark among 206 players who have used at least 75 ball screens, per Second Spectrum. That number is not a fluke; it was beefy last season, too.

Most of those aren't pick-and-rolls in the normal sense. They are more like catch-and-rolls; Harris rockets up from the wing to the top of the arc, and catches a pass at the same moment he curls around a screen. He drives from there -- with a head start. His pick-and-rolls continue Brooklyn's offense. Harris hasn't yet shown the ability to resettle that offense when it bogs the way someone like Joe Ingles has. He takes only 0.9 pull-up 3s per game -- 109th in the league.

If those things come, Harris will be primed for a raise from his $8 million salary when he hits free agency next season. He's a feisty, smart defender who relishes when opponents assume otherwise. Teammates and coaches love him.

And he just outdueled Stephen freaking Curry in the dude's hometown at All-Star Weekend. What a story.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26046302/10-things-like-including-warriors-genius

Would be nice if we scooped up Trajan Langdan as GM to start using these kinds of tactics...and take a lot of what the Nets have been doing and bring it here.


A lot of people think Kenny Atkinson is one of the great young upcoming coaches, but his rookie year he was 20-62....of course they didn't fire him. Then he went 28-54..not a big improvement but they stuck with him.

Now he is 30-30.

I totally agree with what you're saying, And overall I hope that we do at least inquire about each of these former players availability.

Now, I'm not honestly sure about the possibility of all of these players, But I am aware that Olajuwan and Garnett have been working with players such as Jaren Jackson Jr.( Garnett), Karl Anthony Towns(Garnett).

Joel Embiid(Olajuwan), Lebron James (Olajuwan), Yao Ming(Olajuwan), Amare Stoudemire (Olajuwan), Kenneth Faried (Olajuwan).

I'd also love to see the suns try and bring in Scottie Pippen and/or Clyde Drexler to work with Jackson and Bridges too. Just saying, inquire at least.

SCOTTIE PIPPEN TO HOST SKILLS CAMP AT JOY OF THE GAME. ... The camp curriculum will concentrate on fundamental basketball skills such as ball handling, free throws, footwork and rebounding. Players will also learn that although scoring is exciting and fun, the key to winning any basketballgame is good defense.Jul 30, 2013

So some former stars might be available for hire depending upon their financial situation, etc?

Current best former NBA stars who still do mentoring for nba teams:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/1344432-10-best-current-player-mentors-in-the-nba.amp.html .

Of that list, I'd definitely like to have our young guys in Ayton/Booker/Bridges/Jackson work with Olajuwan, Garnett, Tim Duncan, Wade, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Patrick Ewing.

Ayton- Hakeem Olajuwan/ Kevin Garnett/ Tim Duncan/ Patrick Ewing.

Booker- Kobe Bryant/ Dwayne Wade/ Steve Nash.

Josh Jackson- Dwayne Wade/ Steve Nash.

Mikhail Bridges- Dwayne Wade/ Kobe Bryant.

Can't hurt to at least check their availability???


Also, in hiring better developmental coaches:

https://www.complex.com/sports/2014/12/the-trainers-behind-the-nba-most-improved-players/.

The Trainers Behind the NBA's Most-Improved Players

Chris Johnson. Image via Twitter. Trainer for: Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler. ...Carlos Daniel. Image via Nola. Trainer for: New Orleans Pelicans center Anthony Davis. ...Drew Hanlen. Image via Better Basketball. Trainer for: Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal.

Dec 25, 2014

I'd pay for any of these trainers, if I was Jones, to get improvements going and foster better confidence and poise in our youngsters.

[Crives]

I wish Nash or Amare would at least spend some summer time working with the team.

[JDJ26]

I wish Nash or Amare would at least spend some summer time working with the team.

Sarver probably ran both off.

[Hesh]

I was thinking Bogut as a defensive coach for Ayton. Unfortunately, he's is still playing in the NBL. But he'd be great.

[Crives]

I wish Nash or Amare would at least spend some summer time working with the team.

Sarver probably ran both off.

Sarver needs to fix things with these two. No way Nash/Stoudemire want to be separated from their team that they changed the nba forever with.

More then anything this team needs to get back some pride. Bringing in these two to relieve Suns past and 7SOL would go a long way.

[Hesh]

I was thinking Bogut as a defensive coach for Ayton. Unfortunately, he's is still playing in the NBL. But he'd be great.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/252829/Warriors-76ers-To-Pursue-Andrew-Bogut

Jones should reach out. Would be a great mentor for Ayton. He probably wouldn''t mind getting just a few minutes a game, if even that.

[Kuwolves12]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26088024/inside-phoenix-suns-messy-dysfunctional-front-office


A good article and begins to answer some questions. In the last 3 years we’ve drafted bender, chriss, Jackson and ayton, all of which were top 8 picks. It’s obvious early in their careers but I don’t think any of them have lived up to expectations to this point. So either the Suns are extremely unlucky drafting or we have a player development issue. I think it’s pretty obvious at this point that it’s more the latter

[RunDogGun]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26088024/inside-phoenix-suns-messy-dysfunctional-front-office


A good article and begins to answer some questions. In the last 3 years we’ve drafted bender, chriss, Jackson and ayton, all of which were top 8 picks. It’s obvious early in their careers but I don’t think any of them have lived up to expectations to this point. So either the Suns are extremely unlucky drafting or we have a player development issue. I think it’s pretty obvious at this point that it’s more the latter

We don't provide an environment for players to develop. We continue to hire and fire coaches, so the system continually changes. Heck, I could see guys not buying in knowing that that coach and system will be gone by the end of the year. This board and many fans wanted us to to lose for draft picks.

We need some consistency and chemistry. With the right system in place, I think we see a different result in all of those draft choices. We went full youth this year, save a few players, and the results reflect this.