👋 GOOD MORNING

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway home, and I hope your week is going well. I’ll get into Brian Gregory’s introductory press conference below, but first, I wanted to wish both the Arizona and ASU softball teams good luck at the Big 12 Tournament tomorrow!

Both squads earned a first-round bye, as the fifth-seeded Sun Devils face fourth-seeded Oklahoma State at 9 am AZ time, while the second-seeded Wildcats will face the winner of today’s UCF/Utah game at 11:30 am AZ time. Both games will be televised on ESPN+ live from Oklahoma City. Good luck!

On to the show!

What We Learned From Brian Gregory’s Intro Presser

Brian Gregory is officially running the Phoenix Suns.

We’ll have to wait a little longer, though, to get an idea of exactly how he plans on doing it.

Gregory’s introductory press conference yesterday lasted a shade over 30 minutes, and though he at times sounded like a broken record, he also did not shy away from questions around his qualifications for the job, all while thanking owner Mat Ishbia for the opportunity.

Though his answers were oftentimes vague, we still learned some things about Gregory, who has been with the Suns organization for just two seasons — his only experience in an NBA front office.

Brian Gregory Was Quite Vague In His First Official Presser

The press conference covered a wide range of topics, but there were a few points that the Suns’ new GM touched upon that seemed like they will resonate within the organization, as well as with fans, throughout this offseason.

• Culture, Culture, Culture – This isn’t an atypical message from any new GM, but it was striking just how many times Brian Gregory referenced “creating alignment” internally, building an identity and helping the team take the next step with a solid mixture of rookies and veteran players. The alignment he referenced referred to the chain of command from the incoming head coach, Gregory and owner Mat Ishbia, but there’s a clear focus here from the new GM to develop and foster a winning culture. Much of that mindset, he said, revolves around toughness, unselfishness, grit and urgency.
  
  • Quotable: “That identity is very, very important. You create that identity, create the alignment, and execute the vision. My last two years here I’ve been able to work in every facet of the organization, and at the same time for me, it’s about the leadership and making sure on a daily basis that vision we’re talking about … is lived and breathed every day.”
    
• No Timetable on Search For New Coach – Gregory stressed his main focus is to hire the next head coach following the departure of Mike Budenholzer, but the GM stopped short of assigning any sort of timeline. Some see it as critical to have it set by the NBA Draft, and while Gregory didn’t disagree, he was also noncommittal around setting any sort of drop-dead date to make a hire. He said his criteria entering the search revolves around basketball IQ, communication skills, and sharing the team’s vision in how to be successful.
  
  • Quotable: “I need to make sure we get this right. This is very, very critical for us moving forward.”
    
• Lack of NBA Experience is Not a Detriment – You can draw your own conclusions on Gregory’s recent appointment to GM given the history he and Ishbia shared at Michigan State a few decades ago, however, the GM was adamant that his decades of NCAA experience, coupled with the past two years in the Suns organization, is more than enough for him to take control of the proverbial ship. In fact, many parts of his introductory presser seemed to lean heavy on his NCAA history, but why wouldn’t it? For decades Gregory was responsible for recruiting and developing basketball’s budding stars, and he has taken the same approach with Suns rookies over the past two seasons.
  
  • Quotable: “The knowledge and experience, I think, puts me in a good position to be successful in this role. I think the thing that’s going to separate me, and give me the opportunity to be very successful and make a positive impact, is my focus on building an identity.”

My Take: Gregory is saying the right things out of the gate, vague as his statements may be. Talk is cheap, and there are plenty of skeptics out there questioning his qualifications for the role. In fact our poll earlier in the week was telling, as you responded overwhelmingly that change was needed, but you’re skeptical about the hire. Nearly 20 percent of you didn’t like it at all. I say, take this approach with an open mind, combined with a healthy dose of caution, and let’s see how the first test goes in hiring a new head coach — the fourth in five years for this franchise.

Take a Deeper Dive: Gerald Looks at ​5 takeaways from Brian Gregory’s intro​ presser.

Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley

D-backs Bite Back: The Diamondbacks topped the Mets x-x last night, setting up a rubber match today against the NL East-leading Mets. The win also propelled Arizona back to .500 at Chase Field, and it has one game left against New York before hosting the Dodgers for a four-game set this weekend.

Tough First Game: There was a lot of good in the Mercury‘s preseason opener despite the 85-84 loss in Las Vegas — Phoenix led for the majority of the game before the Aces finally caught up at the end. Newcomer Satou Sabally notched an impressive 14 points and five rebounds in her Mercury debut, while Alyssa Thomas chipped in five points. The Mercury wrap up their preseason slate at home on Sunday against Golden State.

Great Catch: Arizona Softball’s Sydney Stewart earned Big 12 Player of the Week and D1 Softball Player of the Week honors, announced by the conference and the publication on Tuesday. Stewart led Arizona to a sweep over Houston to close out the regular season with a .714 batting average, two home runs, three RBIs, and a 2.389 OPS. She recorded a 1.571 slugging percentage and a .818 on-base percentage to lead the team. Congrats, Sydney!

🧢 Tip of the Hat by Branded Bills

Erik is not buying what Brian Gregory was selling.