Surrounded by external pressure, Suns face difficult task of getting back to basketball

When general manager James Jones, coach Monty Williams and Phoenix Suns players took to the podium for Media Day 2022, the vast majority of the questions they fielded over the next five hours had little to do with basketball itself.

In the wake of the NBA’s findings from an investigation into owner Robert Sarver’s pattern of racist, sexist and misogynistic behavior, as well as his ensuing decision to sell the team, they had bigger, much more complicated fish to fry.

“There’s only so much I can say sitting from my seat, but everything I said is kind of with the mindset of moving forward,” Devin Booker said. “It is what it is, he’s decided to sell the team and we have to play basketball now.”

Not so fast. As appealing as that probably sounds to everyone by now, last year’s approach of just focusing on hoops was never going to fly this time around, and the Suns knew it. That’s the unfortunate consequence of the trauma Sarver inflicted throughout his own organization, and it was hard for anyone at the podium on Monday to breezily sweep it under the rug.

The privilege of playing basketball for a living wasn’t lost on anyone in the building, especially on a Media Day devoid of the usual good vibes and optimism.

“That’s called life,” Jones said. “I never forget that we’re playing the game of basketball. There are a lot of things that go on in society, in the day-to-day, that people deal with — much more stressful than the things that we’re talking about in the context of sport. But for us, it’s all about focus. We’re paid to be professionals, to be pros, to be able to navigate these types of situations and still perform at a high level. I have no doubt that my team is able to do that. That’s the culture we’re building, and that’s what we aspire to.”

That’s all easier said than done, of course — even for a group that touts “well done is better than well said” as one of its many mantras.

However, Williams was the first to point out that there’s no “Monty-ism” for ugly situations like this that are more important than any game. As a steward of the organization, he’s still hoping the Suns can use this moment to build and bring people closer together.

“I don’t think you can throw cliches and catchphrases on this one and be like, ‘Let’s move forward,'” he said. “I think that’s somewhat irresponsible. I always talk about this being a get-to and not a got-to, not allowing anything to affect our gym — I don’t think we can do that in this situation. But I do think if we continue to show a level of respect and love for one another, we can move forward the right way. And I think that will enhance our culture.”

That journey feels like a daunting climb at present. Even without the ugliness of the Sarver investigation, the main questions at Suns Media Day still would’ve revolved around a 35-point home loss in Game 7 of a second-round playoff series, Kevin Durant trade rumors, Deandre Ayton signing an offer sheet with another team and Jae Crowder’s social media-infused trade request.

Any one of those topics would’ve been the main story at a normal Media Day, and each one would’ve been divisive enough to cast a pall over what’s usually an upbeat occasion. Throw them all together as dressings for the Sarver questions and that’s a recipe for a somber affair — and rightfully so.

There’s a certain undeniable grossness to team executives, coaches and players being forced to answer questions about another man’s heinous actions, especially when said individual was their boss. It’s the reason Chris Paul — who’s been through a similar situation with the LA Clippers during the Donald Sterling incident back in 2014 and knows firsthand how an owner’s racist behavior can impact a locker room — said his initial concern after reading the report was for his younger teammates.

“You’re in a locker room where it ranges from 19 to 37, right?” he said. “And everybody wants to put a microphone in their face and ask them how they feel about things that they can’t control. So my first instinct went to somewhat of protective, ’cause I was worried about my guys and how people want to take a sound bite when they give one answer.”

The questions needed to be asked, but the one person who deserved to feel the heat and take accountability for his actions was nowhere to be found. Even without the league-sanctioned one-year suspension, that would’ve been the case.

“I think it was tough on us, ’cause we have to come and talk about it,” Mikal Bridges observed with blunt honesty. “But we know what we do, we know that we stay together no matter what. I’m kind of more thinking more on the other side, of the families and the victims of all that. So kind of more putting everything in hoping they’re okay and all the things like that. But you know we stick together and do what we have to do, control what we can control.”

Sarver’s decision to sell the Suns made that “control what we can control” part a little easier. It took pressure off the players to take a stand, protest or speak out against a man who might’ve strolled back into the building as their boss a year later.

“I think [the Sarver situation] was on its way to being a distraction, but now that he chose to sell the team, I think we can move forward and focus on the goal that’s at hand, and that’s playing basketball,” Booker said.

After a day filled with tough, necessary questions about another man’s poor choices, it’s understandable the players were itching to switch gears.

“Luckily for us, basketball is our happy place,” Chris Paul explained. “That’s the one place that we absolutely get a chance to be, and there’s no phones, there’s no TVs, there’s no nothing, right? Like, you ought to see when we have our pickup games. It’s like the freest moment, ’cause you get a chance to hoop.”

Coming back from a Game 7 beatdown like the one Phoenix endured would’ve been challenging enough for a group that won a league-high 64 games and then got smacked in the teeth in biblical fashion. Pepper in a constant swirl of trade speculation and Crowder’s imminent departure, and the Suns already faced a tall task of drowning out all the external noise before Sarver’s atrocities presented a dilemma far bigger than basketball.

With that being said, Williams is focused on finding the right balance between staying focused on the very real improvements that need to be made within this organization and the healing power that sports can have.

“The NBA season is challenging anyway, right?” he said. “I believe our guys are sensitive to this situation. They have a great deal of sympathy for the people that have been affected, but they also know that culture and playing well can help ease some of the pain. They won’t take it away, but I know that they know that. And so I think it’s going to energize us.”

Training camp doesn’t officially begin until Tuesday morning, but the Suns held a meeting Monday evening to lay out their goals for the upcoming season.

“We’ll have our meeting tonight, we’ll set the tone for what we want to do, and we get to get back in the gym and hoop,” Williams said. “And I say that with a level of sensitivity, because I don’t want to say we’re just going back to playing basketball and we’re going to forget about the people that have been affected. I want that to be known.”

Most of the team has already been in Phoenix for weeks getting pickup runs in together, taking advantage of the first normal-length offseason they’ve had since 2019. With everything that’s gone down in a summer full of drama, friction and unsightly headlines, the Suns are finding solace in being able to hoop with their teammates again.

“Just being around the guys and the fellas, all of us being in the gym, playing against each other and just feeling that energy and the environment, it’s still the same,” Deandre Ayton said. “Nothing’s changed. We’re a lot older now to where there’s no more baby steps and we know the task at hand.”

That task is a monumental one, even for a franchise whose 54-year pursuit of a title has always felt Sisyphean in nature. Make no mistake about it: Winning a championship any season is tough. Winning one this season, after an entire offseason riddled with unpleasant scenarios and uncomfortable stories, would be nothing short of astonishing.

It wouldn’t fix everything in Phoenix, nor should a fun and successful season distract from the changes that need to be implemented within the organization. But during this period where everyone could use a reprieve from all this ugliness that’s bigger than basketball, it also couldn’t come at a better time.