Brendan Sabean Q&A: Valley Suns GM on open tryouts and G League affiliate's approach

A new season will be starting soon for the Phoenix Suns, and not long after that, so will the first season of their new G League affiliate! But before the Valley Suns roster is finalized, they’ll be holding open tryouts on Saturday, and general manager Brendan Sabean stopped by the PHNX Sports studio to give some insight into the process.

On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Valley Suns will hold open tryouts from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at ASU’s Sun Devil Fitness Complex in Tempe. Registration for these tryouts ends on Friday at 5 p.m., and there is a non-refundable $300 participation fee. Pre-registration is encouraged, since walk-ups will not be guaranteed a spot. Anyone interested in registering to participate can do so here.

In a 15-minute conversation with Espo and Gerald Bourguet, Sabean gave his thoughts on what he’s looking for at tryouts, what he learned during his time working at Gonzaga, GCU and the Austin Spurs, how much overlap there will be between the Suns and Valley Suns, what he brings to the table, and plenty more!

Here’s the transcription from the Q&A, with the full video playing Friday at 3 p.m. on the PHNX Suns Podcast.

Brendan Sabean Q&A

Espo: I gotta to ask: Suns-Spurs is a big rivalry. Can you officially say you’re on the Suns’ side of this now that the paycheck comes from there?

Brendan Sabean: No questions asked, absolutely.

Espo: All right, we’ll allow it. We’ll allow it even though you know Gregg Popovich, we’ll let it pass. I want to get into it though, open tryouts on Saturday this week. What do you guys look for in a tryout like this and what kind of talent do you expect to come out?

Brendan Sabean: Yeah, like you mentioned, this Saturday we have our open tryout. So we’re encouraging guys to come out. It’s from 8 a.m. to 12:30 at a Sun Devil Fitness Center over at ASU. Guys, you can register online at thevalleysuns.com/tryouts. Really, it’s an opportunity to get a look at guys and come compete for a roster spot. The idea is to put guys through drills, skills, get some live play, and see if someone’s worthy enough to come compete for a roster spot when we have our training camp at the end of October.

Gerald Bourguet: Guys, the deadline to register if you are interested is 5 p.m. on Friday, so make sure to get on that right now if you are interested in coming to the tryout. I was just curious, as a GM going into a tryout, you talked a little bit about what you’re looking for. With the state of the roster, are there any, like, positions of need that jump out, or is it really just about the talent that comes out?

Brendan Sabean: I think for something like this, you go in with a pretty open mind not saying, ‘Hey, we have to find this skill or that skill.’ The talent will be across the board, and we appreciate everyone who is gonna come out, cause it does take a little pride and courage to put yourself kind of on that platform. But we’ll do our best with our coaching staff and put them through real drills and real competition and kind of see who’s the best fit, not only from a skill position, but also, you know, are you a good teammate? Are you coachable? Can you listen? All those types of things matter, especially coming out of a tryout.

Espo: Look, I’m not an agent, but I got a guy. He’s about 40, he’s 5’9″, two-something [pounds], point guard body, power forward skills, no shooting ability. Any chance that that gentleman should come out on Saturday?

Brendan Sabean: If he’s a heck of a teammate and can do what’s asked, then I wouldn’t cross them off the list.

Espo: Are you familiar with Alan Williams? This gentleman — me — has that ability to cheer from the bench like that. So we’ll look at that. Your roots though, you started at Gonzaga, you worked with a couple great coaches there in Mark Few and obviously Tommy Lloyd, who’s down in Tucson now. How informative was that in your basketball journey?

Brendan Sabean: It was huge. Speaking of family and culture, Gonzaga is kind of the epitome of that at the college level. I knew from a young age, I wasn’t gonna be good enough to play, so I kind of put my focus to the coaching side or operation side and just was really lucky to be around those people in that program, especially with just all the success they’ve had. So just to be a sponge and kind of a fly on the wall for a lot of that as a student manager was huge for my early career.

Gerald Bourguet: That’s awesome, my cousin actually went to Gonzaga, so we got that connection. You also have a connection here in Arizona, you went to GCU, worked with Dan Majerle as well. What did you take from your time here at GCU and in the Valley?

Brendan Sabean: Yeah, so I was a grad assistant for two years for coach Majerle and then was on staff for another year and a half. Obviously being a local legend and Ring of Honor as a Phoenix Sun, it was really cool to especially be in that program, kind of the infancy stage of it. When I was there, we still weren’t eligible for the NCAA Tournament and all that type of stuff. So the school has just grown and blown up in such a positive way and it was cool to be a part of that, especially when coach Majerle was there.

Espo: So I worked with Dan when he was assistant with the Suns and I was there, and we got a discount at Majerle’s. Did you guys get taken care of at Majerle’s too?

Brendan Sabean: Absolutely, I think we had about three recruiting visits a week at Majerle’s, so the TC wings got good use out of the GCU Lopes while we were there.

Espo: Have you gotten a menu item yet? Do you ask for it now that you’re a GM?

Brendan Sabean: I think now that I’m back, hopefully I’m worthy enough.

Espo: What was it like being part of the Austin Spurs? I joked about it at the beginning, but there’s obviously a specific mindset that comes with San Antonio and the way that they build a program out there. What was the learning experience being under an organization that Pop has a lot of say over?

Brendan Sabean: Yeah, no, I think more than anything, it’s kind of a team-first attitude, which is not too dissimilar to what we look for here at Phoenix Suns and now Valley Suns. Devin Booker just had his famous line of ‘I’ll do it’ in the Olympics and was kind of the epitome of that with the Olympic team. So kind of get to be around that culture in Austin and San Antonio and now really get to live it here with Phoenix and the Valley Suns. So it’s been an easy transition.

Gerald Bourguet: A lot of people don’t know this, but during your time in Austin, you actually had a number of former Suns come through there, recent ones like Chimezie Metu, Drew Eubanks, but also Quinndary Weatherspoon, who played on the Summer Suns. What was your time with him like, and what do you like about his game? Because he’s also on the Valley Suns roster, I believe.

Brendan Sabean: So we own his rights, so basically with the expansion draft, that gave us the opportunity to have players’ rights. So should they sign back into the G League, we basically have first right or refusal. But those three guys you mentioned put the time in, put the work in, and really are the epitome of what the G League is — you know, come to a situation and come show up every day, develop, develop your skills as a person, as a player. And then all three of them to kind of see success at the NBA level and different levels. But really thankful for my time with those three guys.

Espo: Much like my basketball skills, my research skills are not the sharpest, so forgive me if this gentleman wasn’t down there with you in Austin, but Jock Landale, did you work with him?

Brendan Sabean: So we had Jock, I believe he played one game on assignment with us, and I think he went for like 40 and 20. So it was very appreciated on the Austin Spurs that night.

Espo: Jock worked here with us when he was with the Suns, and I’m just gonna say it, real ass. No, I love Jock, but I love what you guys were able to kind of get out of him in San Antonio, for sure. But you brought up the guys that you picked in the expansion draft, and obviously some familiar names in Emmanuel Mudiay, Jahlil Okafor and Denzel Valentine. But you said that that is if they want to sign in the G League, you own their rights. How does that process work as you get closer to training camp, and what are those discussions like with guys like that?

Brendan Sabean: I think it’s just constant communication with those guys’ agents and kind of figuring out, you know, those names specifically were all kind of different stages of their career. So a lot of it’s figuring out, you know, do they still want to fight for the NBA through the G League pathway, or are they set on playing overseas? So it’s really just a constant line of communication figuring out who wants to do what, and every guy’s kind of at different stages in their career. And the G League is a grind. It is, in a sense, it is minor league basketball. And it’s gotten better every year, but it takes a certain attitude and player and person to want to go through it.

Gerald Bourguet: I imagine there’s a good amount of juggling involved when you’re dealing with, you know, you have players’ rights, but they could obviously sign overseas or somewhere else, you have rookies that could come down but maybe not, and then you’ve got two-way guys that could be going back and forth in between. I’m just curious, when you look at the Suns rookies this year, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, what do you like about their games, should they come down to the G League?

Brendan Sabean: Yeah, I would start by saying, I think to the common fan or person, that’s probably the most unknown part of the G League is every day your roster really can change. ‘Cause it’s having the assignments like Ryan or Oso or having the two-ways, so the roster is really fluid and keeps our staff and myself on our toes. But I think with those guys, Ryan and Oso, when and if they spend time with us, it’s an opportunity really for them to develop, get game reps and be in situations that they might not be in the early stages of their NBA career. And I think with roster building, part of my job and our job is putting together pieces that when those guys are with us, we aid in their development so that they can flourish in their roles, both in Phoenix and Valley.

Espo: How does it work for you as the G League GM? Obviously, James [Jones] and Josh [Bartelstein] are gonna have a say on it, but how do you establish a culture? And what is the day-to-day like in that roster movement? How much are you doing, how does it work with with the Suns’ side of it as well?

Brendan Sabean: Yeah, I think one of the big things of bringing a G League team back for the organization, starting all the way from Mat Ishbia and Josh and James, was creating alignment. And that goes back to constant communication and making sure we’re all on the same page, not only for the player movement of our own players, but also the types of players we want to aim for that will fit around those guys. But maybe there’s guys that we want to get in our in our G League program that we can help develop that, eventually, whether they become NBA players — hopefully for us — but for everyone else. So it’s a lot of surveying the league, knowing what skills certain players have, and like I said earlier, knowing what stage of career guys are at, because that is a big part of it, like I said, to be able to want to go through the G League process.

Espo: How does it work from a coaching staff perspective? Do you wind up running a very similar system to the big club so when somebody does come down, they can work on those things? Because I know in the past, especially here in Phoenix, when it wasn’t a direct [G League] franchise that they owned, that wasn’t necessarily the case. But is that how you guys will run it here with the Valley Suns?

Brendan Sabean: Yeah, we very much want it to be just Suns basketball as a whole. So running the same system, we hired a head coach, John Little, who has spent time in Bud’s system, he was an assistant for the Wisconsin Herd when Bud was in Milwaukee. So having coaches that are familiar with it, and like you said, so then when there is player movement and we have two-ways and assignments with us, it’s the same terminology, it’s the same plays, it’s the same style. But also at the same time, if Bud wants to test something or tweak something, we can kind of use our G League program as a testing ground for some of that on the court side of it.

Gerald Bourguet: I want to give you a chance to tout yourself here. Not to sound like a job interview or anything, but you’ve worked with Mark Few, Gregg Popovich, Dan Majerle, all these great coaches, you’ve been with Austin Spurs for I think five or six years. What are you excited to bring to the table as the GM of the Valley Suns?

Brendan Sabean: Mentioning all those coaches, they’re all great cultures. They’re all great people. And I think especially at a G League level, to just get people that are all hands on deck, want to help each other, want to be in the trenches together. That’s what I’m most excited about. I think at its heart, the G League is about development and helping people and players and coaches. So any way I can help assist, that’s what I’m most excited about.

Espo: How excited are you to be able to play at Mullett Arena? It’s gotta be one of the newer venues in the G League and it’s such a fun venue, we’ve seen the ASU athletics and what the Coyotes did there. How excited are you to have that kind of environment behind you?

Brendan Sabean: It’s a unique opportunity for us. And obviously the proximity is huge of being in the same city and essentially down the street. But also, like you said, Mullett Arena, it’s a smaller, intimate venue, and we hope to pack it, and it’s gonna be an opportunity for fans and community to be up close to not only our players, but the other players that come through the G League and play in Phoenix. So we’re hoping to pack it out and get good crowds, which I’m sure we will, as Phoenix is a basketball town. And to add another entity of Suns basketball is huge.

Gerald Bourguet: I also wanted to ask about the trade that you guys made recently, you traded a first-round pick for Jaden Shackleford. What in your mind stands out about Shackleford’s game and what he can offer?

Brendan Sabean: Yeah, Jaden, he’s a guy that as we go through this process, we’re hopeful he’s with us at the start of the season. But he’s a dynamic scorer, he could play on and off the ball, he’s got a real knack for making shots and making tough shots. He’s had a really good two years in his first two years with the Oklahoma City Blue G League program. So he’s a guy we’re excited about and hopefully getting him on the roster here in the next month or so.

Espo: Were you worried about giving Sam Presti and that OKC group another first-round pick? Nah, I’m just messing with you. Look, you said that the G League is all about development. You’re a general manager, I don’t know if you have the power for this, but I have a dream that I’ve always wanted to accomplish: I want to fire the T-shirt gatling gun and was wondering if I can potentially get some work in at Mullett Arena with the tinier T-shirt gun to hopefully make my NBA dreams come true.

Brendan Sabean: We might have to do a separate tryout for you for that, see if you’ve got the skill for it.

Espo: I have dunked with the Gorilla before. It went horribly, but I think I can handle the T-shirt gun.

Gerald Bourguet: You’re gonna be the only person at that tryout, can’t wait.

Espo: I’m okay with that! That means my chances are pretty good.

Gerald Bourguet: They’re probably still the same, but it’s fine.

Espo: I won’t make the dance team, we know that. I want to thank you, man, for coming out here. Is there any last thing you want fans to know about what you’re trying to build with the Valley Suns and anything else about the tryout?

Brendan Sabean: Like I’ve said before, the G League has become such an important tool for NBA teams and the NBA ecosystem, and that’s gonna be no different for us as we build it out. It is another entity of Suns basketball, so come out, come to games. We’ll play a fun style, we’ll have good talent, and we just want it to be a team with the community, for the community. So there’s a lot good going for it, and we’re really looking forward to the season.