Suns Vibe Check: Things are looking up in the Valley

I’ll start right away. Yes, moods Do important. You’re not everything, but if you have talent and chemistry… you’re a connected team. In the words of Torey Lovullo, “A connected team is a (bleep) dangerous team.”

Team chemistry, the overall mood of the players and coaching staff, and the relationships between players. We need all of that for the Suns to peak this season. We all saw how important it is to “click” as a unit when the Suns peaked in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

What’s different this offseason?

The youthful energy of the newcomers (triplets?!), the new coaching staff, the reunion of former teammates and the continuous development of the stars who harmonize with each other.

Last year felt weird. Everything felt weird. Even her victories.

It’s a “new year, new me” approach to the start of the 2024-25 season. Even with most of their core back – it’s not the same.

That’s what it’s about. Durant and Booker’s relationship grows stronger during the Olympics in France and they chase a gold medal.

Kevin Durant said, “A new coaching staff, a new vibe.” I especially noticed that he went out of his way to emphasize that. Based on the leaked reports about Vogel last season, it feels like the locker room has been lost. A fresh start should hopefully give this team a jolt.

This story of Shams keeps running through my head. I can’t shake it off. Where there’s smoke…

“Frank Vogel walked into the home team’s locker room at the Footprint Center and lashed out at his team. After his Phoenix Suns fell into a 35-4 hole on April 9 en route to a loss to the LA Clippers, the head coach screamed so loudly his voice could be heard outside the locker room. There was just one problem,” The Athletic wrote. “That night, Suns players didn’t believe it. The outburst seemed fake and out of character to them. It continued at shootaround the next day in Los Angeles, where Vogel attacked the Suns before the road win over the Clippers that same night. Vogel’s outburst had players rolling their eyes, sources familiar with the matter told The Athletic. One player even told The Athletic he had to hold back a laugh.”

Make it click

Jusuf Nurkic posted this on X and videos have surfaced of him shooting threes in practice. The big guy met up with Coach Bud overseas to do some training. I’d love to snoop on that conversation/meeting.

No, I’m not interested in summer training footage – although it would be nice if he expanded his reach. But yes, it’s nice to see that they’ve already made contact.

The center position is a hot topic for *checks notes* the entire franchise history of the Suns, in one way or another. How can this coaching staff best utilize Nurkic? Will he be part of their closing lineup? Those are the burning questions that must be answered from the start. The playoff woes are very real and concerning.

Either way, it’s nice to see them making a connection early on.

The core of the team returns and the new coaching staff will bring new leadership off the field, but more importantly on the field they bring in Tyus Jones and Monte Morris. Stabilizers.

Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images

The movements at the edges were, across the board, as good as one could wish.

The main goal of the Suns front office is to get the most out of their stars. What does that ultimately look like? Coach Bud has his hands full, but he has to take the big three on board.

One thing that can speed up this process is good spirits, and from the outside, they are heading in the right direction this offseason.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images