Suns GM Brian Gregory draws conflicting feelings from intro press conference

The Suns have a new buzzword: Alignment. It is repeated so often that press conferences sound like trips to Discount Tires.

New Suns general manager Brian Gregory said the word frequently in his introductory press conference on Tuesday. He also spoke of vision, identity and grit, the same copy points Mat Ishbia stressed in his end-of-season press conference.

I left feeling conflicted. I do not believe in the approach, the methodology, or the organizational flowchart. But I am cheering wildly for Gregory to succeed.

Here are the issues:

Alignment means everything flows in a straight line, from the top down. Gregory effectively admitted he wasn’t hired for his vision. Rather, he is responsible for executing Ishbia’s vision, an owner who will remain very “involved.” Gregory candidly admitted his close relationship with Ishbia is the primary reason for his stunning promotion, and how a man with just two years of NBA experience (one as a consultant) could ascend to one of the most coveted and difficult jobs in basketball.

Gregory didn’t come with many specifics. He couldn’t give an answer regarding the importance of escaping the second apron of the salary cap. He praised the current roster as far better than it looked in the standings, as if all that’s missing in Phoenix is a new head coach and a new attitude. When asked about the futures of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, he said his only focus was finding a head coach who will best serve all of his players.

It made you wonder if the Suns are actually considering running it back a third time, which would be madness.

But Gregory does not lack confidence or charisma. As a former head coach of three different collegiate programs, he has a certain gravitas and displays natural leadership. He claims to have an eye for talent, recalling the time he recruited a 15-year-old Devin Booker as a high school star in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Gregory recognized in a nanosecond that he was out of his league, that Booker wasn’t going to play for a mid-major program in Dayton, Ohio.

Gregory failed to present a unique vision or any specifics that would validate what Ishbia calls a “brilliant basketball mind.” But he came off as likeable, authentic and real. He even said Durant gave him a hug when he learned of the unlikely promotion.

Bottom line: Owners who promote from within at a time of steep franchise decline are usually cut from the same cloth. They are the owners who need to be in control of everything, the ones who aren’t looking to learn from their failure.

Ishbia has been a model owner in many ways. But the meddler in him is what matters now, and Gregory did little to assuage those fears. But a source close to the Suns pointed out that Ishbia has had a lot of people in his ears over the past two years, from James Jones to Josh Bartelstein, from Isiah Thomas to Rex Chapman. And 730 days after his last playoff victory in Phoenix, Ishbia is now turning to the guy who knows him the best, whom he trusts the most.

When Jones took over as GM, he rescued the franchise from irrelevance with three big moves: He hired the right coach (Monty Williams). He found a gem in his first draft (Cam Johnson). He aced a transaction involving an NBA superstar (Chris Paul). Gregory has the same opportunity.

Cross your fingers because I like the new GM a lot. Even if I don’t like his chances.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station

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