Robert Sarver comments on newfound success for Phoenix Suns

PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver does not speak to the media all that often.

Unlike the coach and even general manager, it’s difficult to get his thoughts on the team from a week-to-week, even sometimes season-to-season basis.

So, with Sarver speaking on Wednesday at the site of the Suns’ new practice facility, questions arose of how he feels about the team this year.

To no surprise, like just about everybody, he’s enjoying the 6-4 start.

“Winning is a lot more fun than losing,” he joked but not really joked. “Seeing a lot of it come together this year … after training camp, I think I told my kids, ‘We haven’t played a game yet but I can tell that right now we’re in a much better place.'”

A lot of that has to do with the work general manager James Jones and new head coach Monty Williams have done.

“James did a good job this summer,” Sarver said. “We really thought hard this year about we need to pick players that match the coach.”

“What our coach wanted was positional length, shooting, basketball IQ and professionalism,” he said. “When you look at the moves we made, while at the time many of them were not viewed favorably, there was a reason behind all of them and I think our front office did a good job of matching what the coach needed to be successful in terms of player personnel.”

Sarver is a fan of the style of play from Williams’ team as well.

“I like the fact that the ball is shared, and I think when the ball is shared, you tend to get better shots and I also think it’s easier to be more engaged defensively,” he said.

All in all, the three of them add up to a group that Sarver sees them having a chance at serious long-term success with.

“The good news for me about what we’re doing right now is that I think we have a really good foundation,” he said. “When I look at the communication triangle with myself and James and Monty and then I look at the players we have and the combination of youth and veterans, I think we have something we can keep running for a long time, so I think we’re building something that is sustainable.”

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