Jared Dudley explains what Phoenix Suns have to do to be successful
May 25, 2020, 5:00 PM | Updated: May 26, 2020, 7:17 am
(Screenshot)
(Screenshot)
Former Phoenix Sun Jared Dudley said the key to the Suns being successful is hinged on if Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton can reach their full potential.
On the Fox Sports Arizona Valley Chatz segment Sunday night, Dudley was joined by former Suns teammate Channing Frye.
Host Tom Leander opened up the floor for the two former teammates to ask each other their own questions.
Frye asked Dudley what this young Suns team needs to do to be more successful in the future.
Dudley says he likes the direction that the team is headed in. With general manager James Jones previously being a player and a champion himself, Dudley recognizes his work ethic and how it transfers to building out the organization.
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Aside from the experience, the real key to success lies in the faces of the franchise.
“The key is Deandre Ayton has to take the next step and be an All-Star. Booker already did it this year, so that’ the first key,” Dudley said. “Monty [Williams], which I’ve talked to Booker, has embraced Devin to be more of a leader.”
Ayton and Booker will reach their full potential if Williams coaches the young players hard and develops the two to reach their full potential.
Dudley also mentioned that bringing in two or three veterans could give them the added boost that all championship teams have. He noted they’ve done well by bringing in players like Ricky Rubio.
Outside of the current Suns roster, Frye and Dudley both said the culture with the Phoenix Suns when they played helped to make them into the players they became.
“If I don’t play in Phoenix, I don’t play 13 years in the NBA. They changed my outlook on basketball — how I trained, how I thought about it, offseason and just the fans, ” Dudley said.
As the hometown kid, Frye agreed that between the weight room and working alongside players like Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal, the Suns brought the culture of winning.
“We just expected to win every single game and that attitude went to every team I played on is that you prepare to expect to win every single game, and when you don’t, you just go back to the drawing board and say this is where I messed up,” Frye said.
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