It’s not often that you see an NBA Summer League roster like that of the Phoenix Suns in 2021. It’s pretty unique.
The entire 15-man roster is made up of players who have played professionally either in the NBA or overseas, most of whom qualify for the latter.
And if you’re following me correctly, yes, that means the roster doesn’t have any players from the 2021 draft class. That is certainly not common in the Summer League.
It wasn’t just focused on one league or region, either.
Australia. Germany. Belgium. Russia. Italy. Israel. Greece. France. Spain. Along with the United States, these are the 10 countries where the team’s roster stretches based on the last club each player played for.
That makes Suns assistant coach Brian Randle even more suitable for the job.
Randle entered the coaching scene on his own a few years ago after a successful 10-year career abroad. The former Illinois Guardian in the mid-2000s is a three-time Israeli League Best Defender Award winner and won the 2010 Playoff Championship MVP award when he was Israeli League Champion with Hapoel Gilboa Galil Elyon.
Unsurprisingly, Randle said this type of roster creation made things easier for him in the early days of the team’s get-together before heading to Las Vegas that weekend.
“They all have experience,” he said on Friday. “Two years, three years, four years of experience, so the teaching aspect and coming on the first day of camp really changes that learning curve. Guys pick things up quickly, they’ve been to different countries, (with) different coaches, so it’s quick to see what you can do in the first few trainings, the first few days of training camp. ”
As Randle pointed out, two of the NBA experienced players, 2020 first-round pick Jalen Smith and 2020 two-way contract signer Ty-Shon Alexander, have been with the Suns all last year. They know the system and what Randle wants to achieve at the beginning of the process.
Alexander said communication was something veteran point guard Chris Paul stressed to him and Smith all last season.
“Me and Stix are the only people who really know our program and how to play Sun’s basketball,” said Alexander. “Chris really taught him and me how to communicate and be a leader. Because we talk about defense and we make sure that the guys know where they are on the offensive, that we are in the right places, that we take our time – after seeing a lot with Chris and looking forward to what he’s doing on the pitch I honestly look forward to what I can try in the summer to win games every now and then. “
The Suns’ Summer League schedule begins on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. against the Los Angeles Lakers. This is carried over to ESPN2.
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