Pacific Notes: Suns, Ishbia, Doncic, EuroBasket

There’s little question who the most important Suns player is. Beyond recently-extended All-Star guard Devin Booker, however, identifying the top talent on the current roster is more of an open question.

Now, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscriber link) has ranked the five most important Phoenix players aside from the 6’5″ Kentucky alum.

Forward Ryan Dunn, new post-Durant trade additions Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, and new centers Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach make the cut.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

• Suns owner Mat Ishbia has weighed in on ESPN’s recent prediction that Phoenix would win 30 games, Rankin writes. Given that the Suns won just 36 games last year with a far more cohesive roster then led by 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant, ESPN’s thinking seems fairly reasonable. “I’m not worried about what the so-called experts think,” Ishbia wrote (Twitter link), while quoting a Burn City Sports tweet about the article. “They had us as a title contender the past two years and were wrong then. We’re focused on making our fans proud by playing great as a team and building a brand of basketball that’s tough and gritty.”
• Lakers officials, including president Rob Pelinka, paid a visit to five-time All-NBA guard Luka Doncic in Poland prior to the official EuroBasket this week, writes BasketNews. Doncic is plying his trade for his native Slovenia. Pelinka praised Doncic’s improved fitness this summer while addressing reporters, per BasketNews. “He’s in great shape, really committed to working hard this summer,” Pelinka told reporters. “And to be able to watch that in person was worth flying over the ocean to be with him.”
• Doncic affirmed his long-term interest in suiting up for Slovenia during the summers, while Pelinka seemingly endorsed that approach, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic. “It’s an easy choice,” Doncic said. “I always want to represent my country. Always did. No matter what. Obviously, if I’m injured, I’m not gonna play, but if I have nothing, I will always play.” Doncic has won EuroBasket before, beating Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s Serbia, 93-85, in 2017. During Doncic’s most recent EuroBasket run, circa 2022, Poland upset Slovenia in the quarterfinal round. “We just wanted to make a statement to Luka that we support what he does for his country,” Pelinka said. “That’s really important to the Lakers when we have a player that’s the face of our franchise, just to show that support for him.”