Most NBA players grew up from a young age dreaming of playing in the pros. New Phoenix Suns center Jock Landale is not most NBA players. Although he played in basketball camps in Melbourne, Australia, when he was younger, Landale had no interest in the sport, preferring the Australian Football League and cricket instead. “My parents threw me into basketball...

Duane Washington Jr. is the newest addition to the Phoenix Suns, joining last year’s best regular-season team on a two-way contract. The 22-year-old point guard will be reunited with his old friend Devin Booker after the Indiana Pacers waived him to make room for Deandre Ayton’s max offer sheet. Phoenix immediately matched DA’s offer, and then subsequently scooped up Washington (like we predicted they might). On Tuesday, Washington spoke with Gerald Bourguet, Lindsey Smith, Saul Bookman and Espo on the PHNX Suns Podcast, diving into how he handled the Pacers and then Suns news, his relationships with Book, Derek Fisher and “Uncle Kobe,” what he brings to the table, and much more. This interview has been edited for length and…

Phoenix Suns fans have spent the last month waiting for a Kevin Durant trade to materialize, but in the meantime, they largely have the same roster to look forward to next season. Well, almost the same, thanks to Dario Saric. Outside of extending Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker, the Suns’ only means to improve at this point lies in continuity,...

If matching Deandre Ayton’s max offer sheet was the Indiana Pacers’ wound, Tuesday’s Duane Washington Jr. news was undoubtedly the salt. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Washington has agreed to join the Phoenix Suns on a two-way contract, filling one of those two slots for the upcoming season. Indiana had waived Washington on July 14 to clear out enough cap...

Despite the endless trade rumors that have circulated around him for the past month, Cam Johnson is in a good mood. It’s his first CJ23 Invitational 3-on-3 tournament that he’s hosted in the Valley, and the Phoenix Suns wing is busy taking pictures with kids, smiling while talking to fans and watching simultaneous games unfold at the Ability360 Sports and Fitness Center. Johnson held a similar event near Pittsburgh last year, where he grew up in Moon Township, but spending most of his summer in Phoenix during a longer offseason opened the door to hold his event here for the first time. “Huge help from the organization and from Suns Charities,” he said. “It takes a lot off my plate…

The Phoenix Suns appear to be in a holding pattern for Kevin Durant, but after that initial flurry of reports stemming from his July 1 trade request, it’s grown fairly quiet. While other suitors have risen and fallen, the Suns will remain smack-dab in the middle of these long-winding sweepstakes as long as KD wants to play in Phoenix. There...

When it comes to the most consistently successful NBA franchises, oftentimes it’s the players who come to mind first — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green for the Golden State Warriors, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker for the San Antonio Spurs, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for the Miami Heat. However, as much as the players deserve the lion’s share of the credit, most of the NBA’s successful franchises also had the right people in place during their best years — Steve Kerr and Bob Myers, Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford, Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley. With Saturday morning’s Monty Williams news, the Phoenix Suns are moving another step closer to that type of sustainable…

At this point in the offseason, the Phoenix Suns appear to be in a holding pattern, waiting for their chance to land Kevin Durant. Most of the notable free agents are already off the board, and roster spots have filled up quickly. Deandre Ayton finally found resolution after the Suns matched a four-year, $133 million max offer sheet from the...

It was looking dicey for a minute there — okay, apparently it was three minutes — but Deandre Ayton will remain with the Phoenix Suns for at least the next six months. On Thursday, it was reported that Ayton had agreed to a four-year, $133 million max offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers. After he officially signed it, the Suns...