On Monday, the Phoenix Suns released some very interesting and revealing content, stemming from their active 2024 NBA Draft showing. They presented us with an “Inside the War Room,” that allowed us to watch the live happenings of conversations on draft day, leading up to each pick.

In the video, we were able to see the split-second communication that takes place between James Jones and Josh Bartelstein, the NBA, and other team executives. We also saw James Jones note the advantage that having the Draft split into two days, presented them with.

A few of the biggest takeaways for me:

The Interpersonal Communication

Urgency is the key adjective for me. From James Jones to all existing parties and the concision with communication, there was a ton of understanding of the targets, as well as how they could potentially go about getting them in addition to more second-round picks.

Budenholzer’s Comment

“I’m good with Dunn,” leads me to believe Budenholzer was already high on him (as has been communicated by Shams Charania) and confirms they were zeroed in on the completion of a task.

Also speaks to the intrigue for Budenholzer based on Dunn’s film in college.

Josh Bartelstein

“We wanted Ryan Dunn. So to get Ryan Dunn at 28, when we were targeting him at 22 as well, and we get those picks, is a win-win.”

Being patient and netting the desired pick in addition to compensation speaks heavily to the work they did prior to the NBA Draft and their ability to react in real-time.

Ishbia to Jones

The last quick hitter that intrigued me plenty was when it came down to the deal moving up to draft Oso Ighodaro, Bartelstein asked Ishbia what he wanted in stamping the deal, and then Ishbia deferred directly to Jones to do his job, and spoke to me.

Ishbia has emphasized being a hands-on owner, but also very much imploring people to handle their job in it all. His immediate passing to Jones to stamp the deal was a direct example of not just speaking that but being about that in accordance.

In all, this was a grand slam on the content side of things, especially considering where the schedule is in late August, with minimal news coming in the weeks leading up to training camp and media day.

Was plenty more fun to glean from the War Room for the Suns, what caught your eye in it all?