Phoenix Suns: 5 reasons to be excited for 2018-19 NBA season
By Luke Swiatek
2. Coach Igor Kokoskov
The Phoenix Suns’ new head coach hasn’t issued any crazy ultimatums like “We’re going to be top-five in defense” or anything else like that, and it’s tough to know exactly what kind of system he’s going to run. The good news is that we don’t know what he’ll run, because he has a tendency to adapt his system to his personnel.
An adaptable coach means happy players doing what they like and what they’re best at. Deandre Ayton likes post-ups and scores well down low? Kokoskov will make it a point to get him the ball there. Devin Booker is getting better at running the pick-and-roll? Kokoskov will make sure he’s running them frequently.
He’s also a development-focused head coach, which is great for the young Suns. If he can do what he did with the No. 13 pick in Donovan Mitchell, what can he do with Nos. 10 and 1 in Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton this year?