clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Phoenix Suns President Lon Babby Talks with Doug and Wolf, Doesn't Mention Gentry as a Front Office Confidant

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Phoenix Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby sat for an interview on KTAR's Doug and Wolf Show Wednesday afternoon and discussed the state of the team as the Suns were heading into their game against the Hornets.

Despite the team's struggles and dubious hopes for improvement, the hosts didn't ask the most probing, challenging questions of Babby but, after a few minutes of small talk about the Super Bowl, got down to business talking about lessons learned by the Suns front office since Babby assumed control in the summer of 2010.

In the interview, the full audio of which can be heard here, Babby talked about the importance of staying the course as a team executive, and then had this to say when asked "who do you lean on, who do you confide in in the front office?"

Babby replied:

"The one thing that's developed in the year-and-a-half since I've been here is a great rapport among Lance Blanks, John Treloar, myself and other members of our staff, and also Robert Sarver. We have a great relationship among the three of us. We all bring different things. I bring my experience, Lance brings his experience, John's a coach so he brings his experience and I think it's a symbiotic relationship...I enjoy my relationship with those guys and we learn from each other every day."
A name conspicuous by its absence from that statement was head coach Alvin Gentry. This front office power structure of Babby, GM Blanks and Director of Player Personnel Treloar inherited Gentry from the previous regime. Often, new front offices want to bring in their own coaches, but Babby elected to sign Gentry to an extension soon after being hired.

At the time, Babby had this to say, per the Arizona Republic:
"I felt like we should all be on equal footing and all the management should have at least three years together," Babby said. "We're going to have to make important decisions together. This was the right decision for Alvin and for us and he deserved it. It was a no-brainer."
Notice how he refers to making important decisions together with Gentry then, but doesn't mention Gentry along with the "symbiotic relationships" he enjoys with his inner circle now. Is there anything to read into this?

If Babby genuinely thought the rosters he's assembled could challenge for playoff spots last year and this, he can't be happy with the job Gentry has done so far. And no coach should be considered safe on an 8-13 team which seems to be making no progress.

But, what of Babby's statement here? Is he implying that Gentry is no longer a major decision-maker for the Suns? If so, what does that mean for Gentry's future?

For more exclusive content, follow us on Twitter @Brightsidesun and "Like" us on Facebook.

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Bright Side of the Sun Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of Phoenix Suns news from Bright Side of the Sun