Devin Booker is the best shooting guard in the NBA. The theory goes if you have the best player at a position, you’re a title contender as soon as you add complementary pieces around him. The Phoenix Suns did just that by adding future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant to the team. A combination of Booker, Durant, future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton washed out against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in 2023. The team jettisoned Ayton and Paul to other teams and brought in Bradley Beal for the 2024 run. It resulted in an even worse washout. Many don’t realize that the Suns had to win 10 out of their last 14 games to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament. Their reward? A first-round sweep by the Minnesota Timberwolves. With minor offseason roster upgrades on the margins, should the Phoenix Suns worry this coming season?
Please check out the rest of the articles in my NBA Worry-Wart Series:
Phoenix Suns Offseason Changes
Without beating around the bush, Bradley Beal was expected to be the third cog in the Suns’ arsenal, but he only got 53 games last season. If he is healthy, the team looks completely different. He had a career-high three-point percentage last season and seemed to fit well. The Beal-Booker-Durant trio never had an opportunity to develop chemistry. Beal is ready to go this season.
Bench players were solidified in free agency with Monte Morris, Tyus Jones, and Mason Plumlee. Each would’ve been incredibly useful a few years ago when the Suns were the only team to take two games from the Nuggets on their way to the championship. All of the Suns’ primary free agents resigned to significant deals.
The rookie the Phoenix Suns selected 28th overall in the draft, guard Ryan Dunn, looks to be a stud.
The most significant change was the head coach switch from Frank Vogel to Mike Budenholzer. Budenholzer is known for stand-out regular season records, and he recently collected a championship under his belt (2021 Milwaukee Bucks).
Sunny Expectations
The public forgets so quickly. The personal accolades of Kevin Durant are too numerous to count. You would imagine he is past his prime. No! Durant averaged 27 points a game last season (5th in the NBA) and played 75 out of 82 games. He has always been the same monster (and two-time Finals MVP). Kevin Durant became Team USA Basketball’s all-time leading scorer two months ago. He took home a gold medal (he now has four) alongside his Suns teammate Devin Booker.
Team USA head coach and nine-time NBA champion Steve Kerr called Booker the team’s unsung MVP. Last season, Booker ranked sixth among NBA scoring leaders and played 68 games. Health and continuity and a better defensive scheme should raise the Phoenix Suns’ expectations.
By the way, they expect a chip. The highest payroll in the league demands results, and everyone, from the veteran players to the coaching staff, is comfortable with those expectations.
Should the Phoenix Suns Worry This Coming Season?
All signs point to the Phoenix Suns enjoying a worry-free season this year. Despite an injury-plagued first season together, the team still earned a sixth-seed in the playoffs and loads of opportunity, given that the fifth-seeded Mavericks made the NBA Finals. Phoenix (when healthy) has a more talent-laden roster than Dallas.
I’d be distraught, however, if I were the Phoenix Suns’ pocketbooks. This year alone, they have nearly a quarter of a billion dedicated to player salaries! There is no relief in sight either, as the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards own most of their future NBA Draft capital.
But the job is not to foresee five years from now. The vision is a short horizon where the Phoenix Sun rises high into the NBA sky, and they finally break through to their first championship. The sun sets later but their time is now.
Photo Credit for featured cover image: Getty Images.
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