In 2021, the Phoenix Suns went to the NBA Finals with an upstart team who was well coached, had one of the best creators in the league with Chris Paul, an elite scorer in Devin Booker, an up and coming center in Deandre Ayton, and a really good defense. They were so connected and fun to watch. However, it was not good enough so, last February, the Phoenix Suns went all in by trading Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, 4 first round picks, and a pick swap to the Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant. After being eliminated in the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets, the Suns doubled down in June, by acquiring Bradley Beal, sending out Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, 2 pick swaps, and a bunch of future 2nds. The time is now for the Phoenix Suns, are they good enough to raise a banner?
After making the Finals, and losing to the Bucks, the Suns went 64-18 in 2021-22, good enough for the best record in the whole league. The team was eliminated in the 2nd round by the Dallas Mavericks in 7 games, losing game 7 by 33 points. Last season, the Suns finished 45-37, good enough for 4th in the West. Again they lost in the 2nd round, this time in 6 games to the Denver Nuggets, and again they were eliminated in embarrassing fashion, this time losing by 25. In back to back seasons, Phoenix was eliminated in games in which they lost by 33 and 25 points, both coming at home. That is not good enough and it is inexcusable, as a result it cost head coach Monty Williams his job, as Phoenix fired Williams after 4 seasons where he went 194-115. In comes former NBA champion Frank Vogel, who is a defensive minded coach, which should mesh well with Phoenix’s incredible trio of Booker, Durant, and Beal.
The Phoenix Suns have 4 max players on their team, Booker, Durant, Beal, and Deandre Ayton. We know how great Booker, Durant, and Beal are, the mystery is Ayton. Ayton has had some high highs and low lows in his Suns career. He was dreadful in the Denver series this past season and had a broken relationship with Monty Williams. It was thought Ayton would be traded but he remains a Sun and Vogel has said he is very excited to work with him. “(Ayton) shot about 80% from the field and deterred every drive, every cut, every effort to attack the basket,” Vogel said, referring to the Suns Lakers first round series in 2021 when Vogel was the coach of the Lakers, at his introductory press conference in June. Vogel also added “I’m intent on really connecting with him, and restoring him to an All-Star level player.” The Suns need Ayton to be an elite rim protector this season if they hope to achieve the goals they want to achieve and Vogel knows this.
With the new restrictions in the NBA’s new CBA, some of the Suns’ resources to build their roster were limited, they could not do much more than just sign players to minimum contracts. Thus, they went out and filled their roster with minimum players. They signed Eric Gordon, Yuta Watanabe, Keita Bates-Diop, Chimezie Metu, Drew Eubanks, Bol Bol and others in free agency, acquired Jordan Goodwin in the Beal trade, drafted Toumani Camara, and re-signed Josh Okogie, Ish Wainright, and Damion Lee. There are a lot of flaws in each of these players, that is why they are minimum contract players, but most of them will make an impact on the team. The fifth starter will likely be one of Watanabe or Okogie. I would go with Watanabe with his size, defensive versatility, and how he sometimes hits his 3s. Eric Gordon is a very good offensive player and will be their sixth man, he is an elite shooter and can also put the ball on the floor and finish around the rim. Metu and Eubanks will be Ayton’s backups at center… that kind of worries me, as neither player is someone that you want to play at all in a playoff series. I am a Bates-Diop fan, he can give the Suns good minutes this season and maybe start for them. Finally, Goodwin gives them point guard depth… or just a single point guard on the roster. While none of these guys are do everything players and they all have flaws, they all are good at some things and can help the Suns this season.
While all that I have mentioned thus far, Ayton’s rim protection, Vogel’s defensive scheme, the depth, are important, none of it matters if Booker, Durant, and Beal do not mesh. Ayton could become an elite rim protector, the defense could be good, maybe 2nd round pick Toumani Camara is surprisingly awesome, but if Booker, Durant, and Beal cannot mesh and struggle to play with one another, the Phoenix Suns will not win the NBA Championship. They are great players and all are elite scorers, maybe the best pure scoring trio the NBA has seen, but there are ways they fail. The easiest comparison is the Brooklyn Nets’ big 3 of Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. That big 3 had one of the greatest pure passers we have ever seen in James Harden and a championship point guard in Kyrie Irving. Phoenix’s trio does not have that, sure we all love ‘Point Book’ but that was always in small doses, he is the full time main ball handler on this team, is he ready for that? Bradley Beal has averaged 17.6, 19.3, 23.0, 22.9, and 19.6 shots per game in his last 5 seasons, the assist number have gone up but he’s never been over 7 assists per game in his career, he is a 2-guard, can he adjust to playing the role of a point guard more often? Health is, perhaps, the bigger question mark with the Suns this season. After the trade to the Suns last season, Kevin Durant played in 8 of a potential 26 games regular season games with Phoenix last season, he has not played in over 60 games since the 2018-19 season when he was with Golden State, pre-achilles tear, the injury where he misses 20 games is almost inevitable. Beal has only played in 90 of a potential 164 games over the last 2 seasons as well, injuries are a massive concern considering Booker is the most reliable of the 3 and he has had his fair share of injuries in his career.
There are massive concerns regarding the Suns and yet, of course, you build this roster. Of course you trade for Bradley Beal to add to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. You have hope that Deandre Ayton bounces back but this is worth it, just like it was worth it for the Nets. That is how good these 3 guys can be, as is said earlier, these 3 guys might be the greatest pure scoring trio we have ever seen and I do believe they can win the NBA championship next season.
The Phoenix Suns have never won the NBA championship, even though they have been there 3 times. Is this the biggest season in the history of the Phoenix Suns? That answer may very well be yes. They have gone all in, without control of their own draft pick until 2031 and have 4 guys who take up the entire salary cap. They have had great teams in the past, the seven seconds or less teams, the 1992 team that went to the Finals led by Charles Barkley, and the teams in the 70s but I do not think there has ever been a Suns team that is as hyped and has so much on the line as the 2023-24 team has. We are in championship or bust season for the Phoenix Suns and those are very rare for the franchise.
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