The Phoenix Suns have a nice young core and appear to have a bright future, but some really important decisions for the franchise loom
Yes everybody, the Phoenix Suns are terrible. Only the Brooklyn Nets have fewer wins. The Suns have not hit the 50 win mark since the 2009-2010 NBA season. I guess the only place they can go is up.
Lets address the good part first.
It seems like the Suns have a terrific backcourt for the future in Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker. They have the driver and playmaker in Bledsoe, and the youthful, suave scorer in Booker. T.J. Warren is another young scoring sensation who can play the three, but can also stretch out the defense by playing the four.
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Warren is averaging a career high 5.1 rebounds per game, and is grabbing almost two offensive boards per game. He has three double-doubles in his past seven games. Then, you have Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender. The former has shown flashes of star potential this year with his crazy athleticism and ability to stretch the floor at 6-foot-10. He is top 10 in scoring for rookies. The latter has only appeared in 42 games this year due to injury. Some people are already saying bust, but it is way too early to put that tag on the 19-year-old.
This young core of players will only get better as they continue to develop chemistry and comfortability as a team.
The bad news starts right with Brandon Knight.
Knight is due $43.8 million in guaranteed money over the next three years. For a player that is coming off arguably his best season of his career, that’s not great. Knight averaged career lows in points per game and minutes per game, and also had his second-worst shooting season statistically from the field and three-point range.
Assuming that Knight doesn’t suddenly become a different player after this summer, the Suns need to find a way to get out of that contract. Though, finding a trade partner won’t be an easy task without attaching a valuable asset to his contract.
The next problem lies with the center position.
The Phoenix Suns are paying a lot of money for a guy in Tyson Chandler who is well past his glory days. The 34-year-old is in no way a long-term solution at center. Then, we have Alex Len and Alan Williams who are both restricted free agents.
Len, who was the 5th overall selection in 2013, never turned out to be that franchise center that the Suns were looking for. Plagued by injuries, and never playing a full season in four years, combined with the signing of Chandler, stunted his growth and his ability to improve on the basketball court.
Williams, who was undrafted in 2015, has been a quality back up center for the Suns this season. He has 14 double-doubles on the season and, although hasn’t been given consistent minutes throughout the year, has performed well when given the playing time. Len has 11 double-doubles in 30 more games of action.
Valley of the Suns
The Suns should definitely ponder signing Williams to a multi-year deal. As for Len, his days as a Sun might just be over.
So, what’s next?
Well, since the Phoenix Suns have the record they do, there is a good chance they will be in the top three of this year’s NBA Draft, and have a chance for the first overall selection as well.
Although center is a position of need, the top tier draft prospects are not centers. You have to go down the line in order to find players like Zach Collins, Jarrett Allen, or Justin Patton. These guys will be later lottery to mid-first round selections. In that case, the Suns should take Josh Jackson out of Kansas (if available).
Jackson does a little bit of everything. He defends, he passes, he makes plays, he is extremely athletic, and has a high motor. He can come in an help this Suns team immediately in a multitude of ways, and he instantly becomes their best perimeter defender. With an improved perimeter jump shot, he can be scary good.
Adding Jackson to their young core will make the Suns extremely exciting. They could draft a center later in this loaded draft, or they could look to free agency. If they can find a quality starting center to build around, and draft Jackson, they will be in good shape. As noted, they have some contract issues, but hopefully they can make some moves to alleviate that problem.
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Having Barbosa, Dudley, (and Chandler) will add foundation and leadership for this young group. And who knows, maybe the dunking sensation Derrick Jones Jr. will become an important part of this young Suns nucleus as well.
The Phoenix Suns have a bright future, but there are some important decisions that need to be made over the next few weeks.