With a star in Devin Booker, exciting young talent, tons of cap space and a few more high draft picks, the Phoenix Suns could be a team to lookout for in the near future
The day is June 29th. The year, 2017. Not so much, four score and seven years, but for some reason, this totally innocuous day had a hitch to it for me. I see a notification on my phone. I have a setting where any LA Clippers news that comes up, is right there in my face via my phones lock screen. I see something that took me aback.
It reads, “Free-Agent Blake Griffin to meet with Phoenix Suns.” My first thought is, “Who the hell would want to go play in Phoenix?”
Let’s fast forward to March 18th, 2017. This is the day after the Phoenix Suns just got dusted by a Golden State Warriors team that was missing their three best players. Not only is it their eighth loss in a row but in their last 20 games, they have gone 2-18. Actually let’s just go since the beginning of February. The Suns have only won one game, and it was against the second worst team in the league, the Memphis Grizzlies. Both teams are close to winning the tanking wars of 2018 in the NBA.
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Say what you want about that controversial topic, but there is some light amongst these dark, dreary tanking days! For one, I actually believe in the Suns future. I think with the addition of a few more pieces, they can do something special. This article as a whole, might come back to take a Joey Chestnut sized bite out of my backside, but let me bring up a few little tidbits to try to convince you.
How does a team get over it’s tanking ways? Usually you have to build around the one good thing going for them. Take the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid for example, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Giannis Antetokounmpo or the Indiana Pacers and Victor Oladipo. Well the Suns have a light at the end of the tunnel with Devin Booker. Currently averaging just a shade under 25 a game to go along with nearly five rebounds and fives assists per game, Booker is a bonafide star in this league.
Ask any of your favorite players. He is consistently thought of as “Your favorite player’s, favorite player.” Let’s not forget the game in which he put up 70 points against the Celtics in Boston, which is good enough for 10th all time in NBA history for a single game. While he has been a little banged up this year (mostly due, I think to the volume at which he has to play), Booker is the one constant for Phoenix and if they can build around him, they could be dangerous.
Another player that the Suns should try to march along with is T.J. Warren. I wrote last week about how the Suns signed this, near 20 point-a-game scorer, to a sweet deal last offseason, (He’s still under his rookie deal right now and is only making $3.1 Mill). The guy is old-school. Undersized, not a fantastic shooter, but will cut you up like a Thanksgiving dinner and finish in the lane. Not to mention the great defense he plays on the other end despite being undersized. Having him at the three and Booker at the two provides for a fantastic scoring backcourt that, along with Elfrid Payton, could do some damage.
The Phenix Suns have made some boneheaded picks in the past. Trading Bogdan Bogdanovic, their first round pick in 2014, to the Kings is looking pretty silly right now. Along with first round picks since 2012 like Alex Len, Tyler Ennis, Archie Goodwin Nemanja Nedovic and Kendall Marshall, the Suns haven’t done themselves any favors. While they lucked out with Warren and Booker late in the lottery in 2014 and 2015, their last two first round picks have become of particular interest to me.
People are pretty quick to label Dragan Bender, the fourth pick in the 2016 draft, a bust. I even did my own redraft of that class a few weeks ago and Bender was not in my lottery. However, let’s look at a few key things with Bender. First off, he’s only 20 years old. Still very young to be in his second season in the league, with a lot of time to improve.
Second, he’s 7-foot-1. If I was the Suns strength and conditioning coach, I would make him eat five burgers, three twinkles and a gallon of Mac and cheese for every meal. That being said, you can’t teach height and he has it. If he adds weight he can be more of a threat in the paint, which currently, he is not.
Third, he’s an improved shooter that can stretch a team out. Currently he is shooting 37.5 percent from 3 this season. If he can be that casual 40 percent shooter from 3 and improve his weight and inside presence, he could be of good use for the suns. Their 2017 first round pick, Josh Jackson, however, is showing signs that he could be something special.
We all had the idea that Jackson would be somewhat raw his first season out. Early in the year, he was showing transitional woes that most thought would plague him. From October to the end of January, Jackson was putting up 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game on 37 percent shooting. His one saving grace was his ball-hawking defense but he was a liability on the offensive end.
However, since January 3rd, Jackson has been really turning it on. Since that date, he is averaging 16 points, 5.4 rebounds and is shooting 45 percent from the field. He has become a force for the Suns second unit and a go-to scorer. At 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot wingspan, he has the length to guard 1-4 on the floor. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing a small ball lineup, a la Warriors, be utilized by them here late in the season.
Another reason to be excited, if you are a Suns fan, (Hopefully there are some of you left) is because of what they don’t have yet. Still rocking an interim coach, they have the opportunity to go get a fresh basketball mind to coach the youngest team in the NBA. Yes, you read that right, still the youngest team even with vets like Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley.
The Phoenix Suns also currently hold the worst record in the NBA. If that translates into a No. 1 pick, you have the opportunity to get a future stud, and one that’s in your backyard, Deandre Ayton with the first pick. A 7-footer with range and a tight end’s build, he would immediately bolster an aging front court and give the hometown fans something to cheer about. Not only will they almost assuredly receive the first or second pick, they also hold the draft rights to the Milwaukee Bucks first round pick. If this lands between 11 and 16, thanks to the Eric Bledsoe trade, the Suns get it.
As of March 18, the Bucks have the 16th pick based on record, so if the draft was today, they get the pick. Not to be outdone, the Suns also have Miami Heat’s first-round pick if it doesn’t fall below the 7th pick. Currently, Miami is in the heat of the Eastern Conference playoff race, so the Suns will definitely be receiving this pick as well. THREE potential first-round picks in the 2018 draft, one in which looks to be a very deep one based on the talent available. This could mean an almost immediate turnaround if they use the picks wisely.
All of this is good news. All of this is reason to look forward to the future. Wait…have I failed to mention how much extra money the Sun have? Not only do they bolster the third lowest payroll in the league, they also have the fourth highest cap room. They are currently only shelling out $92.6 million to 23 players for an average of $4.02 million per.
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I fully expect the Suns to try to move Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley and Brandon Knight in the offseason and if they can move even two of those guys that payroll goes down and the cap room goes up. If they clear two of them, that gives them at least another $22 million a year to work with. Come next year, the highest paid player on their roster will be Brandon Knight if he stays, making $14.6 million a year.
What I am getting at here is, the Suns have a golden opportunity to strike with house money. They can offer a big name free agent the kind of money he wants to join a young up-and-coming team. Kind of reminds me of a Chris Paul, Clippers scenario in 2011. With all this extra money, it puts the Suns in the drivers seat to become a team to reckoned with in the near future.