Phoenix Suns: 3 offseason steps to take after embarrassing playoff exit
Phoenix Suns step No. 1: Rebuild the culture
Before the days of CP3 in Phoenix, there were the ‘Bright Future Suns.’ This team was exciting, beginning to build their young core under coach Monty Williams. One of the most laughable teams over the past 10 years finally had a direction, buying into their youth. The duo of Booker and Ayton, surrounded by young starters and role players such as Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and later Jae Crowder created a solid foundation for a team looking to take the next step.
Enter Chris Paul, who taught these young players how to actually win and be successful in this league. He’s had his own share of failures in the playoffs but has always been one of the best point guards in the league even in his mid to late 30s.
After the first year of Paul’s tenure in Arizona, the Suns were feeling on top of the world. Sure, it was a disappointment that they just blew a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals with Milwaukee winning four straight, but it’s hard to consider their season anything but a success. After a performance like that, a team can either keep their humility to develop an ego, believing that they’re the top dog, and they can coast to another Western Conference title with ease.
The Suns obviously adapted the second approach, being caught off-guard that a team, the Dallas Mavericks, would come out ready in a do-or-die game seven. Phoenix thought they could because of their success throughout the regular season and last playoffs – they forgot to play the game.
This culture shift, if it didn’t happen already, needs to happen as soon as possible. Realizing that you have to play better than your opponent every single night to come away victorious should be common sense. But when your ego gets too big, and you start to talk trash to teams that you perceive as lesser, you’re setting yourselves up to fail.
After their embarrassing defeat, players such as Patrick Beverley and Anthony Edwards commented on Phoenix’s downfall, stating how nobody was scared of them. The Suns tried to instill fear in the opposition based off of their regular-season record, and ultimately failed, unable to back up their relatively meaningless victories with a positive performance when it really counts.