1. Phoenix Suns
Key offseason move: Acquiring Bradley Beal
Naturally, you place the defending champs (assuming they’re keeping the relatively same roster) at the No. 1 spot heading into the start of the following season. However, this is a bit different. This is not about the Nuggets losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. They will be missed but could be replaced. Instead, this is more about the Phoenix Suns and what they’ve done to improve their roster so far this offseason.
Looking at their moves, it’s almost impossible to not place the Suns at the top of the rankings to start the season. The Suns will be entering the season with arguably the best top 4 in the league – with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Deandre Ayton. It may not even matter who the fifth starter is the for the team. That’s how dynamic and talented their core 4 players are right now.
But even after making the move for Beal, the Suns have managed to build a pretty solid supporting cast around their core 4. Of note, the Suns signed Eric Gordon and Bol Bol as two players that you would expect to be consistent contributors to the team next season.
The Suns will clearly enter the 2023-24 season as the team to beat.