2. Phoenix Suns
It’s almost impossible not to praise the Phoenix Suns for what they’ve managed to accomplish this summer. There are many teams that tried and failed to not only improve their rosters this summer but perhaps just to tweak them. The Suns did both. Not only did Phoenix tweak the roster after a disappointing showing in the playoff last season (even after the acquisition of Kevin Durant), but they’ve also improved massively.
The Suns started the offseason by acquiring Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards for a package that centered around Chris Paul and draft capital. They then retooled the supporting cast around Devin Booker and Kevin Durant with smart, pointed moves in free agency. Just when everyone thought that their work was done, they jumped into the blockbuster Damian Lillard trade by sending out Deandre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic and depth pieces from the Milwaukee Bucks.
All in all, it was a completely successful offseason for a Suns team that entered the summer with the goal of revamping the roster. With the roster Phoenix currently has, it’s hard to envision this team doesn’t at least make the conference finals this season.