The Phoenix Suns have had promise since they made the NBA Finals in 2021 when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then they have underperformed in the playoffs, losing in the second round the past two years. Even adding arguably the best player in the league to the team this year wasn’t enough.
They still have Durant and an All Star in Devin Booker who looked elite at times. The main issue is with the rest of the team. A part from those two, they may have a complete different team next year.
The Chris Paul Debacle
After losing the first two games of the series with Chris Paul, the Suns won the next two games without him due to injury. Ultimately it is hard to tell if they are better or worse without him because they still lost the series. He did look really slow out there on both sides of the ball. For a point guard who can’t guard anyone or push the ball in transition, it seems like he may not be a good fit for any team in today’s NBA anymore. He is still owed more than $60 million over the next two years…
What to do with Deandre Ayton
Ayton missed the last game of the series and averaged just 10.8 points per game in the series with Denver. Besides his poor play, it seems he does this every playoffs where he completely disappears and then has issues with the team. They should want to trade him but like Chris Paul, he has a huge contract left with Phoenix, over $100 million for the next three years.
Role Players
It seems that the Suns underestimated how crucial role players are. Especially when Paul went down and Ayton was ineffective, no one else stepped up. We saw Landry Shamet have one good game and Cam Payne have one good game in the final loss after three terrible games filling in for Paul. They need to address their role player situation, which is easier said than done.
Best Case Scenario
Phoenix should want to move on from Paul and Ayton and get the most out of them in trades. Building around Durant and Booker is obviously a good idea and getting quality roles players similarly to who they used to have like Cam Johnson may be their best move.
Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Golden_State_Warriors_Small_Forward_Kevin_Durant.jpg
