There are three former Phoenix Suns playmakers that will become free agent this offseason, and each could help the franchise rebuild in varying degrees.
There will be plenty of free agents this offseason for the Phoenix Suns to evaluate. Some of which use to play for the Suns franchise. Bringing back familiar faces can either help or hurt a club. Regardless of whether or not bringing back a player will hurt or help the Suns, determining what type of impact each player could have is important in evaluating the free agents this summer. The need for a playmaker is great for the organization and there are three former Suns point guards who finished the season on a NBA roster that the team could look at.
No. 3
Even though Lorenzo Brown only played eight games for the Suns back in the 2015-16 season, he’s still considered a former player. While with the Suns, he averaged only 2.5 points and 1.4 assists. The unrestricted free agent could never fill the need at a starter, he’s only started seven out of 77 games that he’s played in and has only averaged 12.6 minutes per game throughout his career. While Brown could never be a legit starter for the Suns, he could be a nice third point guard off the bench, if signed by the club.
No. 2
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Like Brown before, Aaron Brooks is also suited as a third point guard on a roster at this point in his career. Unrestricted free agent Brooks was a solid backup when he did play for the Suns in the 2011-12 season, he averaged 9.4 points and 4.2 assists while getting 18.9 minutes per game. This past regular season Brooks saw a career low in points, minutes and games played. However, Brooks is more valuable than Brown due to his starting and veteran experience.
No. 1
Recently I wrote about the pro’s of adding unrestricted free agent Isaiah Thomas and fellow Valley of the Suns site expert Adam Maynes wrote a rebuttal stating the cons of adding the former Suns point guard. Regardless of which side of the argument fans tend to agree with more, Thomas is still the best former Suns point guard available via free agency this summer. Even if he is never the same due to the hip injury he’s recently gotten surgery for, he’s still at least a sixth man on most NBA teams, if not a starter on a few. McDonough has to weigh the risk versus the reward when evaluating Thomas’ fit on the Suns.
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While it’s unlikely any of the former Phoenix Suns point guards listed above will be the long term answer at the starting point guard position, each could provide depth as the teams reserve playmaker. While bringing back former Suns isn’t the only way McDonough should look at free agency, it’s one possible avenue that should be evaluated.