The Phoenix Suns should declare independence from the West
By Adam Maynes
With the Western Conference already overflowing with most of the league’s best talent, and the Pacific Division particularly stacked, on this Independence Day, the Phoenix Suns should declare their own independence from the Western Conference, and move East.
The Phoenix Suns are in a perilous spot. In the last week, LeBron James has signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and threatens to bring more talent with him. DeMarcus Cousins then signed an insanely low contract with the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors. These two moves alone make the Pacific Division, already incredibly stacked, arguably the most top-heavy division in all of sports.
Historically one of the West’s top franchises, and a regular winner of the Division, the Suns have been looking up more often than not at the top teams in the Western Conference for each of the past eight seasons.
While the last three seasons the Suns have sank to the bottom of the league – intentionally so – they did so because their prior efforts to stay afloat and remain playoff competitive all fell short, even while mediocre Eastern Conference teams with barely 30 wins entered the postseason.
That is why, as the Phoenix Suns look to finally end their rebuild and use their young talent to grow into one of the league’s top teams, ownership and management should demand league re-alignment and to be placed in the Eastern Conference, where they can more fairly compete for a playoff spot.
Thanks, LeBron.
Let’s take a brief look back at the times in the past eight seasons that the Phoenix Suns could have been a playoff team had they only been in the East:
2011 – 40-42 – 10th place in the West. They would have been 8th in the East and MADE the playoffs.
2012 – 33-33 – 10th place in the West. They would have been 9th in the East and still missed the playoffs.
2013 – 25-57 – They were never making it.
2014 – 48-34 – 9th place in the West. They would have been 3rd in the East and MADE the playoffs and could have won the Atlantic Division.
2015 – 39-43 – 10th place in the West. They would have been 8th in the East and MADE the playoffs.
2016 – 23-59 – They were never making it.
2017 – 24-58 – They were never making it.
2018 – 21-61 – They were never making it.
If the Phoenix Suns had been in the Eastern Conference since 2010-11, not only would they have made the playoffs three times (once with Steve Nash still on the roster), but they would have even potentially won a Division crown in 2014. With that success, not only would they have been bigger players in free agency over that span, but the franchise would most certainly have been more aggressive in trades as well to bulk up the roster in a continued attempt to win.
Instead, they regularly to missed the playoffs, even in seasons when they weren’t that bad, and eventually were forced to self-destruct and bottom out, missing the postseason for a (minimum) of eight seasons, the longest stretch of playoff futility in franchise history, while also losing more games in the past three years than ever in a three-year period in the last 50 years.
Now that the Western Conference is even MORE top heavy with the addition and reception of Paul George, LeBron James, and one of the best centers in the league, Cousins, following in Kevin Durant‘s footsteps by joining the reigning league champions, that is why I (tongue and cheek) implore the Phoenix Suns to demand re-alignment, and their move to the Eastern Conference.
At this point, it wouldn’t even matter what division they were placed in because even with their young talent, the odds of them making the playoffs while feasting on weaker Eastern Conference teams are pretty high.
As a fan it wouldn’t even worry me if they were in the Atlantic Division with Boston, Toronto, and Philadelphia. While they wouldn’t win the Division, they could very easily be the fourth team in the Atlantic to make the playoffs.
Next: Can the Phoenix Suns win the Summer League Championship?
If Phoenix does not declare their independence, and remains in the Western Conference, it is going to continue to be a treacherous path to the playoffs, even to hold the right to be swept soundly by the Golden State Warriors in the first round.
That said, while there is a good chance (depending or not on if they make a splashy trade still) that they do not make the playoffs this coming season, or even the next, with how much talent remains in the Western Conference, even when they begin to get pretty good – much like the 2011, 2014, and 2015 teams – they still may be on the outside looking in after the 82nd game has been played.
The Phoenix Suns may be building, but they still have a long way to climb.
Happy Independence Day, everyone, from all of us here at the Valley of the Suns!!