What would make 2018-19 a success for the Phoenix Suns

TARRYTOWN, NY – AUGUST 12: DeAndre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns poses for a portrait during the 2018 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot on August 12, 2018 at the Madison Square Garden Training Facility in Tarrytown, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

2. Deandre Ayton runs away with the Rookie of the Year award

While some fans were thinking it, no one dared say it.

Then Ayton said it, and now it’s all we can think about.

What if Devin Booker really is the second coming of Kobe Bryant, and Deandre Ayton is the second coming of Shaquille O’Neal?

How quickly will we know if they are Shaq/Kobe 2.0?

Shaq ran away with the Rookie of the Year award in 1992-93 earning 98 of 100 possible points (Alonzo Mourning grabbing the final 2).

Any possible fears that Orlando fans and management might have had that Shaq could on some level be a bust, were put to rest game one when he grabbed 18 rebounds to go along with 12 points, then laughed at as hysteria when he dropped 35 points game three then collected the first 30/20 game of his career in game four when he finished with 31 points and 21 boards.

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Deandre Ayton might not be Shaquille O’Neal, but he has a very real opportunity to be the kind of rookie that Shaq was and run away with the award from the beginning of the year.

But there is also a little bit of pressure on Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough that Ayton receives some personal accolades in his rookie year: it is nearly imperative that Ayton shows up this season and dominates weaker competition because the Phoenix Suns and their fanbase can not enter the 2019 offseason wondering if Ayton truly was worth of the number one overall pick.

Over the past five season, Phoenix has had four top-ten picks, and there is a possibility that all four of them could be gone within the next two-three years.

Alex Len (drafted fifth) is already off the roster, Dragan Bender (selected fourth) and Marquese Chriss (taken eighth) are leaning much closer to busts than regular rotational players, and Josh Jackson (picked fourth) had a subpar first half of last year, an even worse showing in Las Vegas, and can not yet shoot 3’s to save his life.

Sure, if Deandre Ayton just looks good but not great as mentioned in scenario number 3, then fans won’t be too worried.

However, he can really make the future of the franchise appear ever-brighter if he did dominate and run away with the award from the opening tip of game one versus Dallas on October 17.

So let’s say that he he did do just that and the team still missed the playoffs?

That scenario can lead to the number one way that the 2018-19 season can be deemed a success.