The Phoenix Suns are more than a point guard away
By Dan Volpone
The Phoenix Suns don’t have a starting point guard, but they’re way more than one piece away from being a competitive basketball team.
There’s been so much talk heading into the season about how the Phoenix Suns should trade for a point guard. It’s true the team doesn’t have one. But the idea that acquiring one should be the team’s number one priority is not true. The Suns are way more than a point guard away from being competitive.
Other than the opening night win against Dallas, the Suns have looked absolutely dreadful. They’ve been torched over the last three games by the Nuggets, Warriors, and Lakers. Those are three very good teams, but there’s no excuse to not keep it close in at least one of those games. That really isn’t asking for much out of this young and talented core.
The Suns should definitely improve throughout the season, especially as rookies adjust to the league, everyone becomes used to playing with the new additions, and players learn the new coach’s system. But these last three games have looked no better than the Suns of last season, even with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton stuffing the stat sheet.
They’ve given up huge runs. Their defensive awareness has been laughable. They’ve gotten down big and never looked like a threat to come back. A point guard would help in some ways, but trading for a guy off Boston’s bench isn’t going to make the team competitive this year. That guy, Terry Rozier, is also going to be a restricted free agent in the offseason, and someone is going to offer him a massive deal the Suns shouldn’t be interested in matching.
Next. Ranking each position’s need for improvement for the Phoenix Suns. dark
Available point guards who would help the team today, guys like Damian Lillard and Kemba Walker, are way too old to still be relevant by the time Booker and Ayton are ready to become a fixture in the playoffs, and as fun as they’d be to watch, all they’d do is give the Suns worse lottery odds. Because it’s abundantly clear that the Phoenix Suns are more than a point guard away from being a good basketball team.