The next Phoenix Suns playoff team is likely going to the Conference Finals
By Adam Maynes
Come May 2019, the Phoenix Suns will have not made the NBA playoffs in nine seasons. That doesn’t mean that the next time they do, they won’t be great.
Phoenix Suns fans are desperate for a winner – and a consistent one.
They don’t want a 41-41 team that barely sneaks in as the 8-seed only to be demolished by the 1-seed in four straight. They want a team that is good. Really good. One that is going to make waves as potentially that first team in franchise history to finally win a title.
On the surface, a fan might look at the roster as currently constructed and scoff at the notion that the next Phoenix Suns playoff team is going to be a really good one.
They might argue that the Suns are too young; that they don’t have enough depth; that they don’t have enough star power; that the West itself is too tough.
For the eternally pessimistic, that is all they need to make the argument against the claim that the franchise can actually reach high heights in a very short period of time.
And yet, the Suns won’t enter the playoffs (the next time they do) after a short period. They will have taken a full decade (should they get there in 2020) since the last time they made it. They will have been through a drawn-out rebuild. They will have had multiple drafts to cultivate long term talent. They will have had multiple free agency periods to find adequate veteran talent. And they will have had the chance to make a trade for the star player we are all hoping they can acquire.
A lot can and needs to be done, but a lot has already been done as well.
The Phoenix Suns aren’t ready to make a playoff run as they stand today, but they have the building blocks, that if appropriately built around (which is this franchise’s issue in recent years) they will be able to make that leap from bottom-feeder to top gun in just one regular season.
I’m not saying that they aren’t far off, because I really do not know if they will be able to have a winning team come the start of the 2019-20 season or not.
But I do know that if things play out the way they could, and the youth develops the way they should, the next time the Suns win 50 games; the next time they clinch a playoff spot; the next time the Phoenix Suns participate in a seven game first round series, they will be on their way to the Western Conference Finals, and at that point, all bets are off.
Are you still not satisfied?
Allow history to be your guide.