Seriously, what is up with all these Phoenix Suns injuries?

The Phoenix Suns have been decimated with injuries to key bench players over the last several weeks, some of which are of unknown origin and with no timetable for their return.

With all the trade talk abuzz, the alarming number of long-term injuries the Phoenix Suns have suffered through over the last several weeks have been met with more-or-less a mere shoulder shrug. However, while some are understandably eyeing potential assets on other teams that might get Devin Booker some help, some of the players who have helped already this year have been just sitting on the bench in their preference of street clothes or warm-ups.

Most notably, Aron Baynes hasn’t played since January 16th and Cameron Johnson hasn’t seen the court since January 18th. Players get injured; it happens. Often times these injuries set them back two to four weeks. But typically, with injuries that last that long, we see them. Or we hear about them.

Take Dario Saric, for example. When he twisted his ankle against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 31, we saw the slow-motion replay that made most people wince and think, “Yep, he’s probably out a couple of weeks.”

With Baynes and Johnson, they just sort of stopped playing one day. Baynes is suffering from a hip ailment from sources unknown and Johnson is dealing with a quad issue that for all we know could have happened in his sleep. Fans have been left to chalk these up to, “They’re athletes; it happens,” rather than getting any type of explanation on how and when.

Moreover, the Suns have been tight-lipped about their prognosis. Maybe they genuinely don’t know the timetable for return for these players and don’t want to put a number out there or the sake of it.

If that’s the case, I suggest getting different trainers.

Phoenix Suns

It’s 2020 and medicine is at a point now where it is fairly easy to predict within a couple-week span how long a player will take to recover from a given malady. Sure, some players progress faster or slower than others, but a general timeline fits most.

Add Ty Jerome to the mysterious and overly generalized injury list. The rookie, who was just starting to find a groove, has been resigned to the bench the last three games with no indication of when he might return.

At least with Tyler Johnson, we got a day-to-day designation for his knee issue that has caused him to miss the last two games after finally crawling his way back into the rotation.

With Frank Kaminsky‘s patella stress fracture, we got word he is out indefinitely, a bit of a cop out if you ask me for what is generally a 6-8 week injury.

Props to Ricky Rubio, I suppose, who appears to be playing through ankle soreness that caused him to miss one game. At the very least, it might help explain his slump.

Overall, it is extremely frustrating that when it comes to injuries, the Phoenix Suns staff gives us nothing–kind of like the backups during this short-handed stint.

While Jevon Carter, Elie Okobo, and Cheick Diallo have looked good in spurts, they are clearly a tier below the guys sitting on the sidelines. And with the Suns now riding a 4-game losing streak, it is clear that having a strong bench is key to a successful team.

Perhaps after the Phoenix Suns disappoint everyone after today’s trade deadline expires, more attention will be paid to the injured guys who could be helping Booker and company now.

While I get that professional athletes get hurt sometimes and this administration is notoriously quiet when it comes to pretty much everything, I think it is fair to ask what is going on with all of these lingering injuries, how they got some of them in the first place, and when the team’s medical staff predicts they will return.

Because running a short rotation and supplementing with G-League guys isn’t working.