There’s No Reason for the Phoenix Suns to Blow Up Their Team from a Year Ago
The Suns were the top seeded team in the entire NBA last season, and made franchise history in the wins column. While their overall wins were skewed by their performances in close games (their net rating didn’t exhibit the same historical prowess that their record did), they were still an objectively good team, and a title contender for sure.
Was the postseason a major disappointment? Yes. They played below their standards, especially considering that they made it further the season prior.
The series against the Mavericks definitely exposed some glaring flaws in Phoenix’s roster and coaching, but this was a 7-game sample (5-game sample if you exclude the first two games in which Phoenix steamrolled).
They were dominant over multiple long stretches throughout the season, and blowing that team up this quickly is foolish. For a team to break up a contending core after 2 seasons together is nearly unheard of, especially given that a good amount of the team is relatively young.
While not every team that vies for a title for years wins one (e.g. 2010’s Clippers, Rockets), there is no shame in trying again and running it back (with ancillary roster upgrades).