2. Chris Paul
The “Point God” himself, Chris Paul might be the hardest candidate in the history of the organization to evaluate here. In all, Paul only played three seasons with the Suns, putting up 15.1 points and 9.5 assists in 194 regular season games.
As has been the case throughout his career, Paul was sometimes injured when it mattered most, and he couldn’t life the Suns to a championship despite driving them to the 2021 finals. Complicating matters further, and Paul is likely to get his number retired by the New Orleans Hornets, and perhaps even the L.A. Clippers as well.
Neither of those teams have a history like the Suns, and Paul had some great times while with both franchises. How then can the Suns justify hanging his number three in the rafters, when he will start next season on his seventh team in the Golden State Warriors, and is more known for his spells in New Orleans and Los Angeles?
Paul was the player who turned it all around for a Suns group that was going nowhere, helping them go from Western Conference afterthoughts to NBA finalists in the space of 12 months. That kind of impact has to be rewarded in some way, and despite ageing before our eyes in Phoenix, Paul was still mostly the elite player he has always been when he was on the court.
We can also give him some credit for Kevin Durant coming to The Valley, as he had his pick of destinations when he decided to leave the Brooklyn Nets. Going one further again, and it was Paul who was traded for Beal. The results of that move are still to be seen, but it was one you do every time. Paul came, made the Suns better and left them in a better place too. That means something.