2. Their role players don’t pop
On paper, the Suns have put together a fantastic group of role players to compliment their stars. Even more so when you consider they had very little money to do anything this offseason. Gordon, Grayson, Okogie and Yuta Watanabe feel like players five through eight here.
The merits of each of them are well established, but mathematically, one of them is going to struggle. It may be that age catches up to Gordon, or the offensive limitations of Okogie are exposed in the postseason. But they all won’t exceed expectations because we’ve seen time and again in the league that it doesn’t work that way.
Below that, the theory behind every player added, including even the intrigue of Bol, makes sense. The Suns went out and got either players with something to prove in the league, or else individuals who are scrappy and will play within their role.
As great as all of that sounds, if you lean too heavily on the likes of Metu, Eubanks and Bol during the regular season, you are going to be exposed. Even rebuilding teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers (with Deandre Ayton out for revenge) are going to be tough outs during the regular season.
The superstars will take care of themselves, but if one of the “next four”, plus some of those who come after that, are not up to the task, this is going to be a real uphill struggle. Running the gauntlet that is the regular season with a lack of impactful depth will be detrimental to the Suns’ chances come the playoffs.