3 Christmas wishes for the Phoenix Suns this year

The Phoenix Suns have lurched from one crisis to the next so far in their 2024-25 season, which in many ways echoes their shortcomings of the previous campaign. This is the second full season in which the organization has had Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, but not a lot has changed.

That 8-1 start to the season giving The Valley false hope, with the Suns having crashed back down to earth long ago. It is not so much about playing for homecourt advantage in the opening round of the postseason as the calendar flips to 2025, it is about avoiding the play-in tournament to get there altogether.

Which is why the Suns should be wishing for a lot this Christmas.

If all of these scenarios magically come together, then the Suns are going to have a much more enjoyable rest of the regular season. Heck - if even one of these comes true - the outlook will be a lot more positive. It says a lot that this group is back in a similar spot to last season - but if nothing else - they looked better equipped to get out of their tough spot this time around.

3. Show up against inferior teams

Josh Hart of the New York Knicks figured this glaring issue out with the Suns over a month ago, although at least he plays for a fringe contender. On that occasion his Knicks beat the Suns, and the relentless play and willingness of Hart to work harder during each play was a large part of the reason why.

Then the Orlando Magic came to town, and were the team embodiment of Hart's type of play. Despite missing their best player through injury in Paolo Banchero, the Magic outworked and outhustled the Suns en route to a win. They've taken the season series against them already - again despite being undermanned - winning the rematch in Florida.

More recently the Suns have lost back-to-back games against the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons. Both good teams - the Pistons especially are making real strides - but not more talented than the Suns, even if they're missing one of their best three players through injury.

All of which is to say, opponents know if they outwork the Suns they'll win the game. It is not enough to just show up and rely on the incredible offensive skills of Durant and Booker, and hope that Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale get hot from 3-point range. You have to want it more - even in the early goings of the season - and it is clear this group does not. That has to change ASAP.

2. Make a trade of any kind

This is not so much about going after a big fish in Jimmy Butler - which has been talked about for a minute now - and more about making any kind of deal at all to improve this roster. The issue there of course is that the Suns are in the second apron, which makes trading for players even more difficult.

We've already examined who their best assets to move at this point are, and the return on each of those would not be a lot. In an ideal work they'd be able to dump center Jusuf Nurkic for a player who could help them in the immediate future, although they would likely have to attach the only first-round pick currently under their control to do so.

Allen would be a nice middle ground at the negotiation table. A player with value around the league and who has seen his own role in Phoenix dwindle this season because of the play of O'Neale. Bolstering the depth of the team this way would be nice, because we all know their trio of stars in theory give them a chance to win any game.

The ultimate gift would be Beal waiving his no-trade clause and heading to a place like Miami, as the idea of Butler next to Booker and Durant looks a lot better. He's past his prime and is no less injury-prone at this point in his career, but he's a much better defender than Beal and his skill set doesn't double up with Booker's in the way Beal's does. This really would be a Christmas miracle.

1. Stay healthy

It sounds so simple and yet it has proven to be incredibly difficult. If the Suns could just keep their three stars on the court together, they'd be in a much better spot right now. Booker was holding it down while Beal and Durant both missed time - but no sooner did they both return - Booker picked up a groin strain.

Being firmly in year two of this experiment and seemingly never having the trio in the right spot at the one time is incredibly frustrating, but this is the reality of trading for Beal and a 35-year-old Durant. It is talked about a lot less because he is so often there when it matters for the Suns, but Booker hasn't played more than 70 games in a regular season since 2019-20 either.

The nature of the trio - being so good offensively versus above average at best on the other end - doesn't help matters either. Building around three stars has obviously worked in the past, but this isn't Durant in his prime. He continues to be a much better defender than he's given credit for as well, but even that comes with its limits.

It would be fantastic if the franchise could get a 20-25 game run in which they're fully healthy, to give us a better indication of what their ceiling actually is. Their depth despite the roster building limitations is good, while they also have a head coach in Mike Budenholzer with title-winning credentials.