The biggest threat to the Phoenix Suns this summer is in the Eastern Conference

Let's face it, this season is as good as over for the Phoenix Suns. Even if they do squeeze into the play-in tournament - and they're running out of games to do so as they've fallen back to 11th in the Western Conference - opponents such as this one will ensure another sweep is the most likely outcome for them.

Once they get to the offseason, much of the speculation will revolve around what the franchise do with Kevin Durant. They already tried to move him at the deadline - one of their biggest misfires of the campaign - and much will be made about where he goes to play next. Then there is Bradley Beal, a distraction because of his no-trade clause.

The biggest threat to the Suns is the emerging Detroit Pistons.

If you haven't been keeping an eye on what has been going on in Detroit this season, they recently became the first team in league history to triple their win total on last season across an 82 game slate. They're playoff bound - something that cannot be said of the Suns - and look like they are only going to get better.

If anything they're currently looking likely to snatch the title of next up in the Eastern Conference from the Orlando Magic. Which is exactly why the Suns should be terrified by the prospect of Booker looking at what is going on over there, and deciding he wants in as he enters his prime years in the NBA.

Beginning with the obvious, and Booker is from Michigan. He has never given any indication he wants to leave Phoenix, although at this point the disrespect he receives from a section of the fanbase is ridiculous. He's given his all to the franchise, yet there are some out there who think moving on from him - as well as Durant - is the right play here.

This despite securing a superstar being the hardest part of building a contender, which the organization achieved when they drafted Booker a decade ago. Prior to that the idea of Durant willingly wanting to come to The Valley to play was absurd, but Booker made that possible. Who could blame him for wanting to go to his home town team to bring back the glory days?

Then there is the fact Cade Cunningham is the cornerstone of the Pistons. There are those who believe that Booker can never be the best player on a championship team, even though he was just that on a roster that came up just short in 2021. It is fair to point out that the last two years - relative to what we know he can be on the court - have not been his best in the league.

So why not go to another city - just did Durant did in joining the Suns - and be the second star to the kid the franchise drafted? Booker has learned plenty from both Durant and Chris Paul before him, and at 28-years-old he might think the time is now to move on. After all, can you honestly say at this point he's likely to win a title in the next couple of years in Phoenix? Exactly.

Then there is the fact the Pistons have all of their own first round draft picks for the rest of the decade, plus the cap sheet to make a deal possible. Again you have to think this would only happen if Booker formally asked to be traded - but if owner Mat Ishbia's hand was forced - it would signal a massive rebuild in The Valley.

The Pistons are among the better placed teams in the league to at least give the Suns the kind of draft capital they would demand in any deal. So forget about the growing super team that is the Oklahoma City Thunder, and even the new and improved Los Angeles Lakers. The biggest threat to the Suns' future is... a team that won 14 games a year ago. Life comes at you fast.