With the offseason in full swing we have tasked ourselves with trying to create an 0-82 roster for the Phoenix Suns this decade. Harder than you would think given the team has been mostly trying to contend.
Already the point guard award (that nobody should want) has been dished out, with the shooting guard position up for grabs next. Another tough spot given Devin Booker takes up so much time at that spot, but we found the ideal candidate.
Shooting Guard - E'Twaun Moore
Moore's single campaign with the franchise came around Covid, his 27 games played (we set ourselves the criteria of 20 games minimum played to qualify) coinciding with the Suns' trajectory rising in the Western Conference.
It should come as no surprise that this was Moore's last stop in the league before calling it a career, and these days he is a scout with the Chicago Bulls. Still only 37-years-old, the fact he was out of the league after a brief stint in Phoenix at 31 tells you all you need to know about why he has appeared here.
Like Payton before him, Moore shares the trait of having spent the bulk of his career with both the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans, which is another indicator of why they were among the worst players the Suns have had this decade.
The Magic might be a playoff outfit now, but both of those organizations across the last decade have mostly been bad and failed to build successful roster. Moore being another example of that while with the Suns, as he didn't do anything particularly well.
He wasn't a big time scorer and he couldn't stretch the court with his 3-point shooting (31.4 percent during his time there compared to 38.8 for his career), while he wasn't big enough to defend elite scorers or quick enough to stick with smaller guards.
Moore was there when the Suns made the NBA Finals, appearing in seven playoff games at just over six minutes a night. The fact he is not the first, second or 10th player you think of when that roster comes to mind is yet more confirmation as to why he is here.
Ty-Shon Alexander probably would have taken this spot from Moore, but he played only 15 games in the same season that Moore played for the team and doesn't qualify. The irony there being that Moore was the reason he didn't meet the threshold. Alongside Payton, this backcourt is just awful enough to give us a shot here.
Will shooting guard be any worse?
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