According to ESPN's NBA Future Power Rankings, which predicts how a team will fare cumulatively over the next three seasons, the Suns are going to be... the worst team in the league? Yes, it's true, at least according to these rankings, which combine five categories — players, money, draft, market, management — to give a comprehensive outlook at 2025 through 2028. The Suns came in thirtieth.
Last place! Below the Brooklyn Nets, whose starting point guard will likely be Egor Demin this season. Below the Sacramento Kings, who have made the playoffs once in the past 20 years and just traded their franchise player. Below the Chicago Bulls, who are ready to build around Josh Giddey. Below the Utah Jazz, who will probably start Isaiah Collier and Brice Sensabaugh in their backcourt.
Huh. Well, that seems a little egregious.
Things aren't particularly sunny in Phoenix right now, and I won't try to pretend they are. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are gone, the Suns have some serious questions about where scoring production will come from, and the future first-round pick situation is bleak.
The Suns do, however, have an All-NBA player leading the charge, established NBA talent at every position in the starting lineup, at least two guys coming off the bench who can be relied on most nights, and a pretty clear payroll going forward. Many teams ahead of the Suns on this list can't say any of those things, much less all of them.
Plus, according to these rankings, a team's current roster is the biggest factor of where they were ranked!
"We determined that the most important category is a team's current roster and the future potential of those players. That category accounts for 50% of each NBA team's overall Future Power Rating, the 0-100 score each team receives to determine its overall ranking."
I am searching deep in my soul for answers on how this can be the outcome if that was the criteria... and I am coming up empty. There will be nights when scoring is hard to come by for this team. There is a big question at center, where the Suns will trot out Mark Williams and rookie Khaman Maluach. Jalen Green and Devin Booker may prove an awkward fit. And yet, this roster is still lightyears ahead of some of the terrors that other teams plan to start the season with.
It's the middle of September, and I've gotten mad about a list. You got me again, ESPN.
Suns won't be the worst team in the league any of the next three seasons
I am not a Phoenix Suns fan; I consider myself an NBA generalist (with biases of my own, of course), so I am here to tell all you beautiful Suns fans that you are not crazy for thinking this list is outlandish. It is.
The Suns aren't going to win the West in any of the next three seasons. But they're going to compete every night and win enough games to give themselves at a postseason appearance in the homestretch. While that may not sound overly thrilling for fans, I still believe it to be a much, much better situation than about 10 other teams in the NBA.
If you believe the Nets three-year outlook is more promising because they have cap space next summer, or the Pelicans have more promise because of one good regular season two years ago, that's fine. I also have a beach house I can sell you in Idaho.