It's not even October and the Suns may already regret key offseason miss

The Phoenix Suns are a few days into their training camp before heading to Macau for some preseason meetings with the Brooklyn Nets, and the mood around the team right now is as high as you would expect it to be. New head coach Jordan Ott finally getting a chance to work with the roster on how he wants them to play this coming season.

About the only negative is the puzzling absence of center Mark Williams - especially given his injury history - although coach Ott has already assured us there is no reason to worry. It is clear from looking at the team that they still need a high-level point guard to run the show though, even if both Devin Booker and Jalen Green said all of the right things about playmaking some at media day.

Suns continue to miss having Chris Paul in The Valley.

Which makes their decision not to go after Chris Paul this offseason a strange one that is not ageing well. You might remember Paul apparently only wanted to return to either Phoenix or the L.A. Clippers ahead of what is likely his final season, given his family live in Los Angeles. It was rumored to be the Suns who didn't want a reunion, much to the annoyance of Booker.

Given everything that has happened off the court for the Clippers since Paul signed on there, it is yet another reason that going back to Phoenix would have made sense for everybody involved. Yes L.A. at the time represented a better chance for the "Point God" to win that elusive ring, but that doesn't look likely with all that is happening to that franchise at the moment.

He's going to come off the bench for the Clippers too - and while that likely would also have happened in Phoenix - at least his role would have been much more defined. Reunite with Booker as one of the better tandems the franchise has ever seen, and be an incredible playmaker whenever you're on the court.

You can see how quickly all of the youngsters are settling in The Valley too, and Paul would have been invaluable to have around. Imagine how potent he could have made 19-year-old center Khaman Maluach for example, given he doesn't have an offensive game at all currently. Paul remember is the same guy who made Bismack Biyombo look like an All-Star in the past.

This will always go down as a missed opportunity, and one that is only going to get worse. Neither Booker or Green should be playing big minutes at the one, while Collin Gillespie is a solid backup but currently doesn't project to be anything more than that. What might have been as the Suns look to get the fanbase back onside as they head into the wilderness for a few seasons.