5 former Phoenix Suns the team can re-sign this summer

Although the Phoenix Suns are in the midst of a tough playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, attentions will have already turned to what is a crucial offseason. With three players on max contracts and a cap sheet that will surely make owner Mat Ishbia grimmace every time he sees it, the franchise will have to get creative in signing players to the team.

They did exactly this last summer - with everybody from Yuta Watanabe to Bol Bol signing on to play in The Valley - although they struck out on a number of these players. Watanabe was a massive disappointment, while Keita Bates-Diop and Chimezie Metu didn't do much better either. All three were gone by the trade deadline.

Which is why the Suns may have to look at re-signing a number of players who have already played for the organization to fill out their roster.

As you can imagine, all of these guys are on minimum deals currently, and all will be unrestricted free agents this summer. In the case of most, another team has their Bird Rights, but given the stature of these players, it is unclear if they will be kept around with their current employers. That's just the reality of where the Suns are at right now in the level of player they can sign.

One omission from this list is Chris Paul, who could get cut loose by the Golden State Warriors. If that were to happen, then he'd go right to the front of the queue here, and would be an excellent backup point guard for a roster that badly needs one. Any time you're signing Isaiah Thomas for the rest of the season, you know you could be doing better. Fair warning, this list won't inspire Suns fans...

5. Dario Saric

Forward Dario Saric is one of the better names that is going to appear here, which should tell you all you need to know. Now 29-years-old and having suffered a torn ACL while with the Suns, he is the kind of individual who you find at the end of your bench.

Yet Saric played just over 17 minutes in 64 games for the Golden State Warriors this season, and he even managed nine starts. His career average of 10.6 points per game doesn't seem like much, and yet this could be the kind of low-risk, high-reward choice that really helps the Suns next season.

That's because Saric can create some with the ball in his hands, and offensively he is able to have an impact against second units. In other words, he is actually tailor-made for what the Suns would need him to do. There's no doubt that head coach Frank Vogel would trust him a lot more in tight spots than a younger player like Bol Bol as well.

Defensively there would be question marks, but the idea of this Suns roster was always that they were going to outscore every opponent they came up against. That didn't happen this season - but with Saric's movement and ability to knock down a 3-point shot - as well as being comfortable with the ball in hand, the Suns could do a lot worse than kick the tyres on this one.