8 free agents the Phoenix Suns should avoid at all costs

The Phoenix Suns are heading to the playoffs, having managed to avoid the play-in tournament. Their reward is a first round meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves, an opponent who they match up well with and who they should feel confident they can beat in a seven game series, having gone 3-0 against them in the regular season.

Owner Mat Ishbia took massive swings by going out and getting Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and a sixth placed finish off in the Western Conference with such a strong "Big 3" felt underwhelming. A combination of injury to Beal and not having the depth around three star players to compete at the highest level exposing the team against the top opponents this year.

It is clear then that the Suns are going to need to restock their roster this offseason, but there are a number of players they should be staying well away from.

With the recent news that the organization are bringing back Grayson Allen on a long-term deal, achieving better depth around their core group of guys is going to be difficult. The Suns may have had Allen's Bird Rights, but they will still be trying to get the absolute most out of a bunch of minimum deals - just like they did this season - to fill out their rotation.

8. Doug McDermott

On the surface, Doug McDermott looks like the kind of player the Suns should be in for this offseason. An unrestricted free agent, the 32-year-old is a career 41 percent shooter from 3-point range, which seems like a nice fit next to Beal, Durant and Devin Booker.

But the Suns made a similar mistake last summer, when they went out and got Yuta Watanabe. A player who made even more sense with their roster, and who had been both a better player and shooter than McDermott in the 12 months prior to landing in The Valley. He didn't even last the full season, despite much hype about the Suns being able to get him on a minimum deal.

The Suns are going to have no shortage of players like McDermott who will take less money to play with superstars and try and compete for a championship, and there is definitely a place for them on this roster. Only McDermott shouldn't be one of them, and the fact he has managed 11.3 minutes per game in only 18 contests this season for the Indiana Pacers should tell you why.

His best days are behind him, and the franchise have found out this season that they can't afford to carry players like McDermott on the defensive end for long stretches. Watanabe was probably the better defender of the two as well, and it still wasn't enough for him. McDermott will be there waiting to sign on a minimum deal, but the Suns don't need to make the same mistake twice.

7. Cameron Payne

Continuing the theme of not making the same mistake twice, and the Suns shouldn't get involved with point guard Cameron Payne again. He had a couple of playoff moments for the team - and he should be fondly remembered as a result - but he's just not good enough as the full-time backup if you're serious about winning a championship.

Payne has split time between the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers this season, and there are times when he can look like exactly what a contender needs off the bench. He's capable of coming in and putting up seven points and dishing out two assists in a short space of time, before disappearing to the bench again.

If you look beyond that though, what happens more often than not is Payne takes ill-advised shots and gets picked on defensively, which you can't have in a close playoff series. The Bucks don't look like they miss him all that much, and he's playing nearly 20 minutes a night for the 76ers at a time when their season has come off the rails as a result of injury to Joel Embiid.

Payne is another player who will be sitting there this summer, and he knows the organization well. But if the Suns go back down this road, it will be because they really were out of options to shore up their backcourt rotation. Isaiah Thomas isn't the solution either - but the fact it would be a conversation between himself and Payne to see who is better for the Suns - should answer this question for you.

6. Mo Bamba

Pivoting to the center position, and it is clear the Suns will need a makeover in this department this summer. Jusuf Nurkic did an admirable job in holding it down during the regular season, but the playoffs could be about to expose his limitations, particularly defensively.

Backup big Drew Eubanks has a ton of heart, but not always the abilities to go with that fight. He's not skilled enough to get the better of stronger bigs - and not physical enough to outmuscle them - which has sometimes been a problem for the Suns.

But even if the Suns have to roll with this duo again next season, it is better than bringing in big man Mo Bamba. The former sixth overall pick still only 25-years-old, which on the surface looks like a steal at what would be the minimum. Young and with the kind of upside that neither Nurkic, Eubanks or most other minimum players have.

Only we've seen enough of Bamba both with the 76ers and Orlando Magic before that to know that that is not the case. Despite Embiid going down earlier in the season, Bamba still only averaged 13 minutes per game in 57 appearances, and may not even make their postseason rotation. He just doesn't do any one thing well enough - and a lot below average - for the Suns to get involved.

5. Garrett Temple

Garrett Temple is a bit like Thaddeus Young - a player the Suns picked up in the buyout market - in that the thought of him on your team is usually better than the reality. Temple is a consummate professional, and perhaps that is something that the Suns could have done with during the regular season, when they were struggling through inconsistencies.

The idea of adding Temple wouldn't even have sounded so crazy a couple of years back, but at 37-years-old that is just no longer an avenue the Suns should go down. Unlike every other player already mentioned - if the Suns found themselves with a roster spot and nobody to fill it - then sure, Temple could fill out the end of their bench.

But the franchise are going to need actual contributors next season beyond their top six players, and Temple just doesn't have the legs to do that anymore. Even if he was viewed as a regular season only addition - before being benched for the playoffs - the fact he averaged just over 10 minutes per game this season in only 27 appearances for a poor Toronto Raptors outfit says it all.

Definitely the right type of player, it's just the wrong time to go and get him. Better to spend a roster spot on some of the unsigned college players who don't get picked up in the NBA Draft. The chance of finding some upside - especially on the defensive end - is the angle the organization should be taking, not whatever Temple has left in his legs.

4. Gordon Hayward

Right off the bat this one looks tempting. After all, you can never have too many creators, and Gordon Hayward seems like an excellent idea off the bench to provide a park. He would also take some of the pressure off Booker and Beal to have to set the table at all times, and is well able to bail out a bad possession as well.

But he's now 33-years-old, and has never been the same since that injury suffered in his first game as a member of the Boston Celtics. Much like other players on the list - you want to get as much regular season heavy lifting out of these minimum players as you can - and Hayward no longer looks up to the task of providing that.

In fact the Oklahoma City Thunder - who got Hayward for the stretch run of the season - have already shown the Suns why they should steer clear of Hayward. They wrapped up the number one seed out West, and have a legitimate superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. With one of the youngest rosters in the league, adding a veteran scorer like Hayward made a ton of sense for them.

Yet he has managed only 17.2 minutes per game, and his 5.3 points is as you would expect a career low. Lower even than his rookie season with the Utah Jazz, when he played 16.9 minutes per contest. Perhaps if the Suns were younger elsewhere on their roster this would be worth a try for the same reasons the Thunder did it. But they need consistency, and Hayward is not it.

3. Wesley Matthews

Another player who would have made a ton of sense a few seasons back, and has a game that is so well suited to the Suns that you'd be forgiven for thinking he played for them in the past. But although Wesley Matthews never suited up down in The Valley, the time has now gone for that to happen in future.

Matthews is a career 37.5 percent 3-point shooter, and in his day was one of the better "3-and-D" wings in the league. If the Suns were to add him now though, he'd just come in as an older and more injury-prone version of what Josh Okogie does for this roster.

Given Okogie likely won't see much run during the postseason, downgrading on a player you're not really using when it matters anyway is not what the Suns should be doing. Matthews will also be 38-years-old by the time next season starts, and he managed only 36 appearances with the Atlanta Hawks this season.

Again the temptation could be to take Matthews because of his experience playing with contenders like the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. If left open he can make a shot, while he still has the IQ to be able to provide something on the defensive end. Really though if that's the argument for taking him, then it is best not to.

2. Taurean Prince

The bigger, more modern version of Matthews, Taurean Prince is a player some Suns fans probably would want on their team. He played 78 regular season games for the Lakers this season, and is still in his prime years having only just turned 30.

He is able to play a number of positions across the front line, and could fit nicely next to Durant and Allen in smaller ball lineups. Shooting a shade under 40 percent on the season is not a bad place to be either, and he has had some moments for the Lakers where he has piled up points in a hurry.

But if you actually watch Prince with the Lakers, is it fair to point out that a player should be doing even better than Prince has with the opportunity he has been given there? Next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, too often it has looked like Prince has either missed important shots or failed to step up when really required.

The Lakers still have the play-in tournament to navigate - and although they likely will make the postseason proper - Prince doesn't feel like he will be a deciding factor. That could all change and he could then be what the Lakers, Suns and a whole host of contenders need. But for now, this looks like a player who the Suns don't need to add, although his case is stronger than most others here.

1. Alec Burks

If the Suns take one lesson away from the 2023-24 season, it is that they should never not have a backup point guard again. They were right to think that both Booker and Beal could handle the responsibility. But with Beal missing so much time through injury, some of their inconsistencies can be traced back to not having a reliable backup to call upon.

Alec Burks of the New York Knicks looks like exactly the kind of player then who they should target this summer. He's a much more interesting option than going back for Payne, and the Knicks only traded for him at the deadline to bring him back for another run, having turned out for the organization in the past.

Only Burks has barely featured, managing 13.5 minutes of game time. This could be partially explained by the fact Jalen Brunson will finish in the top 10 in MVP voting, and head coach Tom Thibodeau will quite literally stick with the guys he trusts until their legs fall off. But even despite that, Burks looks like a player who is exiting his prime.

Of all of the players mentioned here, Burks probably has the strongest case to be taken off this list. He would make a better attempt at filling a real position of need for the Suns. He'd also have no problem constantly deferring to his star teammates. But it just isn't the kind of move that inspires a ton of confidence about the future, if Burks heads to The Valley this summer.