What began as an experimental season for the Phoenix Suns has now officially ended, and in disastrous fashion. With new team owner Mat Ishbia taking over in early 2023, big changes were about to be on the horizon, and they came in the form of shipping out Chris Paul and bringing in Bradley Beal.
Now, a new owner coming in and shaking things up from from day one was already a little bit of a red flag. Chris Paul may have been aging, but losing his genius offensive mind combined with taking on Beal's massive contract was a recipe for disaster in Phoenix. Many wondered what the Suns' offensive philosophy would be now with each of their top three guys playing an extremely similar style.
That question is still yet to be answered. After going through the entire 2023-24 season without a traditional point guard, Phoenix experienced a lot of ups and downs and just barely avoided competing in the Play-In tournament. Getting paired up with the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one of the playoffs, the Suns were thoroughly dominated in what many considered a favorable matchup for them headed into the series.
The Suns' strategy was never clear
Now, the question of where this team goes from here looms large. It seems that Ishbia may have encountered a bit of "new owner syndrome" after taking over in Phoenix, because what he has orchestrated does not make much sense at all from a pure basketball standpoint.
We know that having an identity and knowing how you want to play is a big part of finding success in the NBA. Yes, the Suns' roster has a lot of high-end talent, but simply stacking talent does not lead to a successful team. As we saw with the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets, finding your star players and then putting compatible and effective role players around them is by far the best route to go.
As of right now, Phoenix is set to pay Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant $49 million, $50 million and $51 million respectively next season. That is an absolutely massive payroll hit that only further handicaps this team and its ability to put better players around their perceived stars.
According to NBA Insider Shams Charania, the Suns already have several moves planned for their offseason. Phoenix will reportedly "take a hard look at making a full coaching change or, at the very least, discuss adjustments to Vogel's staff." This comes less than 11 months after Vogel was brought on as Head Coach last June.
Phoenix's future could involve even more change
On the other hand, General Manager James Jones is expected to continue serving in his role as one of the primary decision-makers to build a champion in Phoenix. As for the Suns' roster, they will go forward with plans to build around their top six players of Booker, Beal, Durant, Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic and Royce O'Neale.
The Suns reportedly still see Devin Booker as their centerpiece, and will plan to continue utilizing his on-court talent and leadership while also putting a more traditional point guard next to him once again. It seems that the organization has identified their lack of a true floor general this season as one of their primary problems.
Going into this season, Phoenix had to know this outcome was a possibility. When your strategy is to simply lump a bunch of talent together that can be synonymous with each other, there is certainly potential for your team to realize their collective offensive firepower and put together a really solid season.
But with so little roster consistency from one season to the next, there was always the chance everything could come crashing down like it has. The Suns are not in the best position financially or asset-wise, but they will have a greater chance of success going forward if they can take steps to make this roster begin to make sense and be bold enough to play the long game, rather than just searching for quick fixes.