The calendar may have flipped to 2025 for the Phoenix Suns' NBA regular season, but that doesn't mean anything has changed. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over while expecting different results, and that is exactly where this organization finds themselves right now.
Tuesday night's loss to a Memphis Grizzlies team missing essentially all of their best players - at home no less - represented a new low in The Valley, although it featured an all too despressing and familiar sight. Bradley Beal exiting the game with a left hip contusion, and it is unclear how much time he could miss with the issue.
Either way, it is now officially time to blow this thing up.
Dramatic? Perhaps, but you can't say this hasn't been coming. Injuries to their best players at the worst possible times certainly hasn't helped, but a team featuring Devin Booker and Kevin Durant should be able to dispose of a Grizzlies outfit that played nine guys and started John Konchar, rookie Jaylen Wells and Scotty Pippen Jr.
Instead they displayed the same lack of chemistry and willingness to do the little things required to beat a stubborn opponent that we have seen all season, with Booker especially not looking like the killer he was when the franchise went all the way to the NBA Finals back in 2021.
The Memphis Grizzlies had 9 players OUT and still beat the Suns. 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/D0Utgi7Ycw
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 1, 2025
Even we're not at a point yet where we'd entertain the prospect of trading Booker. He has a chance to be the best player in franchise history - is soon going to be the all-time top scorer for the Suns - and he's still only 28-years-old. Teams wait years for a guy like Booker to come along - and as long as he wants to be in Phoenix - then he should remain.
Beal is a different story - but as long as he is in possession of that no-trade clause - the decision is ultimately his. The Suns would surely love to flip him because it is painfully obvious that he and Booker have too much overlap in terms of what they bring to this starting group. Bringing Beal off the bench? That could work, but the Suns don't appear ready to want to go there yet.
Which leads us on to Durant. When healthy, the 36-year-old continues to be one of the best players in the world. It is not his fault that this project has gone sideways, although the fact he was their best player of 2024 surely wasn't part of the plan either. Durant was brought in to be the co-star to franchise cornerstone Booker, not become more important over a 12 month stretch.
He would surely have plenty of suitors if the Suns were to make him available, with the Houston Rockets rumored to be sniffing around last year. This group badly needs an actual center - as well as some youth and depth across the frontcourt - and moving on from Durant would solve a lot of those problems.
There's a reason why rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro are valued so much in Phoenix, and it is because they have brought an injection of enthusiasm and defensive willingness throughout the regular season that has been painfully lacking throughout this "Big 3" experiment. Asking both of them to fix everything however, is too much.
Really though you need only look at the last 10 games, to see why big changes need to happen soon. The Suns were never expected to be a defensive powerhouse, but giving up 116.6 points (26th in the league) during this period is unacceptable. Ironically point guard Tyus Jones - who has been such a valuable addition this season - is part of the reason why.
This isn't a criticism of Kevin Durant, but of the Suns as a whole. If Jaylen Wells is going to faceguard Durant like this off-ball, you have to get your main guy freed up with a screen. Phoenix just sort of let it happen, and the result was a not-great shot as the clock wound… pic.twitter.com/DASOO2n6Pg
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 1, 2025
He's undersized even for a floor general, and alongside Booker and Beal there is just not enough length defensively to trouble elite team. Just as bad however are the 112.7 points the Suns have mustered across the same amount of time. Above average at 12th in the league, but nowhere near the elite levels expected under head coach Mike Budenholzer.
In fact it puts them right behind the train wreck that is the Sacramento Kings, which should tell you all you need to know about how it is going in Phoenix. Taking more 3-pointers alone does not equate to better offensive play, even if they do sit eighth in made shots from deep (37.6 percent) in the last 10 games.
The reality then as the regular season really kicks into gear is that - at 15-17 and 11th in the Western Conference - the time has come to make some drastic decisions. It is clear this isn't working, although you can't blame the front office for trying. What comes next though, is up to them.