The 2024-25 season continues to get away from the Phoenix Suns, with there most recent loss to the Indiana Pacers another low for the group. Not because they lost to an inferior opponent - although this is a team they should be handling business against - but because of what we saw in the dying moments of the blowout loss.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant all smiles on the side of the court, as the franchise fell all the way to 12th in the Western Conference. Forget winning a championship, it is now time to seriously entertain the prospect of Duranrt, Booker and Bradley Beal never even winning a postseason game together. Unthinkable even 12 months ago.
There has been one bright spot throughout this horror run.
With a growing number of fans in favor of blowing this whole thing up - and several Suns unlikely to see out 2025 in The Valley - looking to the future has helped to ease some of the suffering of this current run. More specifically it is the play of rookie Ryan Dunn that has fans believing that - no matter how ugly this season gets - they found a real one in Dunn.
It says a lot that he looks more like the kind of role player you would have found on the team's run to the 2021 NBA Finals, but that is the problem in Phoenix right now. This group shares non of the winning traits of that roster, although Dunn is doing his best impressive of a young, discount Mikal Bridges when he's given the chance.
If you wanted proof that head coach Mike Budenholzer already trusts Dunn a lot - which cannot be said for every player on their bench - then look no further than the start against the Pacers in which he played 30 minutes. Only Booker, Durant and Beal saw more game time, as coach Budenholzer leaned all of the little things Dunn is trying to do in order to help this team win.
Already he's amassed 13 starts in 29 appearances, and his 19.2 minutes each night continue to trend in the right direction as well. Dunn started the campaign off on a heater from deep, so much so that he deserved the early Rookie of the Year buzz he received. That is long gone, and at 30.7 percent he needs to improve that shot moving forward.
That hasn't stopped him taking 3.7 each night - and although you would think that is harming a roster that features Booker and Durant - it never quite feels like that's the case. Instead the effort of Dunn is being rewarded with him taking these shots on, which his 13 points was more even than the pedestrian eight of Beal in that aforementioned Pacers loss.
"Shit, the vibes are low, man. We're just have to keep fighting. It's a blessing to even be in this position, but our output is super ugly right now. We continue to build. Hopefully later in the season, these moments right here are out the way, got past them." Devin Booker. #Suns pic.twitter.com/OlSKRCd7Hx
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 5, 2025
If the Suns are considering blowing all of this up, then at least they'll have Dunn as a holdover when they start again. Much more likely is that they continue plugging away with this group, which is where Dunn will again show his word. The team doesn't have a player with his body type who can defend the way that he does, and that has been part of the problem this season.
The organization doesn't seem ready to have the discussion about Beal coming off the bench, and losing his spot to a rookie would surely hurt too. But if you continue to punish yourself by tuning into Suns basketball then you'll know that Dunn has been the lone bright spark in what has already been a dreadful Christmas and January period. At least his future is bright.