The Phoenix Suns have continued to find ways to improve their roster in the period following the departure of Kevin Durant, and for that they should be commended.
Not that Bleacher Report appears to care in the aftermath of LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite this, the additions of Luke Kennard and Miles Bridges (speaking from an on court perspective only) should make the Suns as competitive as last season at a time when the Western Conference is top heavy.
Suns’ lack of true size will hurt their chances of competing
But with their offseason business looking to be complete, there is no escaping the lack of size throughout the roster. If anything this makes the decision to bring back Mark Williams a necessary one, even though he is a flawed option with his injury history and inability to consistently impact the game.
Khaman Maluach is the obvious x-factor here, and at 19-years-old he alone could alleviated a lot of these size issues. The Suns still figure to bring him along slowly, and even if he does have a breakout campaign behind Williams it quickly gets a lot smaller throughout the rest of the rotation. Oso Ighodaro and Koa Peat are willing forwards, but neither can use their height to dominate opponents. Physicality yes, but that alone won’t be enough on some nights.
Rasheer Fleming is tall, but right now is not much of a defender. Neither Dillon Brooks or Miles Bridges truly excel in this area either, although one position the Suns may ironically have an edge is also the spot that it has the least importance.
Collin Gillespie won’t be peering over his defender very often, but both Jordan Goodwin and Jamaree Bouyea generally will. Tall point guards are great and can unlock different lineups, but this group needs more size inside.
Particularly when the franchise seems content to sacrifice outside shooting in favor of beating opponents inside the paint through Williams, Maluach, Peat and Ighodaro. Once you get past Kennard, Gillespie and Devin Booker, consistent 3-point shooting dries up worryingly quickly.
So while a starting five of Booker, Jalen Green, Brooks, Bridges and Williams will be capable of out scoring some and out working others, the lack of height is a problem. One that will hold them back from attempting to reach the higher echelons out West until it is fixed. Which will not be happening this coming season.
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