The Phoenix Suns’ expectation-shattering season concluded with a ho-hum sweep at the hands of the No. 1 seed and reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Nobody expected the Suns to be able to overthrow MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co., but the series exposed yet more flaws with a roster that will likely need to undergo big changes in the offseason.
Ahead of the postseason, NBA analyst Zach Lowe questioned guard Jalen Green’s fit with Phoenix — wherein Green played great in the play-in tournament only to shoot 38.6% from the field and an abysmal 20.6% from 3-point range in the first round series against OKC.
Green’s lack of efficiency shot the Suns out of games and took field goal attempts away from face of the franchise Devin Booker — who also had a series to forget.
But while the star power in Phoenix faces plenty of questions heading into summer, another big flaw was exposed against the Thunder: a distinct lack of roster depth.
Injuries exacerbate Suns’ roster depth problems
To be sure, the absences of Mark Williams, Jordan Goodwin and Grayson Allen throughout the series played a significant part in Phoenix’s lack of depth. However, both Williams and Goodwin are now set to become free agents and won’t be back next season unless they get new contracts. So, it's not as though their depth problems will automatically be solved through health.
It’s entirely possible the Suns move forward with center Oso Ighodaro and 19-year-old soon-to-be NBA sophomore Khaman Maluach — who played sparingly in the playoffs even with Williams sidelined.
First-year head coach Jordan Ott frequently went with just an eight-man rotation throughout the series, and he got very little bench production to show for it.
The Thunder bench outscored the Suns’ second unit 40-24 in Game 1, 27-20 in Game 2, 36-12 in Game 3 and 41-24 in Game 4.
With Cason Wallace, Jared McCain, Alex Caruso, Jaylin Williams and others all contributing off the bench for Oklahoma City, it became even more clear just how shallow the Suns’ roster is — especially when dealing with key injuries of any kind.
Veteran midseason additions Amir Coffey and Haywood Highsmith were not part of the playoff rotations. Rookies Maluach and Rasheer Fleming received splashes of playing time, but were clearly not a big consideration from Coach Ott. Ryan Dunn likewise continued to show that his own player development is lagging well behind fellow NBA sophomore Ighodaro.
With Williams and guard Collin Gillespie as the primary two Suns set to hit free agency, it’s becoming more clear that only one of those two is likely to return. Phoenix simply can’t dedicate any remaining cap they have to those two guys when they need to build out a more reliable second unit that Ott can trust to actually play come playoff time.
Whether the Suns address that flaw via trade or try to cobble together a collection of low-salary signings to build out the bench remains to be seen. However, relying on a top-heavy roster was the problem with Kevin Durant in the mix. It seems that problem remains with Booker, Green and Dillon Brooks all jockeying for shot attempts.
OKC is among the best teams in the league because they have depth to complement their stars.
Phoenix must first figure out which star players they want to continue building around, but finding a second unit Ott has confidence in will be another key priority during the offseason.
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