Can the Phoenix Suns’ new-look front office work in a win-now window?

There is still time to build a championship-level team before Devin Booker’s prime expires.

Welcome to Kevin Humpherys, one of our new voices here at Bright Side of the Sun! Give him a follow on Twitter: @kevin_humpherys

---

On Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns introduced Jordan Ott as the franchise’s 23rd head coach. He succeeds a long line of failed and embarrassing coaching tenures, except for Monty Williams, who was a failure of a different kind.

The Suns desperately need stability and a coach who can build a winning culture and identity around Devin Booker. The franchise’s leading scorer is 28 years old and in the middle of the prime of his career. This means that as long as he is healthy and a part of the Phoenix Suns, the front office has to work in a win-now window.

Even though Phoenix has no control over its future draft position and is deep into the second apron of the salary cap, which might as well be renamed ‘team building hell’, there are still avenues, albeit very narrow avenues, for the current Suns roster to contend for a top-six spot in the West.

Building an identity

While many cringe at the “Phoenix Spartans” moniker for the current Phoenix Suns front office, it is also the way for the Suns to compete again in a loaded Western Conference.

For 30 years under Tom Izzo, no matter what his team’s personnel was, you know what Michigan State basketball is going to play like. The Spartans have played with the same physical defense, the same rebounding dominance and the same aggressive pace on offense. Now with the Suns, it does not have to be those exact same pillars as Izzo’s Spartans, but whatever the Suns do, they need to be the best at it.

The best example of this is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have built their championship team on the back of an elite scorer in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, surrounded by the best and deepest defense in basketball. The Thunder turn opposing teams over at an all-time rate and destroy teams in points off turnovers. Obviously, the Suns do not have the war chest of assets that the Thunder have, but the fundamental approach to team-building around a specific style of play has to be the same.

Other examples of these clear-cut identities are the Indiana Pacers, who play so fast that every Suns fan has flashbacks of the seven-seconds-or-less Suns. The Houston Rockets finished second in the West this season and built their foundation on physicality, brute force, and bludgeoning teams on the offensive and defensive boards. An early iteration of the Rockets under Mike D’Antoni and Daryl Morey utilized 3-point shooting to almost defeat the peak Golden State Warriors. Oh yeah, and then there is Heat Culture.

The 2020-22 era of Suns basketball was built on out-executing and outcompeting teams. With Chris Paul at the helm, the Suns executed better than their opponents on both ends of the floor, and specifically at the end of games. They never turned the ball over, they took high-quality shots (even in the much-maligned mid-range), and they were mentally tough. Paul and Booker were surrounded by mostly high-IQ players on the way to the 2021 NBA Finals and a franchise high 64 wins the following season. What the Suns lacked in athleticism, they made up for with competitiveness and intelligence, which they brought all 82 games of the season.

The Suns do not have to copy the exact blueprint of any of these teams, nor should they, but whatever Mat Ishibia, Brian Gregory, and Jordan Ott decide the pillars of the organization are, is the first step to working in a win-now window.

Get out of the second apron and start building depth

The first step to building depth is getting below the second apron of the salary cap. Whether the Suns trade/buy out Bradley Beal, deal Kevin Durant, etc. Priority one has to be opening up the flexibility to be less handcuffed when making trades. Once they have that flexibility, they have to stop doing what Ishbia has done since he took over, chasing stars.

Since the Suns traded for Kevin Durant in 2023, they have struggled to have more than 6-7 quality NBA players at one time. This has to change if and when the Suns likely trade Kevin Durant. Instead of swinging big for the superstar name, the Suns need to build around Devin Booker with quality role players that fit the mold of the newest iteration of Phoenix Suns basketball. Most importantly, the pieces need to be younger players that Ott can develop into the same level of players that Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges developed into while in Phoenix. That is why a trade with Minnesota, San Antonio or Houston makes the most sense for Gregory because it gives the front office a chance to bring back multiple players that will give the Suns stability and room to improve.

Tari Eason, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore and Jabari Smith Jr. are players the Suns should have interest in from Houston. San Antonio could provide a combination of Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan in a package which is enticing as well. Minnesota has more proven players that will not develop much more, but could still put Phoenix in playoff competition. The bottom line is, whoever the Suns deal Kevin Durant to, getting back younger, talented players is a must, and getting back draft compensation will be the cherry on top.

Drafting quality role players

Unless the Phoenix Suns are able to get their own picks back from Houston in a Kevin Durant trade, they will be picking at the back end of the first round and into the second round of the draft.

Under James Jones, the Suns drafted reasonably well given their spot in the draft; they drafted Ryan Dunn, Toumani Camara, Oso Ighodaro, and Ty Jerome outside of the lottery. The Suns must continue to hit on these late first round draft prospects to add more quality depth around Booker.

What the Suns need this offseason is a center that can immediately contribute to next year’s team and anchor an above-average defense. Ryan Kalkbrenner from Creighton or Maxime Reynaud from Stanford would be massive Ketel-Marte-like home runs because of their size and skill at the center position. Kalkbrenner is especially enticing because of his incredible shot-blocking capabilities, which earned him Big East Defensive Player of the Year four times in his career.

In the second round, the Suns should try to add a player that posesses at least one translatable NBA skill. Koby Brea (shooting), Kam Jones (rim pressure), Tyrese Proctor (shooting/playmaking), Alijah Martin (defense/shooting), or Ryan Nembhard (point guard), and pray that they can fit in with the current roster.

Championship window

The Suns’ window to win a championship is not open now, and it will not open in the 2025-26 season unless Phoenix can pull a rabbit out of a hat. The Thunder are too good, the Timberwolves are a contender, and the Spurs are coming. But if the Suns find their way back to playing a fun and competitive brand of basketball this season, it sets them up for future success. The Suns’ path is narrow, but not all hope should be lost in the Valley. There is still time to build a championship-level team before Devin Booker’s prime expires.

---

Listen to the latest episode of the Suns JAM Session Podcast below. To stay up to date on every episode, subscribe to the pod on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podbean, or Castbox.

Please subscribe, rate, and review.