Your weekly Inside the Suns analysis straight from the BSotS community who live and breathe the team.
Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team.
Each week, the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1 – Jake Fischer of The Stein Line recently predicted there would be a “significant amount of activity on the trade market” this offseason, partially due to a lack of high-level free agents available this year. Do you think this will work out favorably for the Suns?
Ashton: This is a tough question. It is favorable to the Suns if that means more minimum contracts are going to be available in the FA market. What needs to be determined is whether this is a buyer’s or seller’s market.
But it all comes back to the possibility of the Sun’s unique situation. Do they move the needle on the trade market by putting high-level salary players, not under free agency, out there in trade? How about Boston? Or any other second apron team?
Let’s go with the Suns if they retain most of the core and the organization can pick up lower contracts favorably. This is a classic supply and demand situation. Maintain the core, and receive free agents on the cheap. There is always Monte Morris or Tyus Jones to consider bringing back on team-friendly deals in FA.
OldAz: As with most questions, the answer is usually “It Depends”. In this case, it depends on what your goal is going into the off season. If your goal is to move KD, then this is probably great because the lack of free agents may make another team pay more (maybe even close to what KD is actually worth) for his services. It might also make Royce and GA more tradable if a full reset is what you are looking for. It’s probably too much to hope that it makes someone pull the trigger on a Beal trade. We have to be realistic there. In my case, I have no idea how good or bad this is because I have no idea what the direction or philosophy of the team is going forward. Really, none of us do because the new GM is a mystery and we are still waiting on a coach. After a season of watching uninspiring and downright boring basketball from a roster that was expected to compete and be far better, I won’t be able to measure success until at least a month into next season. Names mean nothing anymore compared to watching enjoyable basketball.
Rod: Anyone who’s read John’s articles on available free agents this summer knows how bare the FA cupboards will be so I don’t doubt that there could be a lot of trading going on during the offseason. It’s going to be the only way for any team to make significant changes unless their rookie draft selections make a big impact early on.
What does that mean for the Suns? It could very possibly add up to more favorable returns for the few valuable trade chips that the Suns have (KD, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale). We’re not talking about a king’s ransom type return, but with more teams pretty much forced to look for roster upgrades through trades rather than free agency, the sellers — which I expect the Suns to certainly be — have a bit more leverage. If Fischer’s prediction come true, it will only help the Suns get at least a little better return in some trades than some fans might expect.
As one unnamed Western Conference executive projected, “It’s gonna be a crazy summer. There’s going to be a lot of movement.”
Q2 – Devin Booker has stated that he wants to spend his entire career in Phoenix. Do you believe that will actually happen?
Ashton: I believe his statement. Either you like or adapt to the desert, or you do not. We are in June now (by publication date), and this is always one of the greatest heat tests. Booker has passed it with flying colors and his multiple community projects. His jersey should be retired if he pulls it off.
But what is really being asked about is if he is willing to go through another rebuilding phase in a desert city? Rings beckon in the states of Indiana or Oklahoma. Throw in New York, Massachusetts and Texas. And is that not what a legacy player should chase for their place in NBA history?
But would you want to move there?
If Book wants to stay in Phoenix, I admire the dedication. So, let’s go with yes, he wants to stay in Phoenix and rebuild a legacy.
OldAz: I hope so. As I get older, I value more than just championships as a sports fan. I never liked the Padres despite going to college in San Diego. I did love to watch Tony Gwynn play, though, and will always associate him with the Padres fondly. The same goes for Barry Sanders and the Lions, or in basketball Larry Bird, Dirk Nowitzki, John Stockton or Reggie Miller. I will ignore the Lakers on this list because they are still the Lakers so there is nothing worth liking there. There is, however, something special about great players that is heightened when those great players are associated with the same organization for their whole careers. I hope Booker and Ishbia can make it work to get back to exciting basketball that keeps Booker committed to staying in Phoenix.
Rod: I’m really uncertain about this at the moment but I’m all for it. I believe that he genuinely wants to stay with the Suns now but that could change if the Suns basically return to being cellar dwellers for a few years. Pure frustration might get the best of him and eventually prompt a trade request. I’d especially hate to see that happen.
And I’m not at all trusting Mat Ishbia’s word that he’s also determined to keep Book in the Valley. If a good enough trade offer for Book comes along…well, we’ll find out then how sincere he is about wanting to keep Book in Phoenix.
Q3 – In this year’s draft, would you consider trading the Suns 29th pick (1st round) to Charlotte straight up for the 33rd AND 34th picks (2nd round)?
Ashton: Again, another tough question as I am still trying to process mock drafts after the NBA draft withdrawals. We need timestamps (May 30th) on these responses.
One of Ryan Kalkbrenner and Drake Powell should be there at 33rd or 34th picks.
But let’s go with the overall. Second-round picks are becoming nearly worthless. This will improve as the “Super-Seniors” run out of eligibility and increase next year’s draft pool with just seniors. If Charlotte was willing to do this trade for the Sun’s 2025 pick next year in the 26-27 cycle, I would take it.
Too much is still undetermined at this point. We do not know if the House vs. NCAA settlement will go through, which requires audits of fair market value on NIL deals. I mean come on, Cooper Flag made 28 million as a freshman? Why even be the first pick in the draft with that kind of money? You can forget about Congress or Trump’s sports commission (on-hold) doing a thing on NIL regulation. So, I would shed as many second-round picks as you can. Not pick up more of them.
The second-round picks are not guaranteed and the unregulated NIL is winning the day at the college level. The numbers make sense for the players. Go back to school and make more than a projected second round pick or even a high round first pick.
OldAz: I am no draft expert and have no idea who they are high on, but I would make this trade everyday, and twice on Sunday, whether that is today or any day until draft day, including when the Suns are on the clock at 29. Even if they are super high on a prospect and have him rated well ahead of the other players left that they would have an choice of at 33 and 34. The history of the draft shows that every team has a pretty miserable record of consistently hitting on late first or early draft picks. While the Suns recent picks have been decent (Camara, Dunn, OSO) there is still value in getting 2 shots at getting it right within that same 5 spot range. They need to have the humility to recognize that even if they are super high on a player, that does not guarantee he will be good. Also, as different as teams draft strategies are, it is entirely possible that players the Suns covet at 29 would still be there at 33.
Rod: Unless there’s someone I want that I’m sure won’t be available at 33 but would likely be there at 29 then I’d do it. At that point in the draft, there’s often not a lot of “must have” players so moving back four spots to have the opportunity to get two early 2nd round picks instead of just one late 1st rounder seems like the better bet to me. Plus the minimum starting salary for 2nd round picks ($1.3 mil) is actually below the vet minimum and they do NOT have to be guaranteed which works out great for a cash-strapped team that’s looking to lower its cap total to get under the 2nd apron.
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Suns Trivia/History
21 years ago, the Suns signed 5’8” point guard Yuta Tabuse who became the first Japanese-born player in the NBA. Although his time with the Suns and the NBA was limited to just 17 minutes over 4 games, Tabuse’s days as a pro player were not cut short. In fact, at 44, he is not only still playing professionally in Japan, his team, the Utsunomiya Brex, just won the Japanese domestic league title a few days ago.
On June 1, 1993, Dan Majerle set a then-playoffs record by sinking eight 3-pointers during the Suns’ 120-114 win over Seattle in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. Majerle finished the game with 34 points and was 8 for 10 from three (80%) and made 70.6% of his FG attempts. The rest of the Suns’ team took only 2 shots from three and went 1 of 2. Sir Charles (Barkley) led the Suns in scoring with 43 points while adding 15 rebounds and 10 assists… without attempting a three-point shot. Tom Chambers was the only other Sun to make a three in the game.
On June 4, 1976, the Suns lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics 126-128 in the first triple-overtime game in NBA Finals history. That game came to be called “the greatest game ever played” and Gar Heard’s buzzer-beater at the end of the second OT to tie the game and send it into a third OT was dubbed “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”. Heard also set a then Finals record by playing 61 minutes. This record stood until Kevin Johnson broke it 17 years later when he played 62 minutes in the Suns triple OT win against the Chicago Bulls on June 13, 1993.
Last Week’s Poll Results
Last week’s question was “Who do you think is the best choice for the Suns’ next head coach?”
54% – Chris Quinn.
18% – Sean Sweeney.
06% – Micah Nori.
05% – Jordon Ott.
17% – Someone else.
A total of 151 votes were cast.
Important Future Dates
June 16, 19, or 22 (following the end of the NBA Finals) – Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents
June 25-26 – NBA Draft
June 30 – Teams may begin negotiating with all other upcoming free agents (beginning at 6 p.m. ET)
July 6 – Teams may begin signing free agents to contracts (12:01 p.m. ET)
July 10-20 – Las Vegas Summer League
This week’s poll is…
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