Suns fans need to let go of the Tyrese Haliburton “what if”

The Phoenix Suns are trapped in a loop of regret and revision.

The NBA Finals tip off tonight, with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder set to clash for the championship. To some, it’s a matchup that lacks sizzle. It features a pair of midwestern franchises that don’t exactly light up TV markets or dominate national headlines. That, of course, bothers the mainstream media to no end, and in some ways, it’s hilarious to watch them squirm.

But for basketball purists, this series is a dream. It’s a showcase of speed, athleticism, defensive grit, and breathtaking transition play. These are two teams built with vision and patience, playing a brand of basketball that’s as modern as it is fundamental. There’s real beauty in that.

Unless, of course, you’re a Phoenix Suns fan.

For those in the Valley, this Finals won’t be fun. It’ll sting. Because watching Tyrese Haliburton lead Indiana to the biggest stage in basketball brings on a familiar and agonizing condition: the “disease of what if”.

The “disease of what if” is a relentless affliction. It preys on those who long for alternate realities, better outcomes, cleaner paths. It provides the kind of hindsight that only makes the present feel heavier. It’s seductive. Easy. But ultimately hollow. Why? Because it deals in fiction. It can’t be proven, only imagined. And in the world of the Phoenix Suns, a franchise steeped in heartbreak, false dawns, and missed connections, it’s all too easy to catch that disease and let it consume you.

We fall into it because it offers comfort. The butterfly effect. Sliding doors. A trade here, a pick there. Change one thing, and maybe everything changes. But nothing happens in a vacuum. Just because the Suns passed on one player doesn’t guarantee a domino effect of brilliance. Just because they traded another doesn’t mean a ring was sitting five steps down the road, waiting patiently for them to arrive.

Look at the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton, the 12th pick in 2020, taken by the Kings. His growth alongside De’Aaron Fox created a fork in the road for Sacramento: commit to Fox or pivot to Hali. They chose the former, shipping Haliburton to Indiana for Domantas Sabonis in 2022. Since then? The Kings broke their 16-year playoff drought but still haven’t advanced past the first round. The Pacers? An NBA Cup Final. Two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. And now, their first NBA Finals appearance in nearly a quarter-century.

And if you’re a Suns fan, that’s where the “what if” creeps in. You remember Phoenix took Jalen Smith over Haliburton. You imagine Halliburton in a Suns jersey, running the show, lifting the franchise. You stew. You sigh. You get mad all over again.

But we’ve got to let it go. And there are countless reasons why.

Sure, the Suns could’ve taken any number of players instead of Jalen Smith in the 2020 draft. Tyrese Haliburton was sitting right there. But just because they didn’t select him doesn’t mean he would’ve become this version of Haliburton had he landed in Phoenix. Development isn’t linear, and it isn’t guaranteed. The right situation, the right role, the right timing. All of it matters. It’s easy to paint a fantasy version of reality and say, “Well, he would’ve blossomed here too because Chris Paul existed.” But that’s conjecture. It’s unprovable either way.

You could play this game with every draft, couldn’t you? The Suns should’ve taken Giannis over Alex Len in 2013. Jokic over…basically anyone in 2014. Instead, we took T.J. Warren.

Look, I loved Haliburton in that draft. I thought he fit a need, and I thought his skill set made sense for where the team was headed. But the organization chose otherwise. History unfolded exactly the way it did, and we are left with the reality we have. That’s the thing about the “What If” game. It’s endless. It’s tempting. It’s comforting. But it’s also futile.

Because we weren’t better. And we still might not have been better, even if we had made that pick.

The truth is, the Suns’ reality is often a comedy of errors. A long-running farce where poor decision follows poor decision, and we — the fans — are stuck in the loop. That’s part of the culture. It’s stitched into the fabric of what it means to be a Suns fan. Every move is second-guessed because, deep down, we’ve been conditioned to believe the wrong move will be made. That’s what 58 ringless seasons will do to you.

So yes, I understand the allure of the fantasy. The version of the world where Haliburton was drafted, thrived alongside Booker, and the Suns cruised toward the promised land. But even in that alternate universe, you know what probably happens? We trade him for Kevin Durant in 2023 anyway.

So really…who cares?

At least we’re not the Kings.

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