Post by Maniak on Apr 10, 2024 20:57:17 GMT
The Preface
I wrote this on April 10, 2024, shortly before the season ended. After the playoffs end, I will update it to some extent.
The Framework
During the 2023 off-season the Suns made large scale roster changes after another disappointing playoff run. Although it’s never entirely shameful to lose to the eventual champions, the Suns limped out of the playoffs in crushing defeats just like the two prior years. The following key decisions were made:
Fire Monty Williams
Trade DA for Nurkic & Grayson
Trade CP3 and Shamet for Beal
On the margins, the team filled out with minimum contracts for players that fit a general mold: can play multiple positions, long wingspans, and three point shooters
Here’s the roster:
C - Nurkic / Eubanks / Azubuike
F - Durant / Bol / Metu
F - Grayson / Yuta / Little / KBD
G - Booker / Gordon / Okogie
G - Beal / Goodwin / Saben
The logic was that you have three elite offensive players that would throw defenses off balance and create either open shots or favorable one on ones.
Defensively, the logic was that you can probably put together a league average defense anchored by KD and high energy guys like Okogie.
What did I expect?
I was happy with the individual moves of firing Monty, acquiring KD, moving on from CP3, and moving on from DA. I thought the previous Suns teams had a ceiling that wasn’t a championship and that CP3 would never put it together for a full playoff run. I had zero faith in Monty as a coach after he fell in love with certain players and wouldn’t adapt over multiple seasons.
It’s important to remember that when the Suns lost 4-2 to the Nuggets in 2023, their best player was Booker, who was putting up Jordan-esque playoff numbers. Their second best player was KD, who had played a dozen games with the team. Their third and fourth best players were Cam Payne and Jock Landale. CP3’s largest playoff contribution in 2023 was being injured and making Payne the starter, who helped push the pace and throw the Nuggets off balance for a couple games. DA was checked out and got outplayed by Landale who just hustled, grabbed boards, and didn’t hesitate putting up easy looks when given them. Making drastic changes to that team made sense.
I understood the logic of how the team was constructed and my top concern was not the lack of a point guard. I questioned who out of the role players would make it into the rotation, but thought the team projected to at least be a really good offense that could put up threes, burn you in transition, and force defenses into tough decisions.
I was also worried about health (understandably) and whether or not all the puzzle pieces would fit in such a short timespan. While writing this I think of LeBron’s comments on his podcast the other week when he talked about the first year in Miami and first year (of the second stint) in Cleveland where the team was seen as a superteam, but really didn’t have the ancillary roleplayers until year two to make them an elite team.
How did the season start?
You could see glimpses of what the offense could be, the season started with a win over Golden State where Booker took the game over by lighting the Warriors up as a scorer, then making perfect passes in crunchtime to seal the game.
However the team was marred by early season injuries, leading to an unstable rotation. Turnovers were a big problem and guys were given opportunities that didn’t step up. Conversely, some players like Allen and Gordon excelled in their roles, stepping in as legit starters in place of Booker and Beal. Durant was performing like an MVP, putting up efficient 40 point games left and right.
Nurkic also stood out early as a key component to the team, as he was a hub offensively in the halfcourt and was clearly a great communicator on and off the floor. His horrible touch made you miss Ayton, but his aggressiveness and intensity didn’t.
Putting health aside, my main concerns early on were that the turnovers were way too high, the defense wasn’t good enough, the pace wasn’t fast enough, and there weren’t enough possessions.
How did the season progress leading to the trade deadline?
While injuries continued to play a factor, the team established a general rotation around their big three, mainly relying on Booker and Nurk to be creators. While KD had a terrific offensive season, he also proved to be extremely turnover prone with the ball in his hands and while he can make good passes, he also makes lots of bad ones. KD made up for that by putting together an all-defense level campaign, anchoring the Suns and bringing them to an above league average defense.
The general rotation was
C - Nurkic / Eubanks
F - Durant / Bol
F - Grayson / KBD
G - Booker / Gordon
G - Beal / Okogie
The glaring problem with this rotation is that guys who were expected to fill certain roles did not live up to expectations. KBD was in and out of the lineup as his shooting from San Antonio the previous year turned out to be a fluke. He would sometimes make key plays and contribute to winning on both sides of the ball, but other times would play 15 minutes and you wouldn’t know it.
Yuta was figured to be a key rotation piece as a shooter but forgot how, and then got too scared to shoot and went back to league best towel waving. Players like KBD and Okogie were such offensive zeroes that the team often struggled to put together a high level offense. Defenses would only pay attention to KD and Booker, just like the previous year.
Grayson continued to be a huge piece and locked himself into a starting role. He carried the offense on multiple nights with incredible shooting performances and has really proven he can maximize his skillset around talent.
Even though the team was in the playoff mix, it didn’t feel or look great. Winning streaks were offset by losing streaks. A 130 point game was followed by a 90 point game. The offense was stagnant - little movement away from the ball, plays taking considerable time to start, slow decision making. Talent masked poor strategy game after game. I would watch a loss and feel reassured they almost put it together then watch a win and feel bad about how they got there.
Bol Bol emerged as a rotation piece, visibly taking his role seriously and absorbing everything KD taught him. He was able to stay on the floor defensively and even playmake on that side of the ball with terrific recoveries and surprising one on one moments. His offense helped the team in transition and he’s a player you can give the ball and he’ll do something to get a shot off.
What happened at the trade deadline?
The team was aggressive and decided to move on from players that weren’t contributing and namely bring in Royce O’Neale who is a rotational 3&D guy that any team would find minutes for.
C - Nurkic / Eubanks
F - Durant / Bol
F - Grayson / ONeale
G - Booker / Gordon
G - Beal
Other players
C - Azubuike (TW)
F - Thad Young / Ish Wainright (TW)
F - Roddy / Little
G - Damion Lee (injured) / Okogie
G - Isaiah Thomas / Saben Lee (TW)
How did I feel at the deadline?
Around this time I had a realization of hopelessness. I didn’t buy the idea that the team would put it together after so much inconsistency all year. While the moves were good and I appreciate the team moving on from guys that weren’t contributing, even with a player like ONeale that fits in anywhere, it’s hard to expect a team that was already trying to piece things together on the fly to figure it out in the back end of the season before the playoffs.
Especially contrasting the Suns to the younger western teams that have manhandled them like the Thunder, the proven contenders that are chugging along like the Nuggets, it was hard to see this team’s path to the title this year.
A key thing to mention and remember is throughout the season, the starting 5 of Beal, Booker, Grayson, KD, and Nurk was one of the best in the league. This was a positive indication that the Suns had..something.
How have the Suns closed the season?
The Suns had a very tough schedule to close the year and the inconsistency continued.
Booker would score 60 in a loss, then 20/10 in a win. Durant had more and more high field goal attempt low field goal make games. Eric Gordon went from being a great replacement starter in the beginning of the year to a zero on the floor. Eubanks got a curiously large amount of minutes and Bol a curiously small amount.
Some things about the team feel better. While turnovers are still a problem, there’s more frequent offensive cohesion, specifically with the team putting the ball in Beal’s hands more. Royce adds a dimension to the team on both sides of the ball, his malleability really helps add to the defense and clean up / organize possessions on offense.
Some things about the team feel just as bad. The pace is not consistently there. The possession battle gets lost. The three point shooting is inconsistent. The minutes from non-starter lineups look shaky.
Where do I place blame?
I don’t think there is any one person or one part of staff responsible. Suns fans have been finger pointing at Ishbia, James Jones, Vogel, Kevin Young, and to a lesser extent KD and Booker.
This next part I will look at a specific player or staff, evaluate, and draw some conclusion of how at fault they are.
Devin Booker
I’m a Devin Booker guy. Without him, it’s very unlikely I would still be a Suns fan. He made years of failure seem worth it, and surprised everyone by actually (to some extent) having the superteam come to him.
Despite my fandom of Booker as a basketball player, his personality and approach over recent years has rubbed me the wrong way.
There’s a level of accountability that Booker has been missing for years now. After the embarrassing playoff losses, he found a way to sneak away from the media and not answer any questions in tough moments, while maintaining his image as a deity in Arizona. He has never owned up to poor performance in big games and throughout this year has continued just being the same old Book. In part, I think this is just him keeping up appearances and portraying a certain image, and he’s a different guy in the locker room. However, some of the problems this team has had over the years have persisted, and the only constants have been James Jones and Devin Booker.
There’s something about winning in the NBA that Devin Booker doesn’t totally have figured out yet. And maybe he never will - there have been many elite scorers that had hall of fame careers that never figured it out. TMac, Vince, Melo, the list goes on. And Booker is already more of a playoff winner than all of them
I want to avoid rambling so will just present this as a general thought. I don’t get the impression that Booker wants to participate in an NBA offense and instead wants to be Luka or Harden. Booker is maybe the purest all around scorer in the league, but he’s not Luka or Harden. He really bogs down chunks of games by waiting for a pick, or catching the ball off a screen, then staring down a defender before passing out. While I don’t believe the Suns are running and executing a league best offensive scheme (and will discuss that more later), I also don’t think Booker is putting in the best effort of participating within that offense. There’s just a level of predictability with his game that often gets overshadowed by his skill as a scorer. And it’s not that he’s a bad passer (he’s probably the best or second best passer on the team), but he can really go through the motions and treat games or quarters or 3 minute stretches like a practice.
It’s alarming to me that I have the same complaints about the Suns pace this year as I did last year when the team was led by a version of Chris Paul that had to “sprint” up the court to avoid 8 second violations.
Defensively Booker hasn’t been who he had become in previous years. He hasn’t figured out how to balance that energy on both sides of the ball, and the reality is that he needs to be a very good defender for this team to be a real title contender.
How much blame does Booker deserve? A lot of it. He is supposed to be #1 and a franchise guy. Maybe he isn’t quite that.
Bear in mind, in making these criticisms, I still think he is the best “shooting guard” in the league. None of Mitchell, Brown, Edwards, etc can surpass him in that role until they’ve had year after year playoff success. (Brown has been more successful but obviously not #1)
Kevin Durant
I don’t really blame Kevin Durant. He’s had a terrific season on the court and always seems to be communicating. I think the narrative of him not being a leader is overblown.
There is probably some underlying issue of leadership between the big three and Vogel, however at the end of the day I’d rather have him on my team than Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.
Bradley Beal
Beal was injured a lot this year and while some people would say that’s to be expected, his injuries were all pretty random and not like re aggravating an old injury. Maybe that just means he’s unlucky and made of glass
He’s vocal and usually seems to be putting in good effort. The way he answers questions from the media and takes accountability not only for himself, but also for the big three as a whole, makes him a breath of fresh air
Defensive effort isn’t always there.
I don’t really blame Beal for much of anything. Maybe he just brings too much of the same to the table, but if he continues to adapt into a primary ball handler and distributor role, it could work. I guess.
Frank Vogel and the coaching staff
A lot of the criticism from Suns fans falls on the coaching staff, which is to be expected when a team isn’t meeting expectations. It’s easy to say “if you would have done X or played Y you would have won” because it’s a hypothetical.
The idea coming into the season was that Vogel was bringing in his guys (including Fizdale) to build a legit defense, while taking in offensive schemes from the highest paid assistant in the league Kevin Young - long time Suns assistant who has seemingly always been buddy buddy with Book.
The goal of the offense was to bring 2 to the ball, swing the ball, and find open looks, specifically lots of corner threes. If teams aren’t doubling then you can create advantageous matchups with 3 elite scorers that can score from anywhere.
This goal has translated to a slow pace and predictable offense. Some nights the ball is really flying around and guys are getting good looks, but when the team gets off rhythm they really get off rhythm. The less you score in transition and the more you turn the ball over, the more important each offensive possession is. It doesn’t feel like there is a plan B, C, or D with the Suns on offense.
I really hesitate to blame a coaching staff in a season marred with injuries and players that are trying to adapt into new and different roles. However there is just an uninspired level of strategy with this team. Additionally, there’s a lack of adapting that has been jarring considering how much this annoyed me with Monty.
While I do think it’s lazy and often incorrect to just say “the coaches rotations were bad tonight and that’s why the team lost”, it feels like there is a stubbornness in rotations
1) Grayson Allen has been terrific as a starter all year but since acquiring Royce, it seems like Grayson would be better suited off the bench. Royce isn’t as good a shooter, but he can hit open threes, and his ability to pass and defend multiple positions adds dimensions to the main rotation that Grayson doesn’t.
2) The team refuses to go small, despite having won several games by doing just that. I think this is partially to preserve KD and maybe they won’t be as stubborn in the playoffs, but the purpose of having players like Thad Young and Royce ONeale is to open up different lineup combinations.
3) Adding to the above, Frank has consistently given big minutes to Drew Eubanks, despite constantly having a negative impact on the court, specifically in the second half of the season. While Suns fans shit on him a bit too hard because his +/- is so horrendous, there have been too many stints of games where he comes on the floor and the team can’t do anything on either side of the ball [seemingly] until he’s off the court.
4) Bol Bol gets really inconsistent minutes. Vogel often cites this as a conditioning issue, however there have been games where he just doesn’t play for a half or a quarter. While Bol’s minutes shouldn’t be a key to success, the reality is that he’s been a reliable scorer off the bench when given opportunity. I feel like his confidence has wavered to close the season due to the further limitation of minutes.
5) The Suns have had so many chunks of games where the other team goes on a huge run and they can’t score. Vogel does not hesitate to call timeouts in these situations, which I always think is good. However he rarely makes substitutions outside of his usual pattern, which I always think is bad. If the players on the court have made the same mistakes for a whole season, you call a timeout and the mistake isn’t fixed, why are more variable substitutions not made? Why not at least try? Again, this is slightly better than Monty because he wouldn’t even call the timeout, but still, you can’t save every adjustment for the playoffs if you want to make the playoffs.
How much do I blame the coaching staff? I blame them less than the players as a whole and probably slightly less than the front office. I don’t know if they will get an opportunity next year to prove themselves.
James Jones
As mentioned before, James Jones in his GM role is one of the only constants the Suns have had aside from Booker over these years. You can’t argue with the fact that he has built better teams than many of his predecessors.
In some ways I look at the Suns and blame James Jones for what I’m looking at, but then when I evaluate the individual decisions I get it.
Would I trade KD for Mikal, Cam, and draft equity?
. I think that when a team like Phoenix has the opportunity to get KD, regardless of him being 35 years old, you take it. I do not think Mikal is a #2 option on a title team (doesn’t mean he’s not one of my favorite players).
Would I trade Ayton for Nurk, Little, and Grayson?. I do not think Ayton is invested in winning basketball games, and he certainly was not invested in winning basketball games in Phoenix. I cannot take criticism of this move seriously after watching that goof in the playoffs for years in a row.
Would I trade Paul and Shamet for Beal (and Goodwin and some other guy)?. I do not think Chris Paul can make it through the playoffs and I do not want to watch Landry Shamet play the sport of basketball.
Do I believe that the Suns could have got more for Mikal, Cam, and draft equity? Not really.
Do I believe that the Suns could have got more for Ayton? LOL
Do I believe that the Suns could have got more for Paul? BIGGER LOL
All of his free agency decisions were for guys on minimums. Do I wish he went with someone else aside from the Yutas and KBDs of the world? Sure, but it’s a crapshoot to sign all the right minimum players.
You can certainly knock the lack of ball handling/passing, but it’s really hard to find someone to fill that role around two guards and KD. I wanted Pat Bev. DSJ would have been nice in hindsight. Maybe Saric could fit but he’s more frustrating to watch in the paint than Nurk or Eubanks. These are all just silly hypotheticals at the end of the day.
Do I blame James Jones?, to an extent. However I don’t necessarily doubt his ability to build a championship winning team. The reality is his head might be on the chopping block.
Mat Ishbia
It’s hard to blame the owner that is spending hundreds of millions on this team and has in many ways taken an opposite approach to Sarver (although might even be nosier on the bball side of things than Sarver..time will tell on that one).
I don’t really blame Mat for anything at this point, he wants the team to win and I do too. It will be interesting to see how his aggressive approach pans out.
What does the future hold?
As I write this, for all I know the future holds a 2024 NBA Championship. Again, LOL.
It’s hard to imagine anything happening to Booker, Beal, or Durant. The front office may wish something could happen for Beal, but that NTC is still a NTC. I don’t think there is a realistic path for a Beal trade anyways, unless I misunderstand the second apron rules he would need to be traded for someone of equal value, of which there are only like 10 players and 2 of them are already on the Suns. 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
Grayson is a tough decision. There is some sort of sign and trade possibility there maybe? Which may make sense as despite how good he’s been and how much I want the team to keep him, he’s not a perfect fit due to defensive limitations
Royce should be kept at all costs as he will be a salary that isn’t a minimum or maximum
Trading Nurk could ultimately make a lot of sense. Even though he fits in a lot of ways and been a bellwether for regular season wins, the lack of defense and lack of finishing/athleticism/lob threat around the rim makes him a tricky puzzle piece.
Only firing Vogel and/or James Jones and coming into next season with a slightly revamped group of role guys is a possible path, and championships have been won that way, but I will have a hard time buying that.
Was this season a failure?
I am writing this before the season has ended.
I would use the word disappointing. I thought I’d enjoy watching the Suns play basketball, and I just haven’t for the most part. I’ve lost faith in players I used to think more highly of. It feels like I watch an almost completely different group of people make the exact same mistakes as the previous group.
If next year is as ugly as this year has been, then this current season absolutely was a failure and a waste of time and money.
Did I really expect anything else?
Not really. This team fucking sucks. I don’t care.
I wrote this on April 10, 2024, shortly before the season ended. After the playoffs end, I will update it to some extent.
The Framework
During the 2023 off-season the Suns made large scale roster changes after another disappointing playoff run. Although it’s never entirely shameful to lose to the eventual champions, the Suns limped out of the playoffs in crushing defeats just like the two prior years. The following key decisions were made:
Fire Monty Williams
Trade DA for Nurkic & Grayson
Trade CP3 and Shamet for Beal
On the margins, the team filled out with minimum contracts for players that fit a general mold: can play multiple positions, long wingspans, and three point shooters
Here’s the roster:
C - Nurkic / Eubanks / Azubuike
F - Durant / Bol / Metu
F - Grayson / Yuta / Little / KBD
G - Booker / Gordon / Okogie
G - Beal / Goodwin / Saben
The logic was that you have three elite offensive players that would throw defenses off balance and create either open shots or favorable one on ones.
Defensively, the logic was that you can probably put together a league average defense anchored by KD and high energy guys like Okogie.
What did I expect?
I was happy with the individual moves of firing Monty, acquiring KD, moving on from CP3, and moving on from DA. I thought the previous Suns teams had a ceiling that wasn’t a championship and that CP3 would never put it together for a full playoff run. I had zero faith in Monty as a coach after he fell in love with certain players and wouldn’t adapt over multiple seasons.
It’s important to remember that when the Suns lost 4-2 to the Nuggets in 2023, their best player was Booker, who was putting up Jordan-esque playoff numbers. Their second best player was KD, who had played a dozen games with the team. Their third and fourth best players were Cam Payne and Jock Landale. CP3’s largest playoff contribution in 2023 was being injured and making Payne the starter, who helped push the pace and throw the Nuggets off balance for a couple games. DA was checked out and got outplayed by Landale who just hustled, grabbed boards, and didn’t hesitate putting up easy looks when given them. Making drastic changes to that team made sense.
I understood the logic of how the team was constructed and my top concern was not the lack of a point guard. I questioned who out of the role players would make it into the rotation, but thought the team projected to at least be a really good offense that could put up threes, burn you in transition, and force defenses into tough decisions.
I was also worried about health (understandably) and whether or not all the puzzle pieces would fit in such a short timespan. While writing this I think of LeBron’s comments on his podcast the other week when he talked about the first year in Miami and first year (of the second stint) in Cleveland where the team was seen as a superteam, but really didn’t have the ancillary roleplayers until year two to make them an elite team.
How did the season start?
You could see glimpses of what the offense could be, the season started with a win over Golden State where Booker took the game over by lighting the Warriors up as a scorer, then making perfect passes in crunchtime to seal the game.
However the team was marred by early season injuries, leading to an unstable rotation. Turnovers were a big problem and guys were given opportunities that didn’t step up. Conversely, some players like Allen and Gordon excelled in their roles, stepping in as legit starters in place of Booker and Beal. Durant was performing like an MVP, putting up efficient 40 point games left and right.
Nurkic also stood out early as a key component to the team, as he was a hub offensively in the halfcourt and was clearly a great communicator on and off the floor. His horrible touch made you miss Ayton, but his aggressiveness and intensity didn’t.
Putting health aside, my main concerns early on were that the turnovers were way too high, the defense wasn’t good enough, the pace wasn’t fast enough, and there weren’t enough possessions.
How did the season progress leading to the trade deadline?
While injuries continued to play a factor, the team established a general rotation around their big three, mainly relying on Booker and Nurk to be creators. While KD had a terrific offensive season, he also proved to be extremely turnover prone with the ball in his hands and while he can make good passes, he also makes lots of bad ones. KD made up for that by putting together an all-defense level campaign, anchoring the Suns and bringing them to an above league average defense.
The general rotation was
C - Nurkic / Eubanks
F - Durant / Bol
F - Grayson / KBD
G - Booker / Gordon
G - Beal / Okogie
The glaring problem with this rotation is that guys who were expected to fill certain roles did not live up to expectations. KBD was in and out of the lineup as his shooting from San Antonio the previous year turned out to be a fluke. He would sometimes make key plays and contribute to winning on both sides of the ball, but other times would play 15 minutes and you wouldn’t know it.
Yuta was figured to be a key rotation piece as a shooter but forgot how, and then got too scared to shoot and went back to league best towel waving. Players like KBD and Okogie were such offensive zeroes that the team often struggled to put together a high level offense. Defenses would only pay attention to KD and Booker, just like the previous year.
Grayson continued to be a huge piece and locked himself into a starting role. He carried the offense on multiple nights with incredible shooting performances and has really proven he can maximize his skillset around talent.
Even though the team was in the playoff mix, it didn’t feel or look great. Winning streaks were offset by losing streaks. A 130 point game was followed by a 90 point game. The offense was stagnant - little movement away from the ball, plays taking considerable time to start, slow decision making. Talent masked poor strategy game after game. I would watch a loss and feel reassured they almost put it together then watch a win and feel bad about how they got there.
Bol Bol emerged as a rotation piece, visibly taking his role seriously and absorbing everything KD taught him. He was able to stay on the floor defensively and even playmake on that side of the ball with terrific recoveries and surprising one on one moments. His offense helped the team in transition and he’s a player you can give the ball and he’ll do something to get a shot off.
What happened at the trade deadline?
The team was aggressive and decided to move on from players that weren’t contributing and namely bring in Royce O’Neale who is a rotational 3&D guy that any team would find minutes for.
C - Nurkic / Eubanks
F - Durant / Bol
F - Grayson / ONeale
G - Booker / Gordon
G - Beal
Other players
C - Azubuike (TW)
F - Thad Young / Ish Wainright (TW)
F - Roddy / Little
G - Damion Lee (injured) / Okogie
G - Isaiah Thomas / Saben Lee (TW)
How did I feel at the deadline?
Around this time I had a realization of hopelessness. I didn’t buy the idea that the team would put it together after so much inconsistency all year. While the moves were good and I appreciate the team moving on from guys that weren’t contributing, even with a player like ONeale that fits in anywhere, it’s hard to expect a team that was already trying to piece things together on the fly to figure it out in the back end of the season before the playoffs.
Especially contrasting the Suns to the younger western teams that have manhandled them like the Thunder, the proven contenders that are chugging along like the Nuggets, it was hard to see this team’s path to the title this year.
A key thing to mention and remember is throughout the season, the starting 5 of Beal, Booker, Grayson, KD, and Nurk was one of the best in the league. This was a positive indication that the Suns had..something.
How have the Suns closed the season?
The Suns had a very tough schedule to close the year and the inconsistency continued.
Booker would score 60 in a loss, then 20/10 in a win. Durant had more and more high field goal attempt low field goal make games. Eric Gordon went from being a great replacement starter in the beginning of the year to a zero on the floor. Eubanks got a curiously large amount of minutes and Bol a curiously small amount.
Some things about the team feel better. While turnovers are still a problem, there’s more frequent offensive cohesion, specifically with the team putting the ball in Beal’s hands more. Royce adds a dimension to the team on both sides of the ball, his malleability really helps add to the defense and clean up / organize possessions on offense.
Some things about the team feel just as bad. The pace is not consistently there. The possession battle gets lost. The three point shooting is inconsistent. The minutes from non-starter lineups look shaky.
Where do I place blame?
I don’t think there is any one person or one part of staff responsible. Suns fans have been finger pointing at Ishbia, James Jones, Vogel, Kevin Young, and to a lesser extent KD and Booker.
This next part I will look at a specific player or staff, evaluate, and draw some conclusion of how at fault they are.
Devin Booker
I’m a Devin Booker guy. Without him, it’s very unlikely I would still be a Suns fan. He made years of failure seem worth it, and surprised everyone by actually (to some extent) having the superteam come to him.
Despite my fandom of Booker as a basketball player, his personality and approach over recent years has rubbed me the wrong way.
There’s a level of accountability that Booker has been missing for years now. After the embarrassing playoff losses, he found a way to sneak away from the media and not answer any questions in tough moments, while maintaining his image as a deity in Arizona. He has never owned up to poor performance in big games and throughout this year has continued just being the same old Book. In part, I think this is just him keeping up appearances and portraying a certain image, and he’s a different guy in the locker room. However, some of the problems this team has had over the years have persisted, and the only constants have been James Jones and Devin Booker.
There’s something about winning in the NBA that Devin Booker doesn’t totally have figured out yet. And maybe he never will - there have been many elite scorers that had hall of fame careers that never figured it out. TMac, Vince, Melo, the list goes on. And Booker is already more of a playoff winner than all of them
I want to avoid rambling so will just present this as a general thought. I don’t get the impression that Booker wants to participate in an NBA offense and instead wants to be Luka or Harden. Booker is maybe the purest all around scorer in the league, but he’s not Luka or Harden. He really bogs down chunks of games by waiting for a pick, or catching the ball off a screen, then staring down a defender before passing out. While I don’t believe the Suns are running and executing a league best offensive scheme (and will discuss that more later), I also don’t think Booker is putting in the best effort of participating within that offense. There’s just a level of predictability with his game that often gets overshadowed by his skill as a scorer. And it’s not that he’s a bad passer (he’s probably the best or second best passer on the team), but he can really go through the motions and treat games or quarters or 3 minute stretches like a practice.
It’s alarming to me that I have the same complaints about the Suns pace this year as I did last year when the team was led by a version of Chris Paul that had to “sprint” up the court to avoid 8 second violations.
Defensively Booker hasn’t been who he had become in previous years. He hasn’t figured out how to balance that energy on both sides of the ball, and the reality is that he needs to be a very good defender for this team to be a real title contender.
How much blame does Booker deserve? A lot of it. He is supposed to be #1 and a franchise guy. Maybe he isn’t quite that.
Bear in mind, in making these criticisms, I still think he is the best “shooting guard” in the league. None of Mitchell, Brown, Edwards, etc can surpass him in that role until they’ve had year after year playoff success. (Brown has been more successful but obviously not #1)
Kevin Durant
I don’t really blame Kevin Durant. He’s had a terrific season on the court and always seems to be communicating. I think the narrative of him not being a leader is overblown.
There is probably some underlying issue of leadership between the big three and Vogel, however at the end of the day I’d rather have him on my team than Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.
Bradley Beal
Beal was injured a lot this year and while some people would say that’s to be expected, his injuries were all pretty random and not like re aggravating an old injury. Maybe that just means he’s unlucky and made of glass
He’s vocal and usually seems to be putting in good effort. The way he answers questions from the media and takes accountability not only for himself, but also for the big three as a whole, makes him a breath of fresh air
Defensive effort isn’t always there.
I don’t really blame Beal for much of anything. Maybe he just brings too much of the same to the table, but if he continues to adapt into a primary ball handler and distributor role, it could work. I guess.
Frank Vogel and the coaching staff
A lot of the criticism from Suns fans falls on the coaching staff, which is to be expected when a team isn’t meeting expectations. It’s easy to say “if you would have done X or played Y you would have won” because it’s a hypothetical.
The idea coming into the season was that Vogel was bringing in his guys (including Fizdale) to build a legit defense, while taking in offensive schemes from the highest paid assistant in the league Kevin Young - long time Suns assistant who has seemingly always been buddy buddy with Book.
The goal of the offense was to bring 2 to the ball, swing the ball, and find open looks, specifically lots of corner threes. If teams aren’t doubling then you can create advantageous matchups with 3 elite scorers that can score from anywhere.
This goal has translated to a slow pace and predictable offense. Some nights the ball is really flying around and guys are getting good looks, but when the team gets off rhythm they really get off rhythm. The less you score in transition and the more you turn the ball over, the more important each offensive possession is. It doesn’t feel like there is a plan B, C, or D with the Suns on offense.
I really hesitate to blame a coaching staff in a season marred with injuries and players that are trying to adapt into new and different roles. However there is just an uninspired level of strategy with this team. Additionally, there’s a lack of adapting that has been jarring considering how much this annoyed me with Monty.
While I do think it’s lazy and often incorrect to just say “the coaches rotations were bad tonight and that’s why the team lost”, it feels like there is a stubbornness in rotations
1) Grayson Allen has been terrific as a starter all year but since acquiring Royce, it seems like Grayson would be better suited off the bench. Royce isn’t as good a shooter, but he can hit open threes, and his ability to pass and defend multiple positions adds dimensions to the main rotation that Grayson doesn’t.
2) The team refuses to go small, despite having won several games by doing just that. I think this is partially to preserve KD and maybe they won’t be as stubborn in the playoffs, but the purpose of having players like Thad Young and Royce ONeale is to open up different lineup combinations.
3) Adding to the above, Frank has consistently given big minutes to Drew Eubanks, despite constantly having a negative impact on the court, specifically in the second half of the season. While Suns fans shit on him a bit too hard because his +/- is so horrendous, there have been too many stints of games where he comes on the floor and the team can’t do anything on either side of the ball [seemingly] until he’s off the court.
4) Bol Bol gets really inconsistent minutes. Vogel often cites this as a conditioning issue, however there have been games where he just doesn’t play for a half or a quarter. While Bol’s minutes shouldn’t be a key to success, the reality is that he’s been a reliable scorer off the bench when given opportunity. I feel like his confidence has wavered to close the season due to the further limitation of minutes.
5) The Suns have had so many chunks of games where the other team goes on a huge run and they can’t score. Vogel does not hesitate to call timeouts in these situations, which I always think is good. However he rarely makes substitutions outside of his usual pattern, which I always think is bad. If the players on the court have made the same mistakes for a whole season, you call a timeout and the mistake isn’t fixed, why are more variable substitutions not made? Why not at least try? Again, this is slightly better than Monty because he wouldn’t even call the timeout, but still, you can’t save every adjustment for the playoffs if you want to make the playoffs.
How much do I blame the coaching staff? I blame them less than the players as a whole and probably slightly less than the front office. I don’t know if they will get an opportunity next year to prove themselves.
James Jones
As mentioned before, James Jones in his GM role is one of the only constants the Suns have had aside from Booker over these years. You can’t argue with the fact that he has built better teams than many of his predecessors.
In some ways I look at the Suns and blame James Jones for what I’m looking at, but then when I evaluate the individual decisions I get it.
Would I trade KD for Mikal, Cam, and draft equity?
. I think that when a team like Phoenix has the opportunity to get KD, regardless of him being 35 years old, you take it. I do not think Mikal is a #2 option on a title team (doesn’t mean he’s not one of my favorite players).Would I trade Ayton for Nurk, Little, and Grayson?
. I do not think Ayton is invested in winning basketball games, and he certainly was not invested in winning basketball games in Phoenix. I cannot take criticism of this move seriously after watching that goof in the playoffs for years in a row. Would I trade Paul and Shamet for Beal (and Goodwin and some other guy)?
. I do not think Chris Paul can make it through the playoffs and I do not want to watch Landry Shamet play the sport of basketball.Do I believe that the Suns could have got more for Mikal, Cam, and draft equity? Not really.
Do I believe that the Suns could have got more for Ayton? LOL
Do I believe that the Suns could have got more for Paul? BIGGER LOL
All of his free agency decisions were for guys on minimums. Do I wish he went with someone else aside from the Yutas and KBDs of the world? Sure, but it’s a crapshoot to sign all the right minimum players.
You can certainly knock the lack of ball handling/passing, but it’s really hard to find someone to fill that role around two guards and KD. I wanted Pat Bev. DSJ would have been nice in hindsight. Maybe Saric could fit but he’s more frustrating to watch in the paint than Nurk or Eubanks. These are all just silly hypotheticals at the end of the day.
Do I blame James Jones?
, to an extent. However I don’t necessarily doubt his ability to build a championship winning team. The reality is his head might be on the chopping block.Mat Ishbia
It’s hard to blame the owner that is spending hundreds of millions on this team and has in many ways taken an opposite approach to Sarver (although might even be nosier on the bball side of things than Sarver..time will tell on that one).
I don’t really blame Mat for anything at this point, he wants the team to win and I do too. It will be interesting to see how his aggressive approach pans out.
What does the future hold?
As I write this, for all I know the future holds a 2024 NBA Championship. Again, LOL.
It’s hard to imagine anything happening to Booker, Beal, or Durant. The front office may wish something could happen for Beal, but that NTC is still a NTC. I don’t think there is a realistic path for a Beal trade anyways, unless I misunderstand the second apron rules he would need to be traded for someone of equal value, of which there are only like 10 players and 2 of them are already on the Suns. 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
Grayson is a tough decision. There is some sort of sign and trade possibility there maybe? Which may make sense as despite how good he’s been and how much I want the team to keep him, he’s not a perfect fit due to defensive limitations
Royce should be kept at all costs as he will be a salary that isn’t a minimum or maximum
Trading Nurk could ultimately make a lot of sense. Even though he fits in a lot of ways and been a bellwether for regular season wins, the lack of defense and lack of finishing/athleticism/lob threat around the rim makes him a tricky puzzle piece.
Only firing Vogel and/or James Jones and coming into next season with a slightly revamped group of role guys is a possible path, and championships have been won that way, but I will have a hard time buying that.
Was this season a failure?
I am writing this before the season has ended.
I would use the word disappointing. I thought I’d enjoy watching the Suns play basketball, and I just haven’t for the most part. I’ve lost faith in players I used to think more highly of. It feels like I watch an almost completely different group of people make the exact same mistakes as the previous group.
If next year is as ugly as this year has been, then this current season absolutely was a failure and a waste of time and money.
Did I really expect anything else?
Not really. This team fucking sucks. I don’t care.
