What moves do the Suns need to make? Are they headed in the right direction?
Our NBA Insiders preview Phoenix's 2016-17 season.
1. The Suns are moving in what direction?
Chad Ford, ESPN Insider: The right one. They've finally embraced rebuilding, and the additions of Devin Booker, Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender give them a very solid foundation to put in place next to veterans like Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight.
Jeremias Engelmann, ESPN Insider: From where they are (23 wins last season, their fewest in 47 years), the only way is up! All kidding aside, the Goran Dragic deal for two future Miami first-round picks (one scantily protected, one entirely unprotected) is looking better by the minute. The only problem is they'll have to wait until 2021 for the latter.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: It continues to feel like the Suns are moving more backward than forward, albeit with a kind of sideways trajectory. There are some young pieces on this team to be admired -- Booker and Alex Len, possibly this year's lottery picks in Bender and Chriss.
But the three best players on the roster are veterans who aren't likely to get much better and none of them are top-25 players. The Suns still have a couple of long seasons in front of them before this all comes into focus.
Neil Johnson, ESPN Analytics: In the short term, neither up nor down. They should do about as well as they did last year. In the long term, it's hard to lean one way or the other until we see more from their young players.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: A consistent one, after flip-flopping from rebuilding to trying to contend too quickly in the summer of 2014. There's always the risk that owner Robert Sarver's impatience undermines long-term thinking, but Phoenix's moves over the past 12 months have been focused more on supporting a young core than on trying to win now.
2. What's the biggest source of hope for the Suns this season?
Ford: Both Booker and Chriss have showed enormous potential this preseason. If both of them can hit their ceilings, the Suns will be in a very good place.
Engelmann: That their young players -- Devin Booker, Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss -- might develop into stars. I don't have high hopes for Archie Goodwin, who ranked dead last in real plus-minus (RPM) last season.
Booker, on the other hand, is expected by many to take the next step into being an elite scorer. I can see Chriss being a productive player, as well, although it may be two years down the line.
Doolittle: Bender is really the key to any possibility of the Suns skipping ahead a step or two in the rebuilding process, but he's so raw that I'm not sure that's a source of hope now.
Booker has been explosive during the preseason so let's go with that. If he emerges from 2016-17 as a star in the making, then the Suns will have something to build from and can push Bender's development late in the season and over the summer.
Johnson: The biggest source of hope would be that Booker and Chriss are 19 years old. The Suns should also hope veterans Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa bring back warm memories for fans while teaching the young guys how to be professionals.
Pelton: Booker's mature offensive game. It's hard to think of many 19-year-old wings as skilled as Booker; most of the successful one-and-done players of this ilk have relied more on athleticism than shooting ability. Beyond that, Booker's patient play with the ball is exceptionally precocious.
3. Project the future for the backcourt of Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis.
Ford: It's very talented, but I doubt it stays together through the All-Star break. Booker is the future. Either Bledsoe or Knight -- whichever can fetch the higher price -- will eventually be moved.
Engelmann: I don't think Ulis, a second round pick, or Knight (RPM of -2.0) are starter material in the NBA. Thus, Bledsoe and Booker should be the starting backcourt duo of the future, although this scenario has a chance of being derailed by Bledsoe's recurring knee issues.
Doolittle: If Booker is the future star then I'm not sure he and Bledsoe coexist over the long term. I love Knight as a third guard and don't love Ulis as a starter because of defensive concerns -- but I do like him as a spark-plug type.
So I'd see Booker paired with a 3-and-D guy to be named later -- or maybe Archie Goodwin -- with Knight and Ulis coming off the bench and Bledsoe elsewhere once his trade value is reestablished.
Johnson: While I want to be optimistic about Tyler Ulis and his skill set, we still have to acknowledge his small size (weight as much as height). But given that the team is rebuilding, ideally he'll have lots of opportunity to develop into a rotation player.
Pelton: I'd expect Knight to be traded at some point in the next nine months. While he has the skills to be an effective combo guard off the bench, it doesn't seem like he'll be happy in that role, which is also something of a luxury for a team this early in the building cycle.
4. What trade would make the most sense for the Suns?
Ford: I think moving Knight makes the most sense. He's not a true point guard and will be unhappy playing the role of sixth man. And while his contract seemed ridiculous a year ago, it no longer looks terrible when compared to the deals given out this past summer. I think he'd make a nice long-term fit on the Kings in return for an expiring contract and a young piece or two.
Doolittle: As mentioned, I'd deal Bledsoe if he can become a sell-high candidate, and I continue to be puzzled about why the Suns would want a player of Tyson Chandler's years, or why he would want to stay given the presence of Len. They could trade either of those guys for a younger wing, where they really need help. While I like Knight, you have to listen to credible offers on him as well.
Johnson: Phoenix should position itself to get one of the top PGs in next year's draft. There is a market inefficiency for point guards, so they could leverage that to get some solid foundational pieces in return for Eric Bledsoe or Brandon Knight.
For instance, they could try to move Bledsoe -- who has a connection with LeBron -- to Cleveland, where he would boost the Cavs given their lack of depth and talent at guard. Maybe a third team can make this a reality.
Engelmann: Since they won't be competing for a playoff spot, they might as well deal some veterans for more picks. Chandler, whose deal looked crazy when it was signed but looks more reasonable after this summer's league-wide spending spree, is candidate No. 1.
Pelton: Following from my last answer, the question is what the Suns would want for Knight. I think a 3-and-D wing player with size should be a priority. P.J. Tucker will be 32 by the time he hits unrestricted free agency and doesn't figure to be part of Phoenix's future. While T.J. Warren has shown scoring promise, he's not the kind of defender the Suns would ideally have next to Booker on the wing.
5. What are the biggest issues for the Suns to solve this season?
Johnson: The Suns need to figure out who belongs in the long-term plan based on what they see this season. Given they have all of their draft picks -- plus two more coming from Miami -- and no enormous contracts, they have plenty of room to navigate the franchise in the direction they want.
Ford: Patience. Sarver has had a hard time staying the course. They have a nice young core, but it's going to take time for those players to develop. They have to resist the urge to give some of that away in return for a low playoff berth.
If they really invest in the development of Booker, Chriss and Bender (as well as players like Len and Warren), I think it will pay off in the long-term.
Engelmann: If they want to win games -- I don't know to what degree that's actually the case given the opportunity in the next draft -- they have to fix their turnover problem: The Suns ranked 30th in turnover percentage last season, which is part of the reason why they ranked in the bottom five in opponent effective field-goal percentage and points per possession. Bledsoe (3.7 TO/36), Knight (3.4) and Goodwin (3.2) were the main culprits.
Doolittle: The biggest thing is to find the balance between keeping rotation spots open for developing players and not abandoning all veteran leadership on the team. Chandler, Dudley, Barbosa, Knight and Bledsoe are quality guys, but do you need them all? Make sure the kids are getting their minutes and transition away from the veterans as much as you can.
Pelton: Figuring out how Bender and Chriss coexist. In fairness, that might be an issue to solve over the next two seasons, since Bender may not play all that much as the league's youngest rookie. At some point, however, the Suns will have to determine whether the two natural power forwards can play together, and if so, should it be with one at center or one at small forward.