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No. 10: Phoenix Suns
Last Season: 39-43
10th place in West; missed playoffs
Once again the Phoenix Suns have overhauled their roster, leaving it on the fringes of the Western Conference playoff picture. They took a huge step backward from the feel-good 2013-14 season with a 2014-15 campaign that imploded, complete with infighting and displeasure with roles. The hope this season is having roles very clearly defined will lead to a postseason berth. They've already tied the franchise record for longest playoff drought. To avoid establishing a new infamous mark, as well as to clean up issues on and off the court, they'll have to turn to the oldest player on the roster -- their marquee free agent Tyson Chandler.
The moment the Suns came to terms with Eric Bledsoe on the eve of training camp, they created the NBA version of a quarterback controversy between him, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas. Despite Phoenix's claim of "we meant to do that," it was hard to believe that given Thomas' very public declaration in Sacramento that he desired to be a starting guard in the league. Predictably, all three guards were unhappy with the marginalization of their roles on the offensive end and ultimately led to the departures of Dragic and Thomas at the trade deadline.
In return, Phoenix acquired from Milwaukee Brandon Knight, who was enjoying a career-best start in a contract year. Unfortunately, Knight's tenure in Phoenix was marred with injury, robbing the Suns of the opportunity to get a good feel on his chemistry with Bledsoe.
Elsewhere, the lack of a strong locker room presence led to the rise in influence of the Morris twins, who, buoyed off their own offseason extensions, dominated the locker room with their personality, as well as on the court as the two often kept the ball between themselves and eschewed their teammates. Add a mercurial Gerald Green, also in a contract year, and the combination of unhappiness with roles, shots and minutes all led to an eventual implosion, as the Suns reverted to a sub-.500 team.
During the draft, the Suns found themselves in a familiar position -- at the bottom of the lottery. The Suns snagged 18-year-old smooth shooting Devin Booker from Kentucky. In free agency, Phoenix set its sights on free agent LaMarcus Aldridge, but to lure him to Phoenix, they moved quickly to secure Chandler to a four-year, $52 million deal. Then to free up cap space to sign Aldridge, the Suns traded away several players, including Marcus Morris. However, Aldridge chose to sign with the Spurs, leaving Phoenix with a twice-disgruntled Markieff Morris for the attempt to replace him, and for the jettisoning of his twin brother.
Beyond that, the Suns retained restricted free agent Knight with a five year, $70 million deal (the same deal Bledsoe received a year before), and added free agents Mirza Teletovic, Ronnie Price and Sonny Weems, who spent the last few seasons playing in Europe.
For the Suns to snap a franchise-record streak of lottery appearances, they'll turn to the oldest player on their roster, Tyson Chandler, to provide stability on court defensively and stability off court in the locker room. Chandler's chatty ways on defense have drawn praise, with head coach Jeff Hornacek comparing him to E.F. Hutton. "When he talks, people listen," Hornacek said. "He's got that experience." The expectation is that his communication will be contagious and encourage the other players to keep the chatter going, assisting the team in defending on a string and helping the helper.
Beyond Chandler's impact in the way the Suns play, the hope is that he will also provide a steadying influence for a locker room that is entering the season with a big elephant in the room: namely, the status of starting power forward Markieff Morris, who demanded a trade in the offseason. While Morris backed off his hardline stance on media day, privately the belief is he still has a desire to wear a different team's jersey by the end of the season. Chandler plays a key part in making sure the locker room remains united as the Suns attempt to make a serious push for a playoff berth. "Sometimes, organizations and players go through hiccups like this," he said. "I think all of this can be worked out and I think it will be worked out."
To have a voice in the locker room who isn't a coach or management to deliver this sort of message is invaluable. -- Amin Elhassan
Projected Real Plus-Minus for starters
Brandon Knight, PG: -1.5
Eric Bledsoe, SG: +4.8
P.J. Tucker, SF: -0.4
Markieff Morris, PF: +1.7
Tyson Chandler, C: +3.1
Scouting reports on every player on the Suns
Using shot data from 2014-15 and projected starters, Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry ranks each team's offensive efficiency based on square footage.
Newcomer Tyson Chandler might be aging (33), but he still rakes from inside, shooting 86 percent of his shots from within five feet and hitting on a ridiculous 71 percent of them.
Knight is the only Suns starter to pose any sort of threat from outside (projected 36.4 percent). SCHOENE ranks the Suns' 3-point attack 21st this season.
All About The Space: 12th (433 square feet of above-average offense)
To identify players who stretch offenses the most, ESPN Stats & Information created the Kyle Korver Effect -- a metric on a 1-100 scale, factoring in 3PT%, 3-point attempt rate (percentage of total shots that come from 3-point range) and influence on teammate FG%.
Korver Effect: Bledsoe (73.7) is the Suns' best spacer, but he's really only above average from one spot, the left-wing 3, where he shoots a solid 38.2 percent.
Without a doubt, Morris will be the most important storyline this season, as his level of play will dictate just how good of a trade haul the Suns can get for him. At this stage, it would be fairly surprising if Morris is on the roster at the end of the season.
Despite missing out on Aldridge, the addition of Chandler should pay dividends. The acrimony of 2014-15 could have been avoided had there been a strong veteran presence in the locker room, and Chandler is expected to be that sort of culture-setting person who can ensure there wont be a repeat, especially in light of the disgruntled Morris. Additionally, Chandler will be counted on to anchor and improve a below-average defense as a bona fide rim protector and elite rebounder.
Ultimately, Phoenix is one of several teams that will jockey for playoff position, along with Utah, Dallas, and perhaps Sacramento. In an unforgiving Western Conference, the Suns can ill afford to be distracted with conflicting personal agendas, and must come out of the gate with a developed identity and a sense of unity if they hope to avoid a sixth consecutive trip to the NBA draft lottery next May.
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