Are The Phoenix Suns Facing An Inevitable Rebuild?
Believe it or not, Devin Booker has been in the league since 2015. Having totaled nine seasons of experience now, he’s set to turn 28 this year during his 10th season.
Booker joined the team in a deep, destitute rebuild, and has been the team’s primary source of hope for almost a decade now. However, things may be approaching an apex point.
The Chris Paul Experiment
The Suns have made several attempts now at assembling a competitive team in the stout Western Conference, adding names like Chris Paul in free agency, and drafting some viable secondary options like Mikal Bridges, DeAndre Ayton, and more.
Despite putting together a couple of successful regular seasons and a one-seed placement, the Suns eventually decided to move on from the aging CP3.
The Kevin Durant Experiment
In their most recent effort, the team traded for a frustrated, now journeyman Kevin Durant after a failed superteam experiment with the now-rebuilding Brooklyn Nets. They gave up key pieces like the aforementioned Bridges and Cam Johnson alongside a whopping four first-round picks and a 2028 first-round pick swap.
After having finished first in the Western Conference in 2021-2022, the Suns proceeded to regress to the fourth seed after giving up all of those assets for KD — and, fair enough, it takes some time to build team chemistry.
Ultimately though, the team faced the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in the first round and struggled to overcome their lack of depth against one of the league’s deepest rosters.
The Bradley Beal Experiment
Last summer, the team decided to make a move with the Wizards for Bradley Beal. Beal was a certified scoring superstar in his own right, and it was long overdue for the Wizards to move on, having kept him on an island for far too long.
It makes sense why the Suns would covet such a player, and on the surface, it looks like a great idea to add yet another offensive juggernaut to a team that already had KD and Book. Look a little closer though, and it becomes clear that this trade was very, very redundant.
Bradley Beal and Devin Booker are arguably two of the most similar players in the league. They’re two guards who can score at will, handle the ball well, and even serve as certified playmakers when called upon — in fact, DB was pretty much the point guard last season alongside Beal.
But the reality is this; adding a clone to your starting five does little to nothing in terms of added value, layering, differentiation, or adding dimensions to your team. The Suns' main issues have been defense and depth, and this trade (which they gave up quite a lot for), accomplished none of those things.
What Now?
At this point, the Suns are in very deep on this core of offensive stars considering what they’ve given up to acquire them. Unfortunately, it’s looking like this is extremely unlikely to shape into a championship-caliber team anytime soon, especially considering KD’s prime clock is ticking, and the Western Conference’s current competitors.
If we’re being honest in our assessment, offloading the current talent that they have while the players are still valuable might be the most prudent, wise thing that the franchise could do right now — or at least, trading something in exchange for some depth.
If the team continues to ride it out with their current core, lackluster depth, and lack of future assets, they’re likely facing a much tougher, longer rebuild in the near future.
What Are Their Options, Realistically?
Option 1 — Trade Bradley Beal to a contending team that’s willing to pay reasonably for an aging high-profile scorer.
Option 2 — Trade KD and Bradley Beal to contenders for a large haul, commit to Booker for the next 5-7 years, and build from there. In no situation would it make sense to only trade KD. Durant and Booker are a much better pairing than Beal and Booker.
Option 3 — Trade all three stars, blow it up completely, and start over with what’s likely to be a massive haul of assets.
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