After entering the season with the third-shortest odds to win an NBA Championship at just +600, the Phoenix Suns’ season has come to an end.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Phoenix officially suffered a first-round sweep by the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, making it the most disappointing season in the team’s history.
General Manager James Jones and the Suns now have difficult off-season decisions ahead of them.
It is clear that the current coaching staff and roster can not compete for a championship. So the question comes up, should the Phoenix Suns completely blow up the roster and commit to a rebuild?
Given their cap and draft pick situations, cleaning house and trading the majority of the roster may be the franchise’s best option.
The Suns have $194M committed to these seven players next season. The 2nd apron is $189.5M.
After this year's draft, they will not own their own 1st or 2nd-round pick until 2031. They owe Bradley Beal $161M over the next three seasons.
Untenable would be putting it lightly. pic.twitter.com/hADtzXuJrL
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) April 29, 2024
Deciding to commit almost 80% of their cap space to three players makes it nearly impossible to bring in quality role players to surround their stars with.
Bradley Beal’s contract is regarded as one of the worst in the league and no team would take it on without getting something in return or Phoenix taking on a large part of it.
After this year, the team does not possess its own draft pick until 2031, making them unable to build around their stars with players on rookie deals.
Despite Kevin Durant and Devin Booker combining for 82 points on incredible efficiency in Game 4, the Suns were unable to overcome Minnesota’s dominance.
“When we reflect on the season like I’ve been saying, we just were inconsistent with our play and the style of play that we wanted,” Durant said after suffering just the second sweep of his career.
Points tonight:
82 — Devin Booker and Kevin Durant
34 — Rest of the Suns pic.twitter.com/sBMF2KBqWo— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 29, 2024
There have already been talks of the team dismissing first-year head coach Frank Vogel. While that could be a step in the right direction, it’s not easy to see this roster succeeding under any coach.
After being favored entering the series, it was clear that Phoenix was outmatched and had no business being a top-six seed in the West.
The Phoenix Suns could try to make internal changes and run it back – – but that could just delay the inevitable rebuild that is bound to happen sooner rather than later.
Bradley Beal’s Playoff Collapse Raises Questions for Suns’ Future
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Saleh Awwad is a writer/reporter covering the Arizona State Sun Devils, Phoenix High School Sports, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @SalehAwwad_
