NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett thinks people are overlooking the Phoenix Suns heading into the 2024-25 season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Garnett said last season that the Suns should go out and get a true point guard like Tyus Jones, who they ended up signing to a veteran-minimum contract this offseason. On the latest Ticket & The Truth Podcast with Paul Pierce, Garnett praised this move and also said he is a fan of Phoenix hiring Mike Budenholzer as its next head coach.
“They also got Budenholzer, he done won, and then they got a point guard, which is what I really love,” Garnett said.
Garnett added that he believes Devin Booker and Kevin Durant playing together on Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics will bode well for them in the upcoming season.
“They got two superstars that played this summer (in the Olympics). That means something, that means they in rhythm. Phoenix (is) going to be better than what most think. They’re going to be plus-47 (wins) to me,” Garnett said.
With a brand new team in the 2023-24 season and injuries once again stacking up, the Suns still finished with a 49-33 record, good for the sixth seed in the West, but were dishearteningly swept in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Phoenix’s Big 3 of Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal only played in 41 regular season games together.
“That was a so-called ‘terrible year’ for them,” Garnett said. “I’m telling you, man. Devin Booker can be an MVP. Beal, he can be an MVP. These guys, they got it, bro, and you got KD (on top of that).”
KG wants people to stop sleeping on the Phoenix Suns
“Devin Booker can be an MVP, you know what I’m sayin’. Beal, he can be an MVP. These guys, they got it, bro.”
(Via @allthesmokeprod / h/t @CGBBURNER )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 28, 2024
With Durant, Booker and Beal all among the top-10 highest paid players in the NBA, the Suns have the first $400 million payroll in NBA history after taxes for the 2024-25 season, while other teams who did even better than Phoenix last season were able to make more roster moves this offseason because they had less restrictions.
Pierce did not agree with Garnett, as he thinks there was a passing of the torch to younger teams last season, as evidenced by Phoenix being swept by the Timberwolves.
“They got swept, dog,” Pierce said. “I don’t want to hear nothing about Phoenix, I don’t want to hear nothing about the Lakers and I don’t want to hear nothing about Golden State. Right now, it’s all about Minnesota, Dallas, Denver and then we got to go to these young teams: Houston, they going to be better; San Antonio, they going to be better; Memphis, they going to make us remember who they was.
“The turn over is right now. New Orleans, a healthy Zion, it’s going to be something over there. And then, Sacramento … I appreciate all them guys’ careers, they teams and they legacies, but the turn over done happened last year, and we saw that.”
Garnett said he needs to see it first to believe Pierce.
“Don’t be fanning the oven at me. Open up the oven and let me see it,” Garnett responded.
On paper, the 2024-25 season is set to bring fierce competition among the Western Conference, and the Suns will look to find their place in the dogfight behind their three stars and new head coach.
Can continuity help Phoenix improve? Can a new head coach and point guard improve the Suns’ offensive lapses? How will they fare defensively? Will they be healthy for a full season? Can they keep up with the younger teams in the Western Conference?
These are all questions the Suns will find themselves having to answer throughout next season.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
