The Phoenix Suns seem to be firmly placed in a rebuild. Over the past few seasons, the Suns have accumulated strong, young talent through the draft. Last year, Devin Booker surprised everyone with his great play in his rookie season. Now, the Suns will be hoping for more of the same from Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss.
Despite the infusion of young talent, however, the Suns want to be competitive in the near future. They still have Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight coming back. With a veteran backcourt that is equal parts talented and unproven, Phoenix will want to make some major improvements.
They did not do that this summer. The Suns’ biggest free agent acquisition was the return of Jared Dudley. The rookies help but will ultimately lead to very little extra on-court success.
While this offseason was a largely quiet one for Phoenix, don’t expect the next one to be the same. According to Suns GM Ryan McDonough, the team expects to be a lot more busy come July 2017.
Following from McDonough’s interview with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (and transcribed by Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk):
That’s been one of our frustrations this summer. We were kind of on the sideline for some of the marquee free agents. But as you know, Woj, it wasn’t the deepest free agent class.
Potentially, it’s a very strong free agent class next year. And one of the things we’ve done with our contracts is we’ve lined them up to have max cap space next year without really touching the core of our roster.
I think and I hope at this time next year, we’re major players in free agency. Because as you mentioned, the Phoenix Suns are a destination franchise.
McDonough is certainly correct about this year’s free agency class being weak. But next year’s is not necessarily much stronger. Russell Westbrook signed an extension in OKC and LeBron James’ contract with the Cavs is longer than expected. Blake Griffin reportedly has no interest in leaving the Clippers. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant will likely stay on their super team. Chris Paul could be a free agent but is he looking at a team like the Suns at this stage of his career?
That said, there are some other intriguing names down the list. Gordon Hayward could be a great fit on the wing next to the Suns’ backcourt. Paul Millsap, Danilo Gallinari, and Serge Ibaka could all beef up the Suns’ frontcourt if they are not yet sold on their rookies.
Phoenix can have 30 million or perhaps even more in cap space next summer. They could make significant improvements in free agency if they wish to do so.
Of course, free agency is a two-way street. A young team with a much-maligned ownership group is not the most intriguing destination for a free agent. The Suns could strike out again next summer, but it won’t be for a lack of Ryan McDonough not trying.
