Can the Phoenix Suns bounce back after a disappointing first-round exit? (Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)
2024-25 NBA Season Preview: Phoenix Suns
We are less than two weeks away from the start of the 2024-25 NBA Season, which begins on Oct. 22! Up until then, we will be previewing all 30 NBA teams! Today, we are diving into the Phoenix Suns, led by Kevin Durant , Devin Booker and Bradley Beal . Let’s dive into it, shall we?
What happened last year?
The Suns continued to spend, completing a blockbuster trade for Bradley Beal, who had a no-trade clause, in exchange for Chris Paul . They also flipped Deandre Ayton in a three-team Damian Lillard swap that brought back starting center Jusuf Nurkic . They didn’t immediately mesh, going 19-18 over their first 37 games. Though they were able to rattle off 16 wins over their next 22 games and ended the season 16 games above .500. I was bullish on them heading into the postseason, but that’s where they crumbled. The Minnesota Timberwolves swept Phoenix out of their own building in six games, resulting in the firing of head coach Frank Vogel after just one season.
Offseason Recap:
To begin matters, they hired Mike Budenholzer, an excellent regular-season coach who’s had his share of playoff shortcomings over the years. Given how hamstrung the Suns were by being several million above the second apron, they did quality work retaining and adding key rotation players. One of my favorite moves of the offseason was adding Tyus Jones to a minimum deal–which nobody thought would have been possible at the start of free agency. They also bought low on Monte Morris , who struggled to make a consistent impact after dealing with back-and-leg injuries in Detroit. They also retained Royce O’Neale and Josh Okogie –even though the latter’s price tag was a little hefty for me–while drafting defensive-minded wing Ryan Dunn and do-it-all big Oso Ighodaro . 3-and-D wing Jalen Bridges , who went undrafted, could end up being a steal, too.
Projected Starting 5:
Tyus Jones, G – Jones signed on the minimum in late July after getting traded to the lowly Wizards last offseason. That’s a bargain in every conceivable way. He’s going to make life much easier for Booker, Beal and Durant plus the rest of that offense. This is a great spot for him to regenerate his value, as he enters his age-28 season.
Devin Booker, G – Booker is coming off his second All-NBA honor in three years and was phenomenal in the Olympics.
Bradley Beal, G – Beal shared the de-facto point guard role with Booker last season, averaging 18.2 points and 5.0 assists in 53 games. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets relegated to the bench at some point so it’s easier to stagger minutes. But for now, pencil him in as a starter.
Kevin Durant, F – Durant finished top-10 in MVP voting last year, averaging 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He parlayed his bounce-back 2023-24 campaign into an even better showing in the Olympics. While he may be entering his age-36 season, he looks as good as ever–should he stay healthy.
Jusuf Nurkic, C – I think Nurkic slightly outplayed my relatively low expectations for him heading into last season, especially since he stayed healthy. Though he still got relentlessly hunted and couldn’t finish anything around the rim to save his life.
Grayson Allen , G – Allen led the NBA in 3-point percentage last season, knocking down 46.1 percent of his 5.9 triple tries per game–over six percentage points better than his career average (.395) entering the season.
Royce O’Neale, F – The Suns did good work trading and re-signing O’Neale to a reasonable price tag. He’s a great 3-and-D wing who can give Phoenix 20-25 quality minutes nightly.
Monte Morris, G – Morris is the second true point guard the team added this offseason. He wasn’t as productive as I expected he would be after getting traded to Detroit, but I think the 6-foot-2 point guard will bounce back in a smaller bench role in 2024-25.
Oso Ighodaro, F/C – He was one of the smartest bigs in the draft and will do all the little things well. I like his long-term prospects here.
Biggest X-Factor: Guard Play
The balance of Booker, Beal and Durant simply didn’t work when it was all said and done. Their fit is good-not-great, but they did a good job enhancing their possible fit by adding Jones and Morris, who will be able to put them in more favorable positions more often than not. The ball is still going to be dominated by those three players, but not exclusively–nor should it be. Guard play typically wins in high school and college basketball, but in this isolated scenario, it could help buoy Phoenix into potentially a top-4 team in the West.
Season Projection:
I have the Phoenix Suns finishing as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
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