WHAT NOW?? Phoenix is in Drastic Shape

Dude…

As the dead season approaches, we have a new segment called WHAT NOW?? What now is where The Dudes look at teams that need a massive change. Whether it’s football, basketball, or baseball, The Dudes will have it covered. Trust me, we shouldn’t be the new GM, but our insight might help fix a dying team into a successful one!! First up, the Phoenix Suns

WHAT NOW? Phoenix in trouble:  The Suns were just swept by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Karl- Anthony Towns was an offensive problem that the Suns couldn’t decipher. Rudy Gobert locked down the interior, as Jaden McDaniels shut down D Book on the outside. The outside shooting of Phoenix was TERRIBLE! I mean awful. This team was built around chucking the three ball at least 30 times, if not 40. For the majority of this very short series, the Suns averaged 15 three point attempts. For a team built around shooting the three ball, that’s simply not enough attempts. The Suns had 3 massive problems and they couldn’t figure out how to solve them. The two problems were no bench, no point guard, and no fire.

The Sun’s bench problems was one of the biggest problems with this team. If you even want to call it a bench. They averaged just over 4 points per game in the series. You want to know how much the T-Wolves bench averaged over 20!! That’s a huge difference. The best player to come off the bench was Grayson Allen. He played ok, but if the first guy off your bench is a shooting guard when you have 2 shooting guards Then the next player off the bench. Eric Gordon. Guess what?? HE’S A SHOOTING GUARD TOO!! Why can’t the Suns find anyone else other then shooting guards?? It was clear when the bench came in, the T-Wolves GAPPED the Suns. If the Suns would’ve grabbed a decent point guard in Free Agency (or traded for one instead of Beal), then they would’ve been more productive. If the Suns shooters have no one to create for them, how is this team supposed to be effective? It wasn’t. Not having a true point guard really hurt the Suns as no one wanted to give up their shots to take the role. Beal tried to, but failed miserably. Finally, it felt like after game 2, the series was over. Devin Booker hadn’t looked worse all year. KD was getting locked up by Jaden McDaniels, and Bradley Beal was non-existent. Again and Again. This team threw in the towel after game 2. The only competitive game was game 4 when the series was already over. 

The tactical flaws and poor GM decisions are what caused this super team to eventually evaporate like a dying star. Now, it’s the off season, where we can reevaluate and become better. Here is what I would do. One, trade either Beal or KD. I know, trading one of your Big 3 puts them back in the same position as the year before. However, adding draft capital and maybe a key role player or 2 would be way better than other season of people shooting and not passing. A role player who is more of a facilitator and distributor would be very beneficial. Someone like Colby White and Kyle Lowery are on teams that could use a revamp in talent and giving up a few first round draft picks to help the Suns gain back some of their future in drafting players. Or, you could go sign D’Angelo Russell, Tyus Jones, or even Markelle Fultz to be the #1 point. This leaves room for Beal to be traded for someone actually worth a shit. In my non-professional opinion, let’s trade Beal and get some future back. They don’t have a first round draft pick til 2030. This trio maybe has 1 good year left, I would rather trade Beal to allow the team to be built around KD and D Book and to give us some future hope. Without these things, there is no future in Phoenix… only disappointment.