Why this year may have been lightning in a bottle for the Suns

The Phoenix Suns were one of the feel-good stories of the NBA season. After a lackluster year with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in the 2024-25 campaign, the Suns missed the play-in tournament entirely. 

Regardless, their offseason moves paid off, with new head coach Jordan Ott and Dillon Brooks (who they got back in the Durant trade) transforming their culture, especially on the defensive end of the floor. 

Getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder shouldn't change the fact that this year was an undeniable success for the Suns. While this is true, the playoffs showed just how far the Suns are from genuine contention, and the unfortunate reality is that this season might have been the best possible outcome and something that they're incapable of replicating. 

I hate to be overly negative here, but the Suns face some undeniable obstacles not just to take the next step, but to even return to the playoffs. 

The Suns need to improve but it's unclear how they can do so

The first major hurdle is that the Suns have just two tradable first-round picks at their disposal. One of which is the least favorable of Minnesota's and Cleveland's first-round pick next season, an asset that has minimal value. Thus, making a needle-moving trade is difficult. 

With all due respect to Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, the Suns need a high-end second option next to Devin Booker. Their 25th-ranked clutch time offense is where this problem showed up. 

Given their lack of draft capital, though, they will have to settle for more of a lateral move if they hope to trade one of Green or Brooks. I could see the logic of trading one of these players for a physical power forward, which remains a glaring flaw. Still, the chances of finding someone of this archetype who can provide consistent secondary creation in a deal centered around Green or Brooks are slim. 

To this end, it's more likely that the Suns will "run it back" with Green and Brooks next to Booker. A move around the margin centered around Grayson Allen and/or Royce O'Neale could be the avenue the Suns are forced to go down.  That's not the worst thing in the world. Booker and Green worked better than I expected in the somewhat limited time they played together. 

The likelihood of this being a championship-level trio, though, is slim to none. And since they play in the West, I don't even think it's all that likely this is a perennial playoff team. This is yet another hurdle Phoenix faces. 

The Portland Trail Blazers are adding Damian Lillard to a team that was just the No. 7 seed and has more high-end talent. The Utah Jazz are finally committing to fielding a competitive team around Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., Keyonte George and an impressive all-around squad. With Cooper Flagg ascending to stardom and a healthy roster around him, the Dallas Mavericks could shoot up the standings. And what if the Golden State Warriors trade for a star?  

You get the point, the West will improve, and the Suns could be left behind. Frankly, a third of the West tanking certainly helped the Suns put together this unexpectedly successful season.

The Suns will have to make some tough roster decisions in free agency

The Suns will have some decisions to make with their free agents this summer. Three key rotational players (Mark Williams, Collin Gillespie, and Jordan Goodwin) are set to hit the open market. Per Bobby Marks' projections, the Suns are $17.4 million below the luxury tax and $24.9 million below the first tax apron. 

That's a far better position than they found themselves in entering last summer. Still, Bradley Beal's stretched contract hurts their flexibility to some extent.

When it's all said and done, the Suns might have to pick between Gillespie and Williams if they want to stay under the aprons and field an adequate amount of depth. Their other option would be to make a salary-clearing trade, or they can able to sign both players to cheaper deals than I'm projecting.

Gillespie had a breakout season, giving the Suns some much-needed perimeter shot creation and playmaking juice. Considering this and Williams extensive injury history, it's clear who should be the priority. 

Unless the Suns can retain Williams on an ultra team-friendly deal, I would feel comfortable letting him walk. This is especially the case since Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach are waiting for bigger roles. 

Williams was a massive boon to the Suns' rim protection, though. His absence was felt during the Suns' first-round series. Likewise, Maluach is still incredibly raw, and there could be some growing pains if he's unleashed next season. After investing a top-10 pick in him, though, he'll have to play real minutes at some point. 

All in all, letting Williams walk would help the Suns' future and make re-signing Gillespie easier, but it could also cause them to regress in the immediate future. As hinted at earlier, I don't feel confident about the Suns replicating their success even if they generally keep the same core.

The Devin Booker question

I didn't want to make this whole article about Booker's future. By all accounts, he's an incredibly loyal player and has stayed with Phoenix through numerous lows. As such, I don't think it's fair to say Booker demanding a trade is imminent. 

However, this year marks the third straight year of the Suns not advancing past the first-round. At some point, it's not unreasonable to suggest that Booker will get fed up and ask out. 

Given their cap and draft situation, the Suns will have to practice patience to take the next leap, and Booker's patience could eventually run out. He signed a two-year, $145 million maximum extension last summer, so there's no financial advantage to staying put. 

Right now, Booker's future remains pure speculation, but I'd argue it's a reasonable degree of speculation. 

Suns fans, I take no joy in raining on your parade. I genuinely hope I'm wrong, as I was about your team before the season. Nevertheless, I think the Suns face a long road to becoming true contenders, and perhaps this year is as good as it gets for the foreseeable future. 

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