This feels like a mistake for the Suns ⬇️
Heading into the offseason after an incredibly underwhelming end to the 2023-24 NBA season, change felt like an inevitability for the Phoenix Suns.
Sure, the team wasn’t going to blow up their Big 3, not yet anyway, as they’ve simply invested too many assets in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to pull the plug on their pairing with Devin Booker after less than a year, but they were going to try to upgrade their roster wherever they could, even with a limited asset pool from which to get it done.
First came the additions of Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, a pair of defensive-minded wing/forwards who looked solid in Summer League and may end up logging snaps for the team this forthcoming season in limited action. Then the Suns, who are way over the salary cap, decided to largely take care of their own in free agency, adding just two veteran players to their rotation in Mason Plumlee and Monte Morris on value contracts in addition to re-signing Royce O’Neale and Josh Okogie on very trade-able contracts.
And yet, if there’s one element of the team that the Suns lost but weren’t able to replace just yet is Eric Gordon, the 3-and-D guard who can play one through three and has an ability to play both on and off-ball depending on what a team wants and who he is sharing the court with, who opted out of his contract to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now granted, Gordon did have one of the worst seasons of his career last year, averaging just 11 points per game on 9.1 shots per game, but even in a lesser role, Gordon was still a useful player for the Suns, hitting 37.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and adding to his stat line with 1.8 rebounds and two assists per game as a 27.8 minutes-per-game player. Even as the rotation shrunk come playoff time, Godron still played an important role for the Suns, with his minutes elevating to 29.5 even if his points per game decreased to 8.0.
With Gordon gone, the Suns do have some options to keep their spacing optimal around Durant, Booker, and Beal should they want to load up on outside options, with Grayson Allen coming off of his most efficient season as an outside shooter while Royce O’Neale was equally able to put up quality looks on a half dozen attempts per game, but with Gordon gone, the Paces do find themselves in need of some help in the shooting department.
Who knows, maybe the Suns will focus on putting defenders around their Big 3 and hope that their All-Stars will be able to get enough buckets themselves to make for a more balanced mix between offense and defense, but for now, it’s worth wondering if Mat Ishbia’s front office shouldn’t be on the phone looking for someone to jack up 3s as a rotational player, especially as the truly great opens left on the open market like Gary Trent start to dry up.
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Eric Gordon reveals why he left the Suns for the Sixers
Would it have been nice to see Gordon return to Phoenix for the 2024-25 NBA season? Sure thing, his shooting, defense, shot creation, and veteran largess would have been incredibly useful for a team with serious playoff aspirations right now, but when you consider everything Philadelphia presented to the journeyman guard, it’s easy to see why he signed where he did, as he told reporters shortly after signing.
“Obviously, when you have a chance to play for a good, world-renowned organization with a good coaching staff and a potentially good team, I mean, it was almost like a no-brainer,” Gordon explained to reporters via Sixerswire. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Daryl Morey from back in Houston. I know he’s religious about winning. So I thought when you look at the roster, we have a pretty good roster, so it’s very intriguing to be here.”
While working alongside Morey once more makes plenty of sense for Gordon, as the Sixers’ President of Basketball Operations has long held a soft spot in his heart for former members of the Rockets, he alone wasn’t the only selling point for Gordon, as playing for Nick Nurse was high on his list too.
“Nick’s won—he’s won a championship,” Gordon noted. “He’s gonna mix defenses. He’s a guy that kind of does whatever it takes to win and so, of course, you want a coach that’s got the players back and also with his junk defenses—that means you’re doing everything possible. You’re at least trying and showing it and he’s good at a lot of things. So, I think with the type of team we have, we just got to be able to fit in and jell.”
At 35 years old, Gordon only has so much time left in the NBA before time inevitably takes its toll, and he has to call it a career. If he believes playing for Philly gives him his best chance to get to that level, then so be it, even if the Suns would have been wise to add another veteran guard/forward to help pad out their rotation.