The offseason is now in the rearview mirror, and the Phoenix Suns have received generally strong reception for the moves that have been made – from hiring NBA champion Mike Budenholzer as head coach to actually utilizing the draft assets they possessed.
Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report was also a big fan of what Phoenix did, to the point of handing out a B+ grade on the offseason report cards for all 30 teams.
“With almost no flexibility to speak of, the Phoenix Suns somehow got marginally better this offseason, upgrading at both backup point guard with Monte Morris and backup center with Mason Plumlee.
“Without the cap space necessary to meaningfully replace them, the Suns were somewhat forced into re-signing Royce O’Neale and Josh Okogie at price points they probably would’t have gotten elsewhere.
“Those moves and the accompanying luxury-tax penalties have made this roster cost over $400 million for 2024-25 alone. That’s a lot for a team that was just swept in the first round, but barring a breakup of the big-name trio, it was almost unavoidable.
“If the three highest-paid players are mostly healthy and surrounded by the slightly better supporting cast, Phoenix could get back into the title hunt. Last season, it was plus-7.5 points per 100 possessions when Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were all on the floor.”Bailey on the Suns’ offseason
The Suns, according to most in the media, did a quality job of relaying limited assets to find ways to rebuild the roster in a more suitable fashion for its stars.
Morris is a clear and uncontested upgrade for a squad that didn’t have a true backup PG across last season. Mason Plumlee brings more stability to the basketball court compared to Drew Eubanks.
Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, and Jalen Bridges give the franchise an injection of youth along with tangible skillsets that could lead to fruitful pro careers.
Although it appears they will be unable to make any significant trades with Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, and a 2031 first-round pick, they appear to have done as quality of a job as conceivable.
This isn’t a guaranteed success, as we saw the Suns make mistake after mistake in the 2023 offseason, but the moves made this time around feel more calculated, more purposeful.
The front office pretty clearly saw the error of its ways – hopefully the approach this time around bears more fruitful results for the franchise.