The Suns Main Issues and How to Fix

[Superbone]

What’s wrong?
Team construction & application.
Ability to play defence both on the perimeter and also against any real size at the 4, or the 5 when Nurk sits.
Bench depth at the 5 and 4.
Lack of a point guard who can actually control a game, especially in the 4th as this experiment clearly isn’t working as well as they thought.


How do we fix it??

Yes, the point guard thing. It sure is looking like that was a mistake to go without a traditional PG. I thought it might work but it clearly hasn't. I'd rather that the Big 3 could be the Big 3 and all play to their strengths. I hate it when Book is looking to distribute and not always on the attack. And enough said with all of KDs turnovers. Book too for that matter.

[In2ition]

What else do we have to talk about? We all see the problems, it can't all be about just the last game or the next game.

Yep. And we can revisit it again after the playoffs but it doesn't look good. We will see what happens. I have a hard time believing this team will just "turn it on" when the playoffs start.

I agree.

[Nodack]

We bet the farm on this team. How to fix it? I don’t see a quick fix. It either succeeds in the playoffs or it fails and they go home. From what I have been seeing it looks like an early exit. I sure hope I’m wrong. If it is an early exit then they have to decide what to do. I think they either give it another year to see if they can, like was mentioned in Miami, get it together or panic and retool and build a new team from the bottom up without any draft picks. I suppose we could sell off all our assets for draft picks and start over again and maybe in several years we become the Suns team in the bubble, get a star and be in the hunt… until we decide that team isn’t going to make it all the way and we trade all our upcoming guys for proven stars and we repeat this cycle forever.

[AmareIsGod]

Shitty coach. No true PG. It's pretty simple.

[Superbone]

We bet the farm on this team. How to fix it? I don’t see a quick fix. It either succeeds in the playoffs or it fails and they go home. From what I have been seeing it looks like an early exit. I sure hope I’m wrong. If it is an early exit then they have to decide what to do. I think they either give it another year to see if they can, like was mentioned in Miami, get it together or panic and retool and build a new team from the bottom up without any draft picks. I suppose we could sell off all our assets for draft picks and start over again and maybe in several years we become the Suns team in the bubble, get a star and be in the hunt… until we decide that team isn’t going to make it all the way and we trade all our upcoming guys for proven stars and we repeat this cycle forever.

Sounds fun.

[Superbone]

Shitty coach. No true PG. It's pretty simple.

Cool. Easy fixes then.

[LazarusLong]

One small fix is to changeout Eric Gordon for Damian Lee.
I don't think EG is as bad as some around here portray: he's a streaky shooter who is either on or cold as the Arctic.
Damian is younger, taller and at least attempts to play defense, so I'm banking on him being a net positive.

[rhylek]

With the season ending, there's too many things I don't understand. Are they playing mindgames by looking careless and unorganized?
At times, we can go 20-0. But we can either go 0-20.
We definitely need to take the ball out of Book, because Point Book is not the alpha we need.
We definitely need to take the ball out of KD, because he is a turnover machine.
Give it to Beal or Allen.
Play Bol more.
You know after 30 seconds of play if Eubanks gonna suck or be useful. If he's Ewbanks, play Young.
Stop throwing court-width passes, that's either a steal or in the stands.
Shoot a lot more threes.
Fine Nurkic everytime he stops playing to pout at a referee.

In the offseason, get a starting point guard. That's our culture, plus we don't have the right mix to play without one.
Seems we're stuck with Beal. Book is untouchable at least one more year. Like someone said, if we can get something valuable back, trade KD to OKC.
Try to keep at least two of Bol, O'Neale and Allen.
Everyone else can go.
Unless they were hiding the real gameplan, let Kevin Young go coach another team. For the most paid assistant and an offensive expert, the result on the floor is very disappointing. Use the money on scouting team and get not-washed, hungry players to surround our stars.

BTW, I think the downfall of the suns was Willie Green leaving.

[specialsauce]

What’s wrong?
Team construction & application.
Ability to play defence both on the perimeter and also against any real size at the 4, or the 5 when Nurk sits.
Bench depth at the 5 and 4.
Lack of a point guard who can actually control a game, especially in the 4th as this experiment clearly isn’t working as well as they thought.


How do we fix it??

Yes, the point guard thing. It sure is looking like that was a mistake to go without a traditional PG. I thought it might work but it clearly hasn't. I'd rather that the Big 3 could be the Big 3 and all play to their strengths. I hate it when Book is looking to distribute and not always on the attack. And enough said with all of KDs turnovers. Book too for that matter.

This team isn't struggling because of a lack of a PG. This team is struggling because of the lack of heart

[Superbone]

What’s wrong?
Team construction & application.
Ability to play defence both on the perimeter and also against any real size at the 4, or the 5 when Nurk sits.
Bench depth at the 5 and 4.
Lack of a point guard who can actually control a game, especially in the 4th as this experiment clearly isn’t working as well as they thought.


How do we fix it??

Yes, the point guard thing. It sure is looking like that was a mistake to go without a traditional PG. I thought it might work but it clearly hasn't. I'd rather that the Big 3 could be the Big 3 and all play to their strengths. I hate it when Book is looking to distribute and not always on the attack. And enough said with all of KDs turnovers. Book too for that matter.

This team isn't struggling because of a lack of a PG. This team is struggling because of the lack of heart

I think it's both.

[Split T]

I would phrase it that we aren’t struggling for lack of playmaking…there’s plenty of playmaking talent on the court…but we are lacking the heart and direction a pg can bring. I think that’s where we miss CP3 more than his playmaking.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Ishbia tried to compartmentalize the roster and staff too much.

Too many chefs in the kitchen who can excel at one technique but don't know how to make it work in a whole meal.

[Uncle_Gene]

My answer pretty simple…


Isiah Thomas as GM and Coach.

Hell yeah, brotha. Let’s fucking go.

As coach ? Okay.

As general manager ? NO !

He did good in Toronto drafting Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, and Tracy McGrady. But in New York, he did a $h!t job for the Knicks.

[Carno]

I still don't think the lack of point guard is the problem. Suns could not and cannot get a star point guard...period. Not gonna happen. You all seem to want a young Chris Paul. He doesn't exist. A middling PG isn't going to help. I keep asking those of you who keep lamenting the lack of point guard how the Suns can get one that will make a difference, and not one single lamenter has offered a viable candidate. If the Suns had a point guard, he would only bring the ball up and pass to Booker or Durant. Then he would sit in the corner. The PG won't matter when KD is passing (in traffic) to a cutting Eubanks 8 times in a row. (For the record, I was vocal about keeping Cam Payne, who is about the best PG the Suns could have hoped for. Do any of you wish the Suns were starting Cam Payne instead of Grayson Allen?)

"The problem," imo, is more related to Saucy's take that the team lacks heart, though this is too simplistic. The team doesn't play hard and makes stupid decisions (particularly the stars). I also think more player movement and screens would help. A PG doesn't fix that.

What may help is again continuity. Breaking the team up just means starting over. I would rather give this team it's window of at least 2 more years before rebuilding. Why start early?

[Split T]

I’ve never been on the we need a pg train either…I think a backup pg could’ve been helpful, but we have bigger problems.

Also I heard Gambo didn’t shoot down the possibility of the suns moving Booker if we fail again next year…this summer is going to be very important.

[Nodack]

Moving Booker would be admitting they failed miserably. We drafted Booker, Bridges, Johnson, Ayton, picked up CP3 and went to a championship. Then since we lost, we decided we should bail on them and pull the Shaq move and dump the up and coming guys for proven stars. We dumped everyone except Booker and now we are talking about dumping Booker? Fail all around.

[Cap]

And then we can rebuild through the draft… Oh, wait.

[Split T]

Moving Booker would be admitting they failed miserably. We drafted Booker, Bridges, Johnson, Ayton, picked up CP3 and went to a championship. Then since we lost, we decided we should bail on them and pull the Shaq move and dump the up and coming guys for proven stars. We dumped everyone except Booker and now we are talking about dumping Booker? Fail all around.

Oh it definitely is admitting you failed…but you also did fail, so wouldn’t it make sense to admit it? Would it be better to pretend you didn’t fail?

I want Booker to play his entire career in Phoenix, but if we can’t even get out of the first round and have no hope for competing…it kinda makes sense to move him. He’d return a massive haul.

[Nodack]

It shows a total lack of patience. We built through the draft and got some amazing talent, went to the Championship and then decided the team would never go further and retooled. Everyone loved Bridges. He was a great team player. He was a great defender and could shoot the three. We got a decent return on him and then he went on to being the leading scorer on his new team. That bubble team grew up as players together and developed a bond. Great chemistry.

We almost got there before and traded Marion for an aging Shaq hoping that would push us over the top.
Fail

We tried this huge gamble of getting three superstars and mortgaged the future for now. They haven’t developed a lot of chemistry. Would another year solidify them or would it just be the same? I think they have gambled a lot to bring about this team. I think breaking it up after they lose in the playoffs would be just another knee jerk reaction that doesn’t bring us any closer to a Championship.

[Split T]

We are talking about doing this after failing next year by the way…there is not really room to be patient around a Booker/KD core. KD is 35. If we went out with a whimper 3 years of KD/Booker, do you think being patient is the key?