The Suns Main Issues and How to Fix

[The Bobster]

Well, it looks like they'll be going into next season with a better-balanced roster.

Here is the amount of their playing time they spent last year at the position each player is slotted into this year -

C Mark Williams (100%), Nick Richards (100%), Khaman Maluach
PF Ryan Dunn (51%), Oso Ighodaro (46%), Rasheer Fleming
SF Dillon Brooks (58%), Royce O'Neale (58%)
SG Devin Booker (45%), Grayson Allen (66%)
PG Jalen Green (27%), Bradley Beal (19%), Collin Gillespie (94%)

One thing that concerns to me are that Dunn and Ighodaro are both not your textbook PF, although they both spent quite a bit of time there. The shooting from both will have to be improved over what they showed their rookie season. Dunn is also a little under-sized for a PF, but I have no concerns about him being able to guard most forwards that he'll be matched up against.

The other concern is that Gillespie is the only natural PG so far. I was surprised to find that Green played over a quarter of his time there though. I suppose a lot of their success this year will bepend on how well they run their offense without a Chris Paul/Steve Nash/Kevin Johnson tradition point guard that they've always had when they were successful. (Even a Goran Dagic type would be nice right now).

They seem to have prioritized addressing the size disadvantage they've had the last few years, and Green will certainly give them a jolt of athleticism, bu8t other than Dunn, they could still use some improvent athletically throughout the roster.

[virtual9mm]

Run Oso at PG! Ok, will stop spamming the same message across multiple threads.

[Kryptonic]

Run Oso at PG! Ok, will stop spamming the same message across multiple threads.

Have you hit your head? lol jk

[Bucktastic365]

Run Oso at PG! Ok, will stop spamming the same message across multiple threads.

You and me both brother

[virtual9mm]

Run Oso at PG! Ok, will stop spamming the same message across multiple threads.

Have you hit your head? lol jk

My brain's on AI nowadays haha.

[virtual9mm]

Run Oso at PG! Ok, will stop spamming the same message across multiple threads.

You and me both brother

Yes, indeed!

[Bucktastic365]

Tell me; was Curry the REAL pg(initiator of offense) for the Warriors?
Or was it Draymond?

[Mori Chu]

Well, it looks like they'll be going into next season with a better-balanced roster.

Here is the amount of their playing time they spent last year at the position each player is slotted into this year -

C Mark Williams (100%), Nick Richards (100%), Khaman Maluach
PF Ryan Dunn (51%), Oso Ighodaro (46%), Rasheer Fleming
SF Dillon Brooks (58%), Royce O'Neale (58%)
SG Devin Booker (45%), Grayson Allen (66%)
PG Jalen Green (27%), Bradley Beal (19%), Collin Gillespie (94%)

I think you can't run Dunn as your starting PF. It's setting him up to fail, and I like Dunn too much to watch that. I think you start Dunn at SF and bring Brooks in as the bench SF. Or the opposite order if you must. Trade Royce for a 1st if you can get one, or a PG or 2nds otherwise.

I think I would want to see them try to get Fleming to a point where he could start at PF. That's pretty crazy and won't win us games, but I think we just need to prioritize developing our young guys. Start Oso in the meantime if you must. But we'll be thin on shooting if Oso is out there with a traditional C like Williams or Richards.

Some folks have said we should trade Nick Richards. I don't think we should do that. I doubt Maluach will be ready for real minutes this year, and Mark Williams has an extremely risky injury history; you can't rely on Richards and a barely-19 rookie as your entire C rotation if and when Williams goes down. I think you should just run Williams / Richards as your C rotation and give Maluach lots of time in the G-League and occasional call-up for garbage time minutes while he develops.

I really hate our guard rotation outside of Booker. They're all bad defenders, none of them is a natural distributor except maybe Gillespie. I would love to see the Suns work the phones to try to get rid of any of these guys and bring in at least one more natural pass-first guard. I have advocated for Westbrook in other threads. They have also talked about bringing back Tyus Jones. He was pretty painful last year, but at least he could initiate an offense when he didn't just bring the ball up and hand it to KD. Wouldn't mind keeping him if the price was right. My dream acquisition would be somebody like Denis Schroder who can pass and defend, or a guy like Trae Young who is an excellent passer even if he is a lousy defender.

Overall our roster is more "balanced," and I like most of the individual guys we have drafted / acquired, but I really don't see a good team here. We have gaping holes at PF and PG, we have a huge glut of $150m of SGs packed into our guard rotation, our guards are horrendous defenders so our perimeter D is going to stink, and our PFs outside of just-drafted Fleming can't shoot so defenses can pack it in on us. I think this is honestly one of the 2-3 worst teams in the West unless we make some kind of major shocking move.

[Superbone]

Well, it looks like they'll be going into next season with a better-balanced roster.

Here is the amount of their playing time they spent last year at the position each player is slotted into this year -

C Mark Williams (100%), Nick Richards (100%), Khaman Maluach
PF Ryan Dunn (51%), Oso Ighodaro (46%), Rasheer Fleming
SF Dillon Brooks (58%), Royce O'Neale (58%)
SG Devin Booker (45%), Grayson Allen (66%)
PG Jalen Green (27%), Bradley Beal (19%), Collin Gillespie (94%)

I think you can't run Dunn as your starting PF. It's setting him up to fail, and I like Dunn too much to watch that. I think you start Dunn at SF and bring Brooks in as the bench SF. Or the opposite order if you must. Trade Royce for a 1st if you can get one, or a PG or 2nds otherwise.

I think I would want to see them try to get Fleming to a point where he could start at PF. That's pretty crazy and won't win us games, but I think we just need to prioritize developing our young guys. Start Oso in the meantime if you must. But we'll be thin on shooting if Oso is out there with a traditional C like Williams or Richards.

Some folks have said we should trade Nick Richards. I don't think we should do that. I doubt Maluach will be ready for real minutes this year, and Mark Williams has an extremely risky injury history; you can't rely on Richards and a barely-19 rookie as your entire C rotation if and when Williams goes down. I think you should just run Williams / Richards as your C rotation and give Maluach lots of time in the G-League and occasional call-up for garbage time minutes while he develops.

I really hate our guard rotation outside of Booker. They're all bad defenders, none of them is a natural distributor except maybe Gillespie. I would love to see the Suns work the phones to try to get rid of any of these guys and bring in at least one more natural pass-first guard. I have advocated for Westbrook in other threads. They have also talked about bringing back Tyus Jones. He was pretty painful last year, but at least he could initiate an offense when he didn't just bring the ball up and hand it to KD. Wouldn't mind keeping him if the price was right. My dream acquisition would be somebody like Denis Schroder who can pass and defend, or a guy like Trae Young who is an excellent passer even if he is a lousy defender.

Overall our roster is more "balanced," and I like most of the individual guys we have drafted / acquired, but I really don't see a good team here. We have gaping holes at PF and PG, we have a huge glut of $150m of SGs packed into our guard rotation, our guards are horrendous defenders so our perimeter D is going to stink, and our PFs outside of just-drafted Fleming can't shoot so defenses can pack it in on us. I think this is honestly one of the 2-3 worst teams in the West unless we make some kind of major shocking move.

I appreciate your analysis, Marty, but it's still not our finished roster. The free agency period is next. Let's evaluate it again after everything is said and done.

[Split T]

OK I’m going through this exercise in my head to see how far away we are…the exercise is going through each player and deciding if they are good enough to be in a top 8 playoff rotation…. Also where I see them if they reach their ceiling(say like a 90th percentile outcome).

Devin Booker - Yes he’s obviously good enough to be in a top 8. I think he can be the 2nd best player with the ceiling of the best player in a playoff rotation.

Bradley Beal - Current version feels like maybe a 6th/7th man, but won’t happen here.

Jalen Green - He was bad last playoffs. I don’t think that version of him is a playoff caliber guy, but I do think if he adjusted a bit he could be a 6th/7th man and perhaps the potential to be a 3rd option.

Ryan Dunn - Don’t think the offense is there for him to be playable right now, but if he can be a Jae Crowder type shooter, I think he has 4th/5th starter potential.

Dillon Brooks - I think he makes a solid 6th/7th man, maybe a 5th starter in a pinch.

Royce O’Neale - 8th man

Grayson Allen - 7th man

Collin Gillespie - Not playable right now, but think he could be an 8th man.

Rasheer Fleming - Not right now, but he has 4th starter upside to me. Maybe even 3rd if the defense/shooting is good enough.

Mark Williams - Think if he can stay healthy he is a good 4th/5th starter with 3rd starter potential if the defense rises.

Khaman Maluach - Probably not at the moment, but I think he also could have 3rd/4th starter potential.

Oso Ighodaro - Likely never a playoff player unless he learns to shoot.

Koby Brea - Not at the moment. Maybe a 7th/8th man if the defense is passable.

So right now we’ve got

1. No one
2. Devin Booker
3. No one
4. No one
5. Mark Williams
6. Dillon Brooks. Bradley Beal or Jalen Green. Not both
7. Grayson Allen
8. Royce O’Neale
Not playable: Maluach, Dunn, Fleming, Oso, Gillespie, Brea

At their ceiling:

1. Devin Booker
2. No one
3. Jalen Green, Mark Williams, Khaman Maluach
4. Rasheer Fleming, Ryan Dunn
5. No one
6. Dillon Brooks
7. Grayson Allen
8. Collin Gillespie, Koby Brea, Royce O’Neale


Conclusions: Current team is probably 3 players short, including their best player, from being a contender.

Also, even accounting for some things that will certainly not all happen, a ceiling projection still leaves us without a 2nd star and will probably see its current at their ceiling guys(Brooks, Allen, Royce, Booker) fade a bit before the potential group is ready.

So we’ve got work to do. We made a nice start though. I think there’s a world in 2-3 years where we are starting Book/Dunn/Fleming/Maluach or Williams in a 2nd round playoff matchup. It’s going to need another ball handler/star though and I doubt that’s Jalen Green. That should be the next step though…finding that guy.

[virtual9mm]

We have some idea of Maluach's floor, assuming no injury, knock on wood. We have no clear idea of his ceiling.

Would it be heresy to say that some of his dunks remind me of those of a young, thinner, 18 year old Shaq? He still looks a bit doughy to me. Imagine him getting ripped like prime Garnett.

[ShelC]

Right now I'm hoping for a better FT shooting Clint Capela.

[Split T]

If we’re hoping, I’m hoping he lands somewhere between Rudy Gobert and Joel Embiid haha…

Capela with a jumpshot would be a great outcome though

[TOO]

Id be happy with Zubac.

[specialsauce]

LEBRON JAMES FOR BEAL OSO AND WHATEVER PICKS YOU OBTAIN FOR GRAYSON ALLEN. THIS IS THE WAY

Booker
Green
Brooks
James
Williams

Maluach, Fleming, Dunn and co can learn as the season goes

[mjwang92]

LEBRON JAMES FOR BEAL OSO AND WHATEVER PICKS YOU OBTAIN FOR GRAYSON ALLEN. THIS IS THE WAY

Booker
Green
Brooks
James
Williams

Maluach, Fleming, Dunn and co can learn as the season goes

Brooks and James on the same roster is interesting. Haven’t they got into a few times?

[Mori Chu]

OK I’m going through this exercise in my head to see how far away we are…the exercise is going through each player and deciding if they are good enough to be in a top 8 playoff rotation…. Also where I see them if they reach their ceiling(say like a 90th percentile outcome).

(...)

Conclusions: Current team is probably 3 players short, including their best player, from being a contender.

I think this is a pretty good and fair summary. I hope it will help some others to see how far away we are. This team is likely not going to make the playoffs or even the play-in. If some of our rookies hit and are potential stars in the making, we may be set up to make the play-in or playoffs in a year or two, with good health and more savvy signings / draftings. But we are not even close to where we need to be.

[JJ Slim]

We have some idea of Maluach's floor, assuming no injury, knock on wood. We have no clear idea of his ceiling.

Would it be heresy to say that some of his dunks remind me of those of a young, thinner, 18 year old Shaq? He still looks a bit doughy to me. Imagine him getting ripped like prime Garnett.

From the moment we drafted him he reminded me of Dikembe Mutombo

[Superbone]

Right now I'm hoping for a better FT shooting Clint Capela.

I think that's a good starting point.

[Superbone]

OK I’m going through this exercise in my head to see how far away we are…the exercise is going through each player and deciding if they are good enough to be in a top 8 playoff rotation…. Also where I see them if they reach their ceiling(say like a 90th percentile outcome).

(...)

Conclusions: Current team is probably 3 players short, including their best player, from being a contender.

I think this is a pretty good and fair summary. I hope it will help some others to see how far away we are. This team is likely not going to make the playoffs or even the play-in. If some of our rookies hit and are potential stars in the making, we may be set up to make the play-in or playoffs in a year or two, with good health and more savvy signings / draftings. But we are not even close to where we need to be.

That's your opinions. Nobody knows. First, let's finish free agency and trades. Next, we can watch and see how they perform on the court next year. Then, we can judge your opinions and see if you were close or way off.