The Phoenix Suns may have undergone the starkest transformation among all the teams in the NBA this offseason. Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and head coach Mike Budenholzer are gone. And in their place come Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams, and former Cavs assistant Jordan Ott.
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Changes are there, yes. But there isn’t a lot of faith in the NBA community that the new-look Suns will be able to contend right away. In the Western Conference, only the Utah Jazz have a lower win total according to FanDuel, while the Pelicans, who won just 21 games last year, are at the same 31.5 mark as Phoenix.
It remains to be seen how this new roster will perform. But one thing is for sure: The Suns were right to blow up what they had, because it was not working. Last season was the first time in five years that they didn’t make the playoffs.
Devin Booker is the one major holdout from last year’s team. He and Durant were the two alphas before. Now it’s up to him to be the top dog. The Suns are in China to take on the Nets in a preseason game on Friday, and the star guard spoke about his new role. “This past summer was too long for my liking without being in the playoffs, so I’m eager to get back to it,” he said.
“I’m excited, obviously we’ve had some changes with the roster, we’ve had some changes with the coaches, so I think it’s a big responsibility for me to be a leader, continue being a leader, and get everybody on the same page so we can start this thing off the right way,” added Booker, who spent last summer as part of Team USA’s gold medal-winning Olympic team.
The experience in Paris was incredible. But Booker is grateful that this year he’s had more time to get close with his Suns teammates, especially since so much has changed. “We’re enjoying ourselves,” he said of the time spent with his teammates in China.
“It’s also good to get the team away from our normal comfort zone and get on the road together before we start the season. I think it builds a lot of camaraderie, and we can start building chemistry. I’m not saying there [are] distractions at home, but we’re all here together, and we’re good that there are experiences outside of basketball to do together,” elaborated Booker.
The Suns may not have the star power they once did, but this is a team with a lot of untapped potential.
Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks came over from the Rockets in the KD trade. Green still has room to grow his game, while Brooks brings a toughness that the Suns lacked last year. Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach should provide more rim protection.
And Booker is the unquestioned leader of the team. So it’ll be up to him to have his best season yet while helping everyone learn their roles and fit into the scheme of things. Expectations will start low, so this could be a fun team to watch grow as the season progresses.
