The Phoenix Suns’ front office got to work as soon as the team lost to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the postseason. Getting Kevin Durant and Devin Booker some more help, the Suns managed to acquire a third All-Star in Bradley Beal. Charles Barkley recently made an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast and claimed that a fourth player would be the team’s “most important piece” for the 2023-24 season. According to Barkley, this ‘player’ that he selected ahead of the three All-Stars, could help the franchise overcome the reigning Champions as the best team in the West.
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Earlier, this past campaign, the Phoenix Suns pulled off a blockbuster trade, acquiring Kevin Durant in exchange for Chris Paul and a few role players. However, Chuck has been beefing with KD for the past few years. And, it seems, as though, Sir Charles forgot about his quarrel when he welcomed Durant to “his Suns”. From hating the Slim Reaper for teaming up with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors to cheering his move to Phoenix, Barkley’s action did seem a bit hypocritical.
Charles Barkley reveals the “most important piece” for the Suns
On Bill Simmons’ podcast episode, Simmons and Charles Barkley had an in-depth discussion about the Phoenix Suns’ upcoming campaign. According to Barkley, the Suns join the Denver Nuggets as the favorites to win the title.
“They probably are the co-favorite with the Nuggets,” Barkley said.
Further, the TNT analyst snubbed KD, D-Book, and Beal, to name Deandre Ayton as the “most important piece” on the Suns’ squad. Now, the Suns are one of the most lethal teams, offensively, ever constructed. However, they clearly are much weaker on the defensive end of the floor.
According to The Round Mound of Rebound, Ayton is going to be the go-to guy on the other end of the floor. Taking rebounds and blocking shots, the 25-year-old big man will have to take responsibility for doing the scrappy work.
“It’s still to me going to come down to the Ayton piece because to me he is the most important piece. What I mean by that is, he gon have to do all the dirty work… But you gonna have to get some defense and rebound and that’s all gonna come down to Ayton cause he’s the only guy that gonna have size.
KD, Booker, Beal, they’re gonna be option 1, 2, 3. And he (Ayton) gonna have to go out there and gonna have to be a rebounding machine, he gonna have to be a shot blocker to a certain degree,” Barkley said.
The 6-foot-11 Center had a spectacular campaign last year. Averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds per game, Ayton was slightly subpar on defense. However, the 25-year-old will need to improve tremendously if the Arizona side wants to emerge victoriously.
The Phoenix Suns are favorites in the 2024 NBA Championship
The Phoenix Suns have had a busy offseason. Following the early postseason exit, the franchise replaced Frank Vogel as their head coach. After acquiring Bradley Beal, the Western Conference powerhouse also added Keita Bates-Diop, Yuta Watanabe, Eric Gordon, and Bol Bol to their roster.
Clearly, the Suns are one of the best teams in the NBA. While a few analysts believe that the reigning Champs could defend their title, a huge majority of enthusiasts are backing the Phoenix Suns to enter the upcoming season as legit title contenders.
