Sun Sets on So-So Suns Season 20-21

The Phoenix Suns were a revolving door throughout the 20-21 season and if you don�t believe me, go to rosters, Phoenix Suns, transactions, 2020-21 season. Over the course of the season GM Laddas and his Suns went from contending to rebuilding to buying, selling and eventually rebuilding again� I think. At certain points in the year the Suns looked a playoff threat, especially when the duo of Lonzo Ball and Demar Derozan were firing on all cylinders, however couldn�t find the support cast to carry the squad to the play-ins as they fell short in 11^th place.

 

Season Record 36-46 (11^th in the East)

When reflecting upon the season with a neat whisky in hand, GM laddas stared at the bottom of the glass. �It was a clean slate last season after the stepien transgressions and have a clear conscience now. I was very excited to build around Derozan and Lonzo but unfortunately that all went to s**t when they were signed and traded in the NBA. As a duo they showed what could've been as we were almost in a play-in spot after starting the season 3-24 I believe, may have been 3-26.�

Laddas is not only one of the leagues most beloved figures but also one of its most competitive GMs. He uses trading to constantly improve and reshape his roster while always marginally improving the perceived �value� on his squads. Throughout the 2020-21 season, he rostered 36 different players as he decided on what avenue to take his suns through the season. The constant change and movement took a toll on the record, in the engine room it takes a great deal of refining to get a winning team on the court. This was ultimately the tale of the season as the Suns finished promisingly after floundering through much of the early season. 

 

Season Highlight � Talent Accumulation

In an up-and-down season, the Suns were incredibly active in the trade office. Over the course of the year, they managed to turn an aging list of 30 somethings into the third youngest roster in the league. Amazingly, some of the best moves for this franchise occurred when their hand was forced. At he conclusion of the regular season Demar Derozan reached a sign and trade with the NBA Bulls, literally days later the Suns other franchise star, Lonzo Ball, also requested a sign and trade to the NBA Bulls. This would mean the Suns would be forced into trading both Ball and Derozan at the conclusion of the year.

With no other choice, GM Laddas picked up the phone and worked the lines. The deals are so convoluted and difficult to follow, some are likely still to be completed, but the Suns went from a roster featuring Derozan, Lonzo Ball and a bunch mixed pieces to a roster with multiple high-end prospects.

Key young players:
Thomas Bryant
Wendell Carter Jr
Coby White
Talen Horton-Tucker
Saddiq Bey
Darius Bazley
Jaden McDaniels
Bol Bol
Cole Anthony
Josh Christopher

 

 

When asked about the direction of the franchise, GM Laddas replied with a twinkle in the eye, �Getting back our 22 pick for this season was huge and I really like the Carter Jr, Saddiq Bey, Cole Anthony and Darius Bazley additions. I�m most excited about Talen Horton-Tucker and Jaden Mcdaniels. Jokes are made of Talen because he plays for the Lakers and we turned down Lowry for him yada yada yada, but he's a talented kid with a rare physical profile. Not a jump out of the gym guy but can be sneaky/shifty quick and can finish with power. He�s developing a shot, post-game and his handle is getting tighter. Add to that his potentially dominant defensive physical profile (strong as an ox and as long as a giraffe) and he has a good amount of 2-way potential at just 20 years old. Jaden is one of my favourite young players and I had him scouted all the way from his senior year in high school. I didn't give a shit about college, which worked perfectly because he slipped. He's already a dominant defender, currently holding opponents to about 26% from the field in matchups and has a growing offensive skillset. Unfortunately, we won't see much of his offence as he plays 5th or 6th fiddle on wolves atm but his defense is that good, it gets him 30+ minutes a night already.�

 

Franchise MVP- DeMar Derozan
30 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists

DeMar was �the guy� in Phoenix this year. When they were winning, DeMar was responsible for the success. GM Laddas did everything in his power to try to find a support cast for his star but there just wasn�t enough talent in Phoenix to carry the load and make the play-ins. Derozan carried the fate of the Suns on a night-to-night basis and proved himself to be a franchise star by putting up averages of 30 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He was an elite talent all season and will be bitterly missed in Phoenix next season.

 

Season Lowlight- Playoffs or Bust

GM Laddas plays to win, not to stamp collect. He is one of the most active in the league and is always pushing to build a winning roster. Unfortunately, he will look back at the season as a wasted opportunity. There was a chance for the Suns to sneak into the playoffs but they weren�t able to capitalise as they fell two wins short of the play-in tournament. If they had have finished in the 10 seed, the Suns would�ve needed to win against the Warriors and then the Rockets to secure the 8^th seed, which was very achievable. For the Suns, 2020-21 will always be a season of �what-ifs�. 

 

Trades

When it came to trades in the NSL, Laddas was Cinderella and always accepted an invite to the ball. I mean, going through the transaction page and working out exactly who went where and who was ushered on to the next destination was like running a tax audit on a local pop-up massage business. It�s impossible to determine the legitimacy of each deal and likely there�s something illegal going on.

 

Best Trades

There are so many good and bad deals the Suns made but so many of the deals are tied up in the next deal, meaning the bad ones are likely good and the good deals are probably great. Breaking down many of Laddas deals is also subjective at this point as he went through a selling period, meaning his assets in return will show their value in one-to-five years. Here are some of my favourite Laddas trades.

Suns receive: Tobias Harris
Suns trade: Malik Monk and Nassir Little

Using cap space expertly, the Suns brought in supporting talent to put around Derozan. Harris, though not a 2k stud was on paper far superior to the package Laddas traded to the then waterbird Lakers. Harris was at the time rated 86 overall and looked to be a great asset for the Suns.

 

Suns receive: Lonzo Ball and Evan Fournier
Suns trade: Andre Drummond and Elijah Hughes

This deal was made as the playoffs approached and Dummond�s future was uncertain as he had not committed with the Lakers and would eventually move to Philly. Drummond was the best player in the deal and helped his new team win a title but Laddas added a good young piece to his squad and a good scorer for a guy who was on the way out the door. Savvy move.

 

Suns receive: Aaron Gordon, Kevon Looney, Coby White and 2x second rounders
Suns trade: Harrison Barnes, Dorian Finney-Smith, Goga Bitadze and 2021 first round pick (pick 9)

Another blockbuster deal with multiple moving assets, this trade brought in the best player of the deal and the best prospect to the suns. Pick 9 could turn out to be the leveller in the deal as Sengun looks a quality prospect in Houston this year, but the pieces for Phoenix looked really solid in this three-team blockbuster.

 

(A few of the many) Notable Moves

Suns receive: Thomas Bryant and Saddiq Bey
Suns trade: Lonzo Ball, Naz Reid and 2x second rounders

At the conclusion of the season this deal was agreed to when Lonzo opted to sign and trade. Even with his hand forced, Laddas found a good return for a player he really valued. Bey is a great prospect and Bryant does most of the things you want your Center to do. It looks a win-win.

 

Suns receive: Talen Horton-Tucker, Jalen Brunsen, Goga Bitadze and Isaiah Hartenstein
Suns trade: Tyrese Haliburton, Deividas Sirvydis, Vincent Poirier and Jahmius Ramsey

This deal is subjective and will ultimately show the winner/loser in 1-3 years. GM Laddas absolutely loves Horton-Tucker and GM Vitty absolutely loves Haliburton. Looking at this deal as an impartial party, it looks like a good return for the Suns for a rookie who will likely be a high-level player and potential all-star during his career. Laddas off-loaded two guys who are no longer in the league and received a high upside guy (THT), a starter in Brunsen and a prospect Center who could make a terrific 2k big in 2 years� time. It�s a good return for a young guy with a very bright future. Win-win.

 

Worst Trades

Suns receive: Danilo Gallinari, Luke Kennard and Wendell Carter Jr
Suns trade: DeMar Derozan, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and 2025 first round pick

It�s never great when you give up the best player in the deal (regardless of circumstances such as sign and trade) but shipping off a first round pick while down grading in talent stings. Carter Jr looks promising (on another roster now?) and Danilo will be a scorer for a couple more years but DeMar is a 2k stud and will contribute to winning in a big way. 

Future Outlook

From the GM, �Long term outlook I�m hoping a couple of guys can just make a leap, give something of a good foundation to build on. I have high hopes for the 2 mentioned above and I think Bey, Coby, Cole, Carter Jr, Bazley will be good or better over the next few years (Bey especially). We have our eyes on about 6 guys in this coming draft and feel any would add potential star power to what we're already building here. It will take a couple of seasons but after losing my best players cause of sign and trade and investing in all these 20, 21- and 22-year olds. I think we'd be doing an injustice to ourselves to not at least see it out. I'm excited to watch this team grow to be honest.�

 

2021-22 Expected Standing

 

2021-22 Expected record: 15-67
2021-22 Expected standing: 13^th in the West