Regular Season Record: 32-50 (11th Seed)

 

Highlight:

 

The inevitable 'Master Class' on display. Once more exhibited by none other then Ole' Mate Laddas. Yes, yes… I know this topical gold mine of a take, has been dusted off and wheeled out from time to time. Personally, one of my shortlisted 'Hard truths' of this great league; Laddas is arguably the best we've EVER seen, in orchestrating the quickest rebuilds imaginable… It's something I tend to always have fun hashing out, whenever I take finger to key. An easy 4-500 words to get this show started… Patching together past sentiments and clever quips.

 

That being said It still blows my mind and continues to impress me, regardless of the fact I've now seen it countless times. Hardly just Two seasons ago, Laddas was staring down the barrel of another franchise primed to crater. A roster with the likes of Simons, Reaves, WCJ, Grayson Allen, Eric Gordon, Jalen Smith, Bey, Bazley, THT, Reddish, Poku, Knox etc… Admittedly, not exactly the absolute 'Baron Wasteland' you might've envisioned but definitely not a line up that screams 'High Upside' or 'Potential'. If there's one thing we can all agree on, Laddas must have been the only one that saw any glimpse of hope on the horizon.

 

There's been a handful of moves made by the Suns since the end of last Season up until now. So obviously the team looks a little different from where we last left them… Said moves aside, a chain of well thought out, opportunistic deals made throughout last season, slowly shaped the roster into something that started to seem like a strong foundation to build off going forward.

 

In a nutshell the Suns saw a myriad of names cycle through their doors. Each it seemed, a pretty clear upgrade on the last. Ultimately guys like RJ/Ivey/McDaniels/Dort/Buddy/Pat Williams/Isiah Jackson and so on, were lucky enough for at least a brief time, to don the vibrant orange/black colorways we all know and love. Shortly after this, they managed to further establish themselves as legitimate, 'up and coming' contenders. Now apparent to all around the league as they continued to shuffled the deck. Eventually landing themselves a real 'Super-Star' Duo in KAT and Dame.

 

Lowlight:

 

Another season in the books with a shade over 30 wins. It’s all about the long game at the moment for the Suns but I’m not exactly sure how much longer Laddas can put up with this losing basketball. He isn’t the type to be content with play in basketball. 

 

Best trade:

 

Lavine 

 

FOR

 

RJ/Ivey/Bagley

 

To get two great young prospects in RJ and Ivey for Lavine is a massive win. These guys eventually were moved on to fuel the Suns rebuild even further. Whether he had kept them or not it’s still a massive win for a guy in Lavine whose trade stock was at its lowest. 

 

Worst trade:

 

Heurter

 

FOR

 

Bojan

 

At the end of the day this trade isn’t going to be what makes or breaks the Suns rebuild or success short term. But Big Red Kev is still a handy young role for player and Bojan is out of the league essentially. Bit of a hasty move in the end.

 

Other notable trades:

 

Sexton/POR 2024 2nd for Monk/Kleber:

 

Sexton is a great 6th man type but in game he’s always going to be an undersized guard. Monk with a bit more athleticism and versatility is probably the better “fit”. 

 

Ivey/SA 2025 2nd for TJ/MIL 2024/PHO 2024/TOR 2025:

 

Laddas may have nights where he some what regrets this trade but at the end of the day even with how Ivey has blown up a bit; 3 first rounders and a handy role playing Pg in TJ is about as good a haul as you’re getting. 

 

Brown for Buddy: 

 

In a vacuum Brown for Buddy straight up is a great move. Now in Hind-site it looks like a fleece but even at the time it made a lot of sense. 

 

 

Star:

 

KAT- He’s since been moved on from the Suns to make way for their new direction. He was head and shoulders their best player last season averaging 24.1/12.9/1.8/1 over 62 games. Although Laddas couldn’t put the right team around him to win to his expectations, he was probably the only thing keeping their head above water.

 

 

Flop:

 

DLO- Dude was the centerpiece of the RJ trade and although he wasn’t the driving force behind laddas ultimate decision to pull the trigger… You would've thought he might of stuck around a bit longer. That being said he was the framework at least salary wise, on making it possible for the Suns to pivot and make their move for Dame.

 

FA:

 

(RFA) Pat Williams

 

The Suns didn’t set the league on fire in FA but they were limited in what they could do and what they NEEDED to do was just make sure their boy Patty came back. 

 

Draft:

 

Terrence Shannon-

Pacome Dadiet-

Jaylen Wells-

Kevin McCullar Jnr-

 

Overall a great draft with what they had finding some decent prospects later in the draft. Their young fellas are all super raw but are young and in good situations in the league. 

 

Future:

 

It's Dame time. There's been a number of 'franchise' type stars cycle through the Suns practice facility in the past 12 months. They've landed on Dollar Dame and currently it seems to of paid dividends in providing a real framework to the Suns rise back to relevance.