Two years ago the Suns came out of nowhere to challenge for a playoff spot in the West though they were predicted to be an easy lottery candidate in the pre-season. Then they let Channing Frye walk, signed Isiah Thomas for no apparent reason, panic-traded Goran Dragic and Isiah Thomas, pissed off the Morris twins, signed Tyson Chandler to big money and left Jeff Hornacek holding the bag. They turned a promising season into a shit storm and if there was any justice in this world, that entire front office would be treated like Stalin's enemies of the state. Last season they fired Hornacek's entire staff, then a month later fired Hornacek himself....with no one left to take over. *smh* The Suns were so close to being interesting, if not good, and they've since done absolutely everything wrong. And with the emergence of Devin Booker, the front office will undoubtedly turn a bright spot into a storm cloud.
The starting five as of now looks something like PG Bledsoe, SG Booker, SF Tucker, PF Warren, C Chandler with Knight, Goodwin, Len off the bench. I assume that either Bledsoe or Knight will get moved this summer (hell, maybe both?) which will bring back some kind of depth. Getting out from under Tyson Chandler's massively expensive contract (why did them sign him?) would be a godsend but I don't see that happening. I don't dislike that starting five (personally I think Bledsoe could still be the next big star in the league and Booker seems well on his way too) but its hard to see them making the playoffs or doing anything at all if they got there.
The Suns hold #4,#13,#28,#34 in the upcoming draft. Given that they have a nice but not great rotation right now, one suspects that rather than packaging those picks for something, they'll look to bring in four new recruits. I'm rooting for Jamal Murray at #4 and Tyler Ulis at #34, just to deepen the Kentucky vibe in the back court. #13 might fetch them the guy that I think is the most hit/miss in the whole draft: Brice Johnson, who might be the second coming of PJ Brown (not at all a bad thing) or he might be out of the league in 2 years. If Johnson's there at #13, I think the Suns ought to give him a shot. #28 could bring UNLV's Stephen Zimmerman, the intriguing Thon Maker or perhaps the rumored-to-be-injured Denzel Valentine falls to them there. Either way I think they've got a shot at bringing in four intriguing, if not really good, players.
Or they could package Branden Knight, Tyson Chandler, #4 and #34 for Demarcus Cousins. Or how about getting in a 3-way that brings Kevin Love to Phoenix, Carmelo to Cleveland and a raft of picks to NYK? (Pointless trade idea: Tyson Chandler and #4 for Nerlens Noel: Philly loves draft picks, has money to spend and could use some veteran presence; Phoenix needs to get rid of Chandler and Nerlens played for John Calipari like the rest of the Suns roster. Just a thought) They've definitely got pieces to move or they might just stand pat with their four picks. Depends on whether they think there's a win-now kinda deal out there for them or if they want to just let things marinate with new coach Earl Watson.
Who knows what the Suns are thinking? It wasn't that long ago that they had a lineup of Dragic, Bledsoe, the Morris twins and Len with a legit Coach of the Year candidate. They screwed up all that was good about that situation, so I have no idea what they'll do from here. They have the potential for any number of blockbuster deals or they could stand pat with their 4 draft picks and too many PGs. Right now, I think the Suns are nowhere near #8 in the West but deals are out there that could make them a lot better this summer. We'll see.
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