What should be the Phoenix Suns‘ Offseason Plans?
The Phoenix Suns haven’t made the Playoffs since the 2009–10 season. They have been in a rebuild phase, hiring new coaches, developing young players and taking many losses on the way. But two shining stars are scoring phenom, Devin Booker and the rookie big man, Deandre Ayton. With the additions of Kelly Oubre, Tyler Johnson, Mikal Bridges, the continued development of Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender, the Suns are looking to make a playoff push. But first, they need to solidify some ongoing problems.
The point guard position. The Suns made a move to acquire Tyler Johnson from the Miami Heat. Phoenix has shuffled point guards all season, from Elie Okobo, De’Anthony Melton and even playing Booker at the point for some time. The Suns should look to draft a young point guard in the upcoming draft. Sources say that Ja Morant is the player the Suns want to draft and prefer him over Zion Williamson. Both Morant and Williamson will most likely make an immediate impact on any team that get drafted to. The Suns can also explore free agency for a backcourt mate to pair with Booker. Kemba Walker, Eldrid Payton, Terry Rozier, Kris Dunn, Malcolm Brogdon, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Patrick Beverley are some names they should look into. But the best bet is to draft Morant and develop him into their franchise cornerstone.
The forward position. The Suns have a lot of forwards and some of them will be free agents this summer. Josh Jackson will be on a team option. Dragan Bender who started to show promise with the minutes he got at the end of the season, will be an unrestricted free agent. Kelly Oubre will be a restricted free agent. The suns can explore bringing back two of these players on decent contracts and possible look to sign another forward. The team should definitely bring back Oubre as he showed he can be a starting player in this league. Names that the Suns should explore are Tobias Harris, Jabari Parker, Bojan Bogdanovic, Julius Randle and Harrison Barnes.
TJ Warren. In the event that the Suns acquire a new forward, what will be the fate of TJ Warren. He has only played 43 games last season (starting 36) and averaged 18 points per game. The best option would be to have him as a sixth man as the Suns lacked fire power off the bench last season.
Establishing that third star. The Suns need a third star to join Booker and Ayton. It will more than likely be the player they decide to draft or a player they sign in free agency.
Hiring a new head coach. Igor Kokoskov finished the season 19–63 and relieved of his head coach duties. The Suns need a coach who can help develop the young players and also implement a system to make the offense flow easier. Former Suns star and Hall of Famer Jason Kidd can be looked at as the new head coach for the young, talented team. They can also look at Dave Joerger. Joerger has success in Memphis, leading them to three playoff appearances during his three years as head coach. He also helped improve the Sacramento Kings, leading them to 39 wins and ninth place in the Western Conference. Last time the Kings were in the playoffs was the 2005–06 season (44 wins).
The Suns have a lot to work on but with another long offseason starting, they have plenty of time to figure things out.
References
NBA 2019 free agents: https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/
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