A busy summer saw the Suns trade for three-time All-Star Bradley Beal, move on from the likes of Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, hire Frank Vogel to replace Monty Williams and fill out their roster with a mishmash of widely-acclaimed minimum signings less than six months removed from trading for former MVP Kevin Durant. In these previews, we will take a look at each team’s key acquisitions, fantasy stars, and projected finish.
Key Acquisitions
The Suns experienced more roster turnover than any other team this offseason headlined by their decision to ship Paul, Landry Shamet, and draft capital to Wizards in exchange for Bradley Beal.
Beal has played just 90 total games over the past two seasons averaging 23.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 6.0 apg on 56.8 TS% but the season prior put up 31.3 ppg on 59.3 TS% en route to an All-NBA 3rd Team nod.
Playing alongside Durant and Devin Booker, the 30-year-old is perhaps the league’s most overqualified third option and offers the Suns a dynamic scoring and playmaking presence to slot into their lineup.
The Suns also shipped off disgruntled big Deandre Ayton in exchange for Jusuf Nurkić, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.
On the surface, the move appears a pretty clear downgrade but, given Ayton’s difficulties with the coaching staff and, at times, questionable effort mixed with the improvement it offers the team’s depth, it is possible to be talked into backing the deal.
They filled out their roster with the likes of Eric Gordon, Yuta Watanabe, Drew Eubanks, Keita Bates-Diop and Chimezie Metu.
Gordon, a former Sixth Man of the Year, projects as the most likely to earn minutes from the outset but all five aforementioned names offer Phoenix a skillset that they will hope to utilise throughout the season.
Fantasy Stars
It comes as no surprise that Durant (11th overall, 2nd SF/3rd PF), Booker (14th overall, 5th SG/3rd SF), and Beal (59th overall, 21st PG/24th SG) are the Suns most coveted in fantasy circles.
Durant played in just 47 games a year ago but averaged 29.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.0 apg on 67.7 TS% whilst Booker has averaged 26.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 5.6 apg on 59.3 TS% over the past five seasons.
Projected Finish
Whilst they are not free of flaws, the Suns possess the league’s highest offensive ceiling thanks to the Durant-Booker-Beal trio.
Health, depth, and defensive potency are all real concerns but their unmatched firepower on the offensive end will make them a scary prospect come April and beyond.
Vogel, a defensive-minded coach, will look to squeeze every last drop of defensive skill out of this team but his biggest challenge may come in the form of finding eight or nine genuine rotation players come the postseason.
The Suns are a real championship threat and will be eager to find the balance between preserving their star’s health and developing needed synergy throughout the regular season.
