The aim for every NBA team is, or at least should be, to win the championship either this season or in the foreseeable future.
The absolute worst place to be is mediocre with no room for improvement; that’s why so many organizations enter rebuilding phases every season.
Well, a recent report suggested that almost half of the entire league is currently at some stage of a rebuild.
The 14 teams were ranked from best to worst, and the bottom of the list was the 2021 NBA finalists, the Phoenix Suns.
NBA expert Tim Bontemps assessed the 14 rebuilding teams in an article for ESPN and picked the Suns as the worst of the lot.
Suns general manager Brian Gregory recently traded away Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets and agreed to a contract buyout with Bradley Beal.
Phoenix are no longer in a position to contend in the Western Conference, and Bontemps thinks there is no reason for “optimism” at all.
“Most of the franchises on this list at least have some optimism. The Suns, however, have none,” he wrote.
“Their draft capital is tied up through the rest of the decade. So, too, is their ability to generate any real cap space between dead money on the books and Devin Booker’s gigantic extension.
“And the gauntlet that is today’s Western Conference ratchets up the difficulty level facing Phoenix’s rebuild.”
The most concerning part of the assessment for Suns fans is that Bontemps doesn’t expect the team to be relevant again “anytime soon” due to a “fascinating development.”
“Not anytime soon, which, for rival teams in possession of the Suns’ future first-round picks, is a fascinating development,” he added.
“Perhaps, in a couple of years, Ishbia and the franchise can begin to rework the roster around Booker as some of the current money comes off Phoenix’s books.”
The Phoenix Suns are in a difficult situation; there can be no denying that. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Arizona franchise.
Most NBA teams, including some with playoff hopes, don’t have any players better than Booker. He has averaged over 25 points per game for the last seven seasons.
Moreover, it’s not like Booker has no talent around him. Jalen Green is only 23 years old and led the 52-win Houston Rockets in scoring last season (21 PPG).
| Position | Starter | Bench |
| PG | Devin Booker | Jared Butler |
| SG | Jalen Green | Grayson Allen |
| SF | Royce O’Neale | Ryan Dunn |
| PF | Dillon Brooks | Oso Ighodaro |
| C | Mark Williams | Khaman Maluach |
The Suns have a few other players with potential, too. Mark Williams, Ryan Dunn, and 2025 draft pick Khaman Maluach could all improve plenty.
Also, Dillon Brooks, Royce O’Neale, and Grayson Allen are at least solid role players who could hold some value at the trade deadline.
The Suns front office has made some poor decisions in recent seasons, but it only takes one young player to develop into an All-Star, and they could become a playoff team once more.
