The Suns took the first steps in rebuilding this summer.
A lot went on in Phoenix this summer, mostly in the name of rebuilding. The Suns were bad last season, finish 25-57, consisting more of decent individual parts rather than a collectively good unit. Alvin Gentry was fired, and interim head coach Lindsey Hunter was not brought They hired Boston Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough to be their new GM, and he went right to work, hiring Jazz assistant Jeff Hornacek.
Trades
The Suns were active in the trade market, starting with a three team trade with the Clippers and the Bucks that had them acquire Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler from the Clippers in exchange for a 2014 second round pick (to Milwaukee) and Jared Dudley (to LA). The main intention of this trade (as you’ll read shortly) was to acquire Bledsoe rather than Butler. Bledsoe, who has always played behind Chris Paul, will now compete with Goran Dragic for the starting point guard spot. No matter who wins the spot, Phoenix has strong depth at the point guard spot.
The next piece of business was trading Luis Scola to the Pacers for Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a future 1st round pick. Scola gets his chance to compete for a title, while the Suns got an athletic guard in Green and a backup center in Plumlee who will add a bit of depth to the team (and cleared some cap space).
And in another money saving move, the team traded Caron Butler to Milwaukee for Ish Smith and Viacheslav Kravtsov. Both Smith and Kravtsov will provide depth and little more, but moving Butler cleared $8 million off the books.
Aside from Bledsoe, these moves all point to rebuilding. Under that notion it was decent business by the team, particularly if Bledsoe shines like many expect him to.
Grade: B
Free Agency
The Suns signed no one, but did waive Michael Beasley on September 3rd, following his arrest on suspicion of marijuana possession. Beasley had signed a 3 year, $18 million contract with the Suns the year before, but his first year in Phoenix was disappointing and full of on and off the court issues. Waiving him means the Suns eat the two remaining years of his contract. With McDonough taking over, waiving Beasley isn’t that much of surprise. Things didn’t go well for either side, and it became clear it was best to cut ties sooner than later. Ultimately a bad bit of business from last year came back to haunt the team.
Grade: C-
Draft
The team drafted Alex Len 5th, a surprise to most everyone who predicted he would go as high as 1st. Len will take time to develop, and recovering from ankle surgery will slow this process. Still, there’s a lot to like about Len, who in a few years could develop into a capable starting center in the NBA.
With the 30th pick the team took Nemanja Nedovic, a Serbian international, and then traded him to the Warriors for Archie Goodwin and Malcom Lee (see, I didn’t forget about this trade). I like the prospects of both Goodwin and Lee in reserve roles, but I don’t see either make a big impact this year.
In the 2nd round, the team took Alex Oriakhi from UConn. While undersized at 6’9, Oriakhi is a strong player who will provide depth in the front court.
It was a decent draft for the team, who were fortunate to land Len at 5th overall. The success of this draft will hinder on how good Len turns out to be, which we likely won’t know for a couple of seasons.
Grade: B
Summary:
Again, let me stress the Suns are rebuilding. They didn’t completely blow up the team like Philadelphia did, but understand that every rebuilding process is different. The Suns didn’t need to go nuclear, there are still some good players on this team in Gragic, Gortat, and now Bledsoe. Finding players and a system they can excell in should be the strategy. The team made a number of moves via trade and the draft that put them in decent shape for the future, with room to add pieces via trade or free agency next year. They won’t be very good this year, but watching the development of Len and Bledsoe (as a potential starter) is inticing.
Overall Grade: B-
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