The surprise team of the season, the Phoenix Suns proved everyone wrong and look poised for a bright future.
With Luis Scola and Marcin Gortat traded away, along with a new head coach in Jeff Hornacek, the Phoenix Suns were predicted by many to finish near the bottom of the Western Conference. 48 wins later, they prove how little we actually know.
Final Record: 48-34
Grade: B+
48 wins in the West is absurd coming off a 25-win season. The Suns ranked seventh in points per game, averaging 105.2, while their defense improved marginally from the previous year, finishing 21st in points allowed (26th in 2012-13). They posted a 13th-ranked defensive rating (103.8), up from 23rd the previous season. The Suns went 26-15 at home, and finished 8-8 in the division, though they were 3-5 against the Clippers and Warriors. Still, considering the team’s projected record (another 25-win season seemed about right), finishing a game outside of the playoffs should be seen as a huge accomplishment.
Expectations vs. Reality
Grade: A
Again, no one expected much from this team. Trading away Gortat and Scola suggested the team was looking to rebuild, and frankly that could have been the case. The trade for Eric Bledsoe, however, worked out wonderfully, as did the Scola and Gortat trades (but more on that later). While things may have not gone according to plan, the Suns suddenly look like a team on the rise, and with Emeka Okafor’s $14.4 million contract off the books, the Suns have cap space to give Bledsoe a big extension with room left over to sign quality free agents.
Coaching Staff
Grade: A
Hornacek did an incredible job as a rookie head coach, utilizing his players in ways that played to their strengths. For nearly the entire season, Hornacek went with a starting lineup that included P.J. Tucker, Channing Fyre and Miles Plumlee, which at the beginning of the year sounded like the perfect lineup for a team looking to land a top-five pick. Instead, those three had breakout years (or in Frye’s case, a resurgence). Other starters Bledsoe and Dragic had strong seasons as well, as did Gerald Green. Hornacek’s most impressive feat, however, was managing to stay firmly in the playoff race despite losing Bledsoe for half the season. Many wrote off the Suns after the injury, but the team went 17-16 over the 33 games Bledsoe missed due to a torn meniscus between Dec. 30 and March 12.
Players
Grade: B+
Dragic led the way, averaging 20.3 points and 5.9 assists per game. He shot 40.8 percent from 3-point range, and posted the ninth-best True Shooting Percentage in the league at .604. He was on the short list of All-Star snubs, but certainly was the most valuable player for Phoenix.
Bledsoe was having a career season before the injury, and finished the season averaging 19.4 points and 6.0 assists per game. At times before the injury, he was playing better than Dragic, and without the injury there’s no doubt Phoenix would have made the playoffs.
Stepping up in Bledsoe’s absence was Gerald Green, who averaged a career-best 20 points per game, thanks in large part to the increased time with Bledsoe out. Not bad for the guy known previously for blowing out a candle on a cupcake in the dunk contest.
Going down the list of names, the Suns saw signficant production from virtually every player. The Morris twins proved they should be a package deal the rest of their careers, Miles Plumlee averaged a double-double in points and rebounds, as did Viacheslav Kravtsov in the limited time he played. P.J. Tucker was deadly from corner-3’s, and Channing Fyre proved he still has value, averaging 14.2 points per game. Of the 15 players on the roster, 12 averaged at least 10 points a game, and only two players, Kravtsov and Barbarbosa, played a limited number of games (20).
Front Office
Grade: A-
The Suns hired Ryan McDonough in the offseason to be their new general manager after he previously served as assistant general manager in Boston. The early signs pointed to a rebuilding project — the Suns traded Scola to Indiana for Green, Plumlee, and a first-round pick, traded Caron Butler for Kravtsov and Ish Smith, and waived Michael Beasley. Just before the season, they traded Gortat, Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall and Malcom Lee for a first-round pick and Emeka Okafor’s bad neck.
It had all the signs of the dreaded “T” word, but the unexpected happened when Green and Plumlee turned out to be steals. With the acquired picks, Phoenix has three first-round picks in this month’s draft, which could be packaged, used as trade bait, or used to acquire three rookies in a potentially deep draft. With roughly $20 million in cap space this offseason, the Suns can re-sign Bledsoe and Tucker if they so chose, and also make plays for big name free agents.
However, the team may regret trading Gortat. It cleared cap space and got them a first-rounder, but as good as Plumlee was this season Gortat is still the better player. Still, whether intentional or not, the Suns’ front office did almost everything right this season.
Final Grade: A-
They were the surprise team in the NBA, and appear to be a team on the rise. Their roster plays well together, they have one of the best backcourts in the league when healthy, have a stellar young coach, three first-round draft picks and a ton of cap space. Depending on how things shape out this summer, Phoenix could be much more than a fringe playoff team next season.
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