What’s Happening in Phoenix?

Star guard out for the season. Head coach on the hot seat, assistant coaches fired. Rumors of tension between core pieces. The optimism and upside surrounding the Phoenix Suns has evaporated, and their situation is one of the murkiest in the NBA.

A little over a month ago, I wrote an article describing how it appeared Phoenix had finally found their backcourt for the foreseeable future in Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. At the time, Phoenix had gotten off to an average start, going 7-7 to start the season and still comfortably in the Western playoff picture. Brandon Knight appeared to be on the verge of a breakout season, delivering multiple superstar-esque performances, such as his 30-point, 15-assist, 10-rebound triple-double against the Lakers, or scoring 37 points and 38 points in wins over the Clippers and the Nuggets, respectively. He even had many Bucks fans, who threw a lot of criticism his way when he was in Milwaukee, wondering if their team had made the wrong choice in moving on from him. Bledsoe was also consistent as he’s ever been, and the pair was killing opponents. Phoenix had other problems that were inhibiting their success, but it looked like the Bledsoe-Knight pairing was something upon which they could build.

Fast forward to today, as we are about to usher in a new year, and the Phoenix Suns have taken a steep decline in their play, and it looks like there are a lot more questions than there will be answers. Brandon Knight hasn’t been horrible, but his numbers have all dropped in December from November. He is averaging four less points per game in December (17.9) than in November (21.9). He is shooting an inefficient 40.8 percent in December, compared 43.0 in November, and his three-point percentage has dropped drastically, from 39.8 percent in November to 28.8 in December. He also has a -4.1 +/- in the month of December.

Markieff Morris, once considered a core piece for the Suns, has been an utter disappointment this season, never recovering from the trade that sent his brother Marcus to Detroit. The plan was for Morris to be the stretch four that Bledsoe or Knight could kick out to while Tyson Chandler drove to the basket off pick-n-rolls. But Morris hasn’t found his shot all season, and it doesn’t look like he is ever going to find it, or at least as long as he is in Phoenix.

Bledsoe’s stats haven’t dropped as much in December as Knight’s have, but it was recently announced that Bledsoe will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, via ESPN.com. The loss of Bledsoe is awful news for Phoenix, a team that has already been struggling as of late, going 4-12 in December and currently riding a five-game losing streak. Any success the Suns have found has come with Bledsoe on the court, and his absence will completely change the way this team plays. The Suns’ seven most-played lineup combinations have Bledsoe in all of them, and Brandon Knight is almost always on the court with Bledsoe so he hasn’t been the sole point guard very much so far this season.

And although the absence of Eric Bledsoe will significantly hurt Phoenix, the situation with him on the court wasn’t too strong either reportedly, especially with his backcourt counterpart. In a recent article by ESPN’s Zach Lowe, he described that the backcourt pairing isn’t necessarily working out for the Suns:

“The Knight-Bledsoe pairing has been awkward, and has created some minor locker-room tension, according to sources familiar with the matter. Both thrive as lead ball-handlers, and Knight has bristled over the years whenever anyone has labeled him as something other than a pure point guard.”

The turmoil has also hit the coaching staff, where two assistants have already been fired by the Suns’ front office, going over head coach Jeff Hornacek to do so, and Hornacek is firmly on the hot seat as well. Two years ago, Hornacek took over the team with an expectation of going into a rebuilding period. But as they surprised the league and fell just short of a playoff appearance, the rebuild process was accelerated by owner Robert Sarver. Now that they are back in what looks like where they planned on being in the beginning, a rebuilding situation with a lot of young players that have promise but not necessarily the immediate production, Hornacek finds himself potentially on the way out as the team’s struggles have fell on him.

Regardless of whether or not Jeff Hornacek remains with the team, Phoenix still does have reasons to be optimistic. Besides the aforementioned Knight and Bledsoe, the Suns also have young players like Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin, T.J. Warren, Alex Len, and Jon Leuer that have all shown potential. And with the way this season is currently heading, they are looking likely to add another high lottery-level talent to the squad next season. Phoenix’s current situation requires patience and lowered expectations, but after coming so close the last couple seasons, the question is whether or not ownership and the front office are willing to show that patience.