Why are people so down on PHX?

[Royrebirth]

Considering various betting odds, expert analysis, and general attitudes, the world seems to have concluded that the Suns will be a bottom 3 team.

While I agree that they're not very competitive, people are overlooking that Bledsoe and Knight are pretty good players that sat out almost the entire year. Them with Tyson Chandler and an infusion of an athletic wing in Chriss makes them a lot better than people think.

How do you view them?

[Diggles]

I like the team..... I think health concerns and having two ball dominant PG playing together might not work.   People still want them to "show" the league it can work.     

Booker/Knight and Bledsoe is a nice PG/SG rotation.   Dudley at SF and the rookie and Chandler make an interesting starting 5.     

Besides the PG rotation, the other guys are finishers, not really shot creators.   But I think they will finish ahead of the Nets, Phili and maybe the Lakers.   

[PickNRoll]

I think they'll stink.  Chandler's best years are behind him.  Bledsoe is solid.  Knight is not the most efficient scorer, not a great defender and doesn't take care of the ball.  Chriss is unlikely to be an impact player right away.  Bender is better suited  to the D-League.  Earl Watson was a nice choice, but the first year is never easy.  Not a lot of teams are worse on paper.

I still think TJ Warren can be a great sparkplug scorer in this league to the tune of ~20ppg, but his defense and other areas haven't come along as well.

[Denis998]

Recency Bias. They saw them as a horrid team during late in the season, and usually are discounting/forgetting the combined veteran leadership of Bledsoe, Knight, and Chandler.

[td450]

I think people are down on them for next year, but see them as having done some impressive stuff in the last two years for the future. They have a solid young big in Alex Len, Devin Booker is showing probable all-star potential, and they drafted two rookie bigs with very high ceilings. It will take time, but if at least one of those two big men reach their potential, they could be very good in 2-3 years.

The present is more of a mess. Bledsoe is very fragile, and Brandon Knight is a flawed player, and they take most of the shots.

[Snakehead]

A lot of the worst teams have gotten better this year, besides the Nets.  Even if they got a little better they will still be one of the worst teams I think.

[Evantime34]

Considering various betting odds, expert analysis, and general attitudes, the world seems to have concluded that the Suns will be a bottom 3 team.

While I agree that they're not very competitive, people are overlooking that Bledsoe and Knight are pretty good players that sat out almost the entire year. Them with Tyson Chandler and an infusion of an athletic wing in Chriss makes them a lot better than people think.

How do you view them?

Agreed that bottom 3 is too low. I think the top teams in the west are Golden State, San Antonio, LAC, Utah, Memphis and Portland. I expect the Suns to be amongst the group that competes for the last two spots.

I'd like to see them move Knight so that they could start Booker at the 2. I think he's going to end up being a star.

[max215]

I don't get it either. I think they'll return to respectability this year.

[moiso]

I think people are down on them for next year, but see them as having done some impressive stuff in the last two years for the future. They have a solid young big in Alex Len, Devin Booker is showing probable all-star potential, and they drafted two rookie bigs with very high ceilings. It will take time, but if at least one of those two big men reach their potential, they could be very good in 2-3 years.

The present is more of a mess. Bledsoe is very fragile, and Brandon Knight is a flawed player, and they take most of the shots.

Yep.  The have nice young talent but they will stink this coming season.

[Who]

PG = Bledsoe is very good. A top 10 PG. This is their only position with above average quality.

SG = B.Knight has struggled to make much of an impact in Phoenix. He does not contribute all that much to the team. Booker is a heck of a prospect but not a win-now player. His defense is terrible and gives up about as much as he gets on the other end. He'll be a major player for Phoenix in the future but he is still in the early stages of his development.

SF = TJ Warren and PJ Tucker are useful. Neither have shown much beyond that though.

PF = M.Chriss and D.Bender are both too raw and a few years away. Jared Dudley is probably their best option here and he isn't up to much nowadays either. This is a very weak position for Phoenix. Probably the worst PF rotation in the league.

C = Tyson Chandler has dropped off a lot. Not sure he is even a top 20 center anymore. He is a low level starting caliber nowadays. Alex Len is a talented young center but hasn't put things together yet and looks unsure of himself out there. Together they provide Phoenix with subpar production at center.


... Overall, not a convincing bunch. Probably earn them another top 5 pick next June.

Need a breakout season from of their young ones (Booker, Len, Warren) to push them beyond the worst of the worst.

....

I had high hopes for Phoenix entering last season but the (1) decline of Tyson Chandler (2) the loss of form and trade of Markieff Morris (3) and to a lesser degree, the inability of Brandon Knight to excel in the two-PG backcourt has soured me on Phoenix. I just do not think they have enough quality in their big man rotation anymore given Tyson's decline and the loss of Markieff Morris. It is a big hurdle for them to overcome and their wing play hasn't contributed enough to do so.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

They would probably be a playoff team in the East. That said, they are in the West.

They won't be bottom 3 though. I think they will be closer to bottom 8 or 10. They are easily better than Philly, Brooklyn, Orlando, LAL, New Orleans, Denver, and Sacramento. They are punching with NYK, Minnesota, Milwaukee, and Washington.

[Moranis]

They would probably be a playoff team in the East. That said, they are in the West.

They won't be bottom 3 though. I think they will be closer to bottom 8 or 10. They are easily better than Philly, Brooklyn, Orlando, LAL, New Orleans, Denver, and Sacramento. They are punching with NYK, Minnesota, Milwaukee, and Washington.

The East is much deeper than the West.

[Smokeeye123]

Theres gonna be a couple putrid teams other than the Nets. It's mathematics. Some teams have to be horrible. Lakers will be bad as will the 76ers even if I think they will win 10+ more games this year. If OKC trades Westbrook (Which they absolutely should) they will be at the bottom.

Others I can see being horrible are the Pelicans, Kings, and Magic.

[Moranis]

Suns are too darn young or broken down.  Not really much middle ground.  Look like they could be a great team in a few years, but they are clearly a few years away.

[Big333223]

Chandler is washed up. They drafted 2 of the youngest rookies in the draft this year, neither is going to contribute to winning this season. Booker will turn 20 in October. He looks terrific but he's not there yet. Eric Bledsoe can't stay on the floor and Brandon Knight is... actually Brandon Knight might be their best player (given Bledsoe's constant health problems). That's why they're not going to be good.

If I were Phoenix, I'd try to get a pick for Bledsoe and tank it up with the young guns with an eye on the '17 draft. They'd be sitting pretty.