The Phoenix Suns’ season ended on a sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night.
Minnesota thoroughly outplayed Phoenix on both ends with their fundamental approach, especially on offense. The Timberwolves featured six players who averaged double-figures in scoring, so there was no mystery behind the sweep. The Suns never stood a chance.
But speaking of mysteries, the Phoenix Suns’ future appears very much a mystery, with major uncertainty hanging over the team.
Before the season started, not many people would’ve predicted that the Suns would lose in the first round of the playoffs, much less be swept. In fact, according to the annual GM survey conducted by the NBA last October, the Suns received the fourth-most votes for winning the 2024 NBA title while also picking them to finish as a top-two seed in the Western Conference.
So, What’s Next for the Phoenix Suns?
Although the superteam trend in the NBA isn’t as overbearing as it once was, we’ve seen a few teams go all-in the previous summer only to find themselves in a worse position in the following summer. Whether these teams faced a crushing playoff loss, failed to make the tournament altogether, or imploded before even getting off the ground — it’s now been clearly established that sheer firepower doesn’t guarantee you anything in the NBA.
The Phoenix Suns have a hefty $200 million payroll, with each member of their big-3 accounting for a large sum of it. The high-risk, high-reward acquisitions of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to build a star trio with Devin Booker have seemingly burned the franchise, leaving them with only four future first-round picks and six future second-round picks. Phoenix has also sent out four first-round pick swaps, effectively expunging its draft capital.
If there’s much of a bright side to this visibly dire situation, it’s that the Phoenix Suns’ big-3 has only had one season to mesh when they clearly needed more time to create the perfect blend, as evidenced by Kevin Durant’s remarks about his clunky fit next to Beal and Booker during the season.
Phoenix Stars Raise Off-Putting Remarks After Loss
Devin Booker after the sweep:
“Hopefully everyone is feeling the same type of hurt… It has to be fixed, I have to be better.” @Espo can tell Book has gone through the ringer this year 😔
📺: https://t.co/aCCpudYQpE
🎧: https://t.co/G0GvLlj1Zw pic.twitter.com/vET4WLHt14— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) April 29, 2024
In the NBA, expectations can make the difference between retaining and losing jobs. Phoenix’s whimpering playoff exit has raised tensions.
In the aftermath of the sweep, Phoenix superstar Devin Booker didn’t hold back when assessing why his team failed to win a single game despite being favored. “Roster-wise, everybody talks about the firepower, but you look around the league: It comes down to the details,” said Booker, who finished with a game-high 49 points. “I don’t want to keep saying that, but it’s a super important thing. You can’t just go out there and think you’re going to win off talent. The game is more complicated than that.”
The Suns were minus-51 when Booker, Durant, and Beal shared the floor in this series, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That is the worst plus-minus for any trio this postseason, giving those pointed remarks by Booker even more merit.
The Phoenix Suns didn’t look unified all season, much less in their series against Minnesota. And anytime your longest-tenured superstar offers comments that are most perceived as a jab at the front office, there’s a lot to salvage.
Although Kevin Durant was more mellow in his assessment of the Suns’ playoff exit than Booker was, he helped magnify some of the issues in Phoenix when he concluded that he never felt that he was correctly utilized in the offense the entire season.
Phoenix Suns’ Big-3: No More?
With so little at hand to work with, it wouldn’t be outrageous to suggest that Pheonix keep the band intact for at least one more season. Phoenix was by no means on par with expectations in 2023-24, but they weren’t laughable, either. Booker, Durant, and Beal played together for exactly half of the regular season, with the team posting a 26-15 record in those games — a 52-win pace that would have been good for fourth place in the Western Conference. If all remains, the Phoenix Suns window is open for at least one more season. But this conversation has the potential to be explosive this time next year if the big-3 falls short again.
