Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Phoenix Suns

[spanishninja]

Run it back as long as CP is healthy.
Re-sign Ayton. They will be fine.
Just tell Booker to stop being cocky- you ain't Luka dude.

I don't think we can keep counting on healthy CP anymore. been bitten twice already and we're not the first team. Didn't believe it would be a trend when it happened last year but I do now.

backup PG is still a huge concern. If only we drafted Haliburton

[enigmatics]

I don't think we can keep counting on healthy CP anymore. been bitten twice already and we're not the first team. Didn't believe it would be a trend when it happened last year but I do now.

backup PG is still a huge concern. If only we drafted Haliburton

100%.

.......... don't the lack of a player who can consistently get to the hoop, especially for free throws.

[KGtabake]

Run it back as long as CP is healthy.
Re-sign Ayton. They will be fine.
Just tell Booker to stop being cocky- you ain't Luka dude.

I don't think we can keep counting on healthy CP anymore. been bitten twice already and we're not the first team. Didn't believe it would be a trend when it happened last year but I do now.

backup PG is still a huge concern. If only we drafted Haliburton

The backup PG is crucial indeed not only because of CPs health but mainly because Payne isn't a point. Good player but he's a score first guard.

[spanishninja]

Run it back as long as CP is healthy.
Re-sign Ayton. They will be fine.
Just tell Booker to stop being cocky- you ain't Luka dude.

I don't think we can keep counting on healthy CP anymore. been bitten twice already and we're not the first team. Didn't believe it would be a trend when it happened last year but I do now.

backup PG is still a huge concern. If only we drafted Haliburton

The backup PG is crucial indeed not only because of CPs health but mainly because Payne isn't a point. Good player but he's a score first guard.

this season Payne wasn't even a good player. If we had last season's version of Cam, we would have taken one of games 3 or 4 and nobody would have even seen the **** of games 6-7.

[madmaxmedia]

Run it back as long as CP is healthy.
Re-sign Ayton. They will be fine.
Just tell Booker to stop being cocky- you ain't Luka dude.

I don't think we can keep counting on healthy CP anymore. been bitten twice already and we're not the first team. Didn't believe it would be a trend when it happened last year but I do now.

backup PG is still a huge concern. If only we drafted Haliburton

It's tough when he's end up hurt in so many playoff runs. But your ceiling is still going to be with a healthy Chris Paul. His contract is interesting in that it's only fully guaranteed for next year, but $15.8M is still guaranteed for 2023-24 which is a significant cap hit. If you re-sign Ayton (which also seems like a mixed yes), you have to hope for the best with your core because it's going to be really hard to add another significant piece.

I don't particularly like Chris Paul personally, but it really is a shame he can't stay healthy. If he missed some regular season games but stayed healthy generally in the playoffs, I don't doubt that he would work hard enough to maintain his effectiveness and end up playing out the full length of his contract.

At this point I assume the bad games he had at the end were due to injury, and that had he been healthy the Suns would have at least competed a lot better in Game 7. But what did transpire doesn't seem like a great sign for the Booker/Ayton duo without Paul (now or in a couple of years.)

[giberish]

Run it back as long as CP is healthy.
Re-sign Ayton. They will be fine.
Just tell Booker to stop being cocky- you ain't Luka dude.

I don't think we can keep counting on healthy CP anymore. been bitten twice already and we're not the first team. Didn't believe it would be a trend when it happened last year but I do now.

backup PG is still a huge concern. If only we drafted Haliburton

It's tough when he's end up hurt in so many playoff runs. But your ceiling is still going to be with a healthy Chris Paul. His contract is interesting in that it's only fully guaranteed for next year, but $15.8M is still guaranteed for 2023-24 which is a significant cap hit. If you re-sign Ayton (which also seems like a mixed yes), you have to hope for the best with your core because it's going to be really hard to add another significant piece.

I don't particularly like Chris Paul personally, but it really is a shame he can't stay healthy. If he missed some regular season games but stayed healthy generally in the playoffs, I don't doubt that he would work hard enough to maintain his effectiveness and end up playing out the full length of his contract.

At this point I assume the bad games he had at the end were due to injury, and that had he been healthy the Suns would have at least competed a lot better in Game 7. But what did transpire doesn't seem like a great sign for the Booker/Ayton duo without Paul (now or in a couple of years.)

If Phoenix wants any chance of Paul being healthy through the playoffs he needs to drop his minutes. As Stockton played into his late 30's he rarely missed games and remained quite effective on a per-minute level but was often barely playing more than half a game. Of course to do that you need a backup PG that you trust for 20 mpg.

[Sal85012]

Team needed some humble pie. we will see if this does it. Baiting fouls, flopping and crying to the refs after every drive. Tired of all that bs, ship crowder out. Time to retool, CP3 wears out come playoffs and makes too much money. I think we are screwed you need stars and hard nosed defensive guys like the Celts, Warriors, Heat and to a degree Philly (sans Harden). Ayton is too soft for what they need. Playoff intensity is a whole nother level of aggression, they played with more heart last year for sure.

[garrick]

Team needed some humble pie. we will see if this does it. Baiting fouls, flopping and crying to the refs after every drive. Tired of all that bs, ship crowder out. Time to retool, CP3 wears out come playoffs and makes too much money. I think we are screwed you need stars and hard nosed defensive guys like the Celts, Warriors, Heat and to a degree Philly (sans Harden). Ayton is too soft for what they need. Playoff intensity is a whole nother level of aggression, they played with more heart last year for sure.

Marcus Smart flops all the time on defense, Draymond is always crying to the refs, LBJ has always been a good actor/flopper.

I don't like that kind of attitude either but it doesn't exclude you from winning championships.

[djsunyc]

i hope alot of you don't take this personally but wtf are some of you saying? blow it up? trade ayton? like wtf?

do you know how hard it is to build a team that can advance in the playoffs. it is not easy, especially now that we are seeing alot of parity in the league. just b/c they didn't reach last year's success doesn't mean big time changes are needed.

you keep a young team together and keep trying to add to it. getting to this point is painfully difficult so now that you're here, you need to keep trying to make it better. otherwise wtf is the point? expecting 0 to 100 and a chip overnight is an idiot's task.

[lilfishi22]

I have a question for Suns fans...do you think Bridges has been good enough player in playoffs to justify his 4 yr $90M contract? I don't watch him as often as you guys do but from what I have seen of him in playoffs, I find him underwhelming. Offensively he just seems really easy to stop, can't create own shot and his 3 pt shot also doesn't look consistent

Worth it just on regular season alone. He's basically an elite role player. He's not here to be your #2 option, he's not there to be your 3PT specialist, he does many things very well and the rest competently. From a playoff perspective, he does leave much to be desired but he also plays in a system that is highly regulated by what Monty/CP3 runs. He doesn't turn 26 until the end of Aug so he still has plenty of room to grow.

[old skool]

i hope alot of you don't take this personally but wtf are some of you saying? blow it up? trade ayton? like wtf?

do you know how hard it is to build a team that can advance in the playoffs. it is not easy, especially now that we are seeing alot of parity in the league. just b/c they didn't reach last year's success doesn't mean big time changes are needed.

you keep a young team together and keep trying to add to it. getting to this point is painfully difficult so now that you're here, you need to keep trying to make it better. otherwise wtf is the point? expecting 0 to 100 and a chip overnight is an idiot's task.

Amen. The Suns have been one of the elite teams in the NBA over the last two seasons. They should make every roster move that will make them better, but to dump players via trade just to make moves makes no sense.

[baldur]

it is incredible they are one summer away from back to being a non-play-off team after 2 years of a great run.

[SpreeS]

1. Pay Ayton
2. No B2B for Paul and save him as possible
3. Get first pass back PG

[enigmatics]

The "run it back" folk really need to look long and hard at what has transpired since the start of the Clippers series in last year's playoffs - i.e. basically .500 basketball in playoff series since and largely unable to win on the road. Not to mention had KL played the trajectory of the Suns might be completely different.

All the regular season wins in the world won't change that. After two years the book is out on this particular iteration of the Suns squad (most of which rides on the health of CP3) - so legitimate changes need to be made. I'm not referring to blowing it all up though.

[ForeverTFC]

i hope alot of you don't take this personally but wtf are some of you saying? blow it up? trade ayton? like wtf?

do you know how hard it is to build a team that can advance in the playoffs. it is not easy, especially now that we are seeing alot of parity in the league. just b/c they didn't reach last year's success doesn't mean big time changes are needed.

you keep a young team together and keep trying to add to it. getting to this point is painfully difficult so now that you're here, you need to keep trying to make it better. otherwise wtf is the point? expecting 0 to 100 and a chip overnight is an idiot's task.

Yup. Which is why it was a mistake to not pay Ayton. He could easily be traded and there was no reason to have that kind of noise in the locker room when you’re trying to win a championship.

[Duke4life831]

suns biggest issue was not having a back up PG

ayton is a solid center but not worth max money....

retool the roster a bit. Bring in another wing that can get buckets at will and bring in a legit back up PG (rubio?)

run it back

But how are you going to do that. Wings that can get buckets at will dont just grow on trees, they're actually pretty damn rare. So how are you going to run it back with this group, but also be able to bring in a wing that can get buckets at will? You'd have to not run it back and make some significant moves to have the chance to bring in a legit scoring wing.

[Frank Lee]

Gong to be painful watching a broke down 3/4 speed CP this upcoming season. I think the injury rumor was a smokescreen to mask his decline. Body him up, put athletic length on him and he is Point MereMortal. Holiday started it last yr…. Herb Jones, Brunson, Bullock and Dinwiddie finished it off. Y’all really think he will be better faster stronger next yr???? It’s just the way it is…always is.
Hang up the sneaks CP

[Wallace_Wallace]

suns biggest issue was not having a back up PG

ayton is a solid center but not worth max money....

retool the roster a bit. Bring in another wing that can get buckets at will and bring in a legit back up PG (rubio?)

run it back

But how are you going to do that. Wings that can get buckets at will dont just grow on trees, they're actually pretty damn rare. So how are you going to run it back with this group, but also be able to bring in a wing that can get buckets at will? You'd have to not run it back and make some significant moves to have the chance to bring in a legit scoring wing.

I think Mikal Bridge is a capable 20 PPG scorer. However, they need to find someone who can defend better than Jae Crowder (also easy to acquire of course)

Matisse Thybulle
Jonathan Isaac (easiest to trade for in my opinion)
PJ Tucker

Mikal will be a Rip Hamilton style offensive player doing his damage off the ball, which he is already pretty damn good at it already. There's still a glaring need of a backup PG who can stabilize the team while Chris Paul is not on the floor.

Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana may want to get rid of him at no charge
Ricky Rubio, clear minutes for Sexton and Garland
Monte Morris, Bones Hyland might replace him next season

They may have to retool their roster that way assuming Booker, Bridges and Ayton can improve a bit.

[DonaldSanders]

The "run it back" folk really need to look long and hard at what has transpired since the start of the Clippers series in last year's playoffs - i.e. basically .500 basketball in playoff series since and largely unable to win on the road. Not to mention had KL played the trajectory of the Suns might be completely different.

All the regular season wins in the world won't change that. After two years the book is out on this particular iteration of the Suns squad (most of which rides on the health of CP3) - so legitimate changes need to be made. I'm not referring to blowing it all up though.

Good points. I don't know how the Suns would do this but I feel like they need a true #1 guy, a Butler/Tatum/Doncic/Curry/Ja type that can take over in the 4th quarter and clutch the game. Booker and Paul are both #2s, to me the Suns issue is they have everything except the #1 guy. I don't know who or how though... I just know what they need. Booker is not a 1st team All-NBA guy. What the heck to do though?

[BlzMwt]

Gong to be painful watching a broke down 3/4 speed CP this upcoming season. I think the injury rumor was a smokescreen to mask his decline. Body him up, put athletic length on him and he is Point MereMortal. Holiday started it last yr…. Herb Jones, Brunson, Bullock and Dinwiddie finished it off. Y’all really think he will be better faster stronger next yr???? It’s just the way it is…always is.
Hang up the sneaks CP

Paul averaged 22 and 11 with only 3 turnovers a game on 56% from the floor during the first round against the Pelicans... including a record breaking game 6.

He played in 65 games during the regular season and was a huge contributor to the suns clutch play and franchise record win total.

He was obviously injured or exhausted versus Dallas and that's a knock on him.

I'm not going to suggest he can replicate what he did in the regular season or first round next year but to say "hang up the sneakers" as if he wasn't a huge part of the Suns' success this season is foolish