Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Phoenix Suns

[Ill News]

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and if that's all for us, I can't say I haven't loved 95% of everything since the bubble. being in the finals isn't anything to scoff at, especially for a first playoff run. If we can stay at the 4-6 seed in the coming years and show real development by whichever players stick around, it will still be a decent product to watch. I hope we keep Bridges, Cam Johnson and Booker though. I know Book flamed out royally this playoffs but he is still beloved in Phoenix.

That's the right way to think about it. People kinda forget that the Suns emerged as a real contender out of nowhere after the bubble. The arrival of CP3 is huge of course, but Booker, Ayton, and Mikal elevating their games is what pushed them toward the top. It's always fun to see your homegrown talent grow up before your eyes, I can certainly relate with my Celtics.

I'm not totally counting them out, it's just that their path towards a title will be way harder after this year. Unless Book has another level to go to so he can become a real rival to Luka and Jokic in the west, not to mention LeBron and AD, the Suns will probably hover around the 4-8 seeds in the coming years. But let's see.

[PlatinumState]

Just blow it up

[Pachinko_]

Holy ****, I didn't realise Paul is signed to 24/25

[SweetTouch]

They need perimeter defense

[michaelm]

Yeah if CP was talking retirement or had fallen off a cliff, I’d agree. But he’s not and has not, and high level treadmill teams are the ones that randomly win championships, like the 2004 Pistons, 2011 Mavs, and last year’s Bucks. Again, you gotta take the chances when you get them. Once CP leaves though, this could go bad quickly.

cp3 came to the edge of a new cliff,,,,,a few days ago when he turned 37, and dallas may have shown the league how to play chris

he started sucking within hours of turning 37. I can't explain it other than a Cinderella type scenario where his powers expired right at midnight May 6.

CP3 had pretty much never made it through the play-offs completely healthy or in his best form before he turned 37. I just don’t think he has ever had the physiology to play heavy minutes in multiple 7 game series, to be fair which his teams need from him because he got them there in the first place. He was reputed to have worked more on his health/fitness this year, but perhaps at age 36 it was too late, not that it necessarily would have worked when he was 26 anyway.

[bwgood77]

I honestly think Ayton will explode somewhere else, you can't really say he is well utilised on the Suns. Timid or whatever, but he was the key to this series and he had 15 shots or more twice. Saying he wants empty stats on a losing team is implying he's being used well on the Suns, as it is they can probably replace him without too much pain.

Yeah, they were like 6-1 in the playoffs when he had over 23% usage rate and 1-5 when he was under. It may have ended 6-2 and 2-4 but when he got a lot of shots they got easy efficient points...and didn't really on so many jumpers.

[DroseReturnChi]

Holy ****, I didn't realise Paul is signed to 24/25

then what are they supposed to do? waste cap space when no star is coming? suns should be thanking cp3 for what he did.
they were a lotto 1st round without him.

[bwgood77]

It was always unlikely to go into the tax but after this performance it’s probably closer to nil now.

I **** hate Sarver for many reasons but this team is not worth the tax.

I don’t understand the people who are saying this team isn’t worth the tax or they shouldn’t max Ayton. This is a change most teams don’t get for decades at a time. Literally. Worst case scenario, they go out in the second round but are competitive year round and the fan base has something to root for. Best case scenario, championship. They are still legit contenders.

Yeah, everyone is saying big changes...problem is they don't have a lot of assets and yeah, they had never won 64 games before and made 2 finals in their history. It's a bitter loss to try to bounce back from but the grass certainly may not be greener (unlikely) if they completely change a lot.

Though Paul will not be around much longer...apparently he had a quad injury since game 2 which is why he looked so different after taking over that game and winning it for them in the 4th.

[DroseReturnChi]

After this performance ANYONE that gives Ayton a new contract is a **** idiot.

My response is a resounding no thank you. Trade him on draft day and get a decent pick.

ur over the cap. if you dont sign ayton suns are just losing him for nothing unless its sign and trade. dont have a choice once you all ined to booker and cp3. bridges and ayton they are just scratching surface they can stay they wont regress. what jones need to do it snatch a young james harden like okc and pair him with cp3. booker should be the trade chip they need to deal. his value is all time high.

[bwgood77]

i think phx is a high level treadmill team.

i have doubts about this team post-cp3.
cp3 has been stamped and verified - he tires out at the end of the season. this was his very best year for a ring.
when cp3 goes, and age hits FAST, that is half of phx's top clutch duo.
when cp3 goes, so goes ayton. ayton get's spoon fed. no cp3, no ayton.

when cp3 goes, phx drops back to just a little better than what they were pre-cp3

FO has work to do to be proactive. i don't think ayton is a max player(FO doesn't think so either), but HE might think he is.
on the bright side for phx, gsw is standing at cliff'sedge. lebron and the lakers are done. clips are done. utah is done. the west is turning into what the east was

West is going to be just as good as it ever was. Clippers with a healthy PG/ Kawhi, healthy NOP, Nuggets with Murray and Porter returning, Warriors ain't going nowhere, motivated Lakers, Minnesota, Mavs as well as the unknowns with Blazers and Jazz, the west will be fine and just as tough

Grizzlies

[bwgood77]

Man, a brutal loss that just makes it seem like the team isn't really a contender come playoff time.

I'm not sure what I'd do now. I said a year ago the Suns were making a mistake treating Paul as if he was a key part of their core going forward, but there's no point in trading him unless you get just the right stuff back, and I'm not sure what would be realistic.

People are talking about them trading Ayton now, and frankly it makes sense given the fact I'd think he might really want to leave...but again, not sure what I'd be going for.

In the end, this is a situation where the team can expect to be a very solid club for the foreseeable future if they can just keep a positive attitude. I'd be looking closely at this were I the franchise.

I don't think Ayton wants to leave...I am just not sure the coaching staff/FO wants to keep him. I think Ayton loves the team, coach, city, all that...and I wouldn't be totally surprised if he took less to stay if they wanted him.

But I don't know what the right move is or what the team wants..or even what they could get for him. Maybe he gets an offer sheet, they match, see how he plays and trade him later..I think he'd be tradable. Or potentially a S&T but not sure what kind of offers there will be.

[Pachinko_]

Holy ****, I didn't realise Paul is signed to 24/25

then what are they supposed to do? waste cap space when no star is coming? suns should be thanking cp3 for what he did.
they were a lotto 1st round without him.

Couldn't they thank him without paying him the GDP of Mozambique?

[bwgood77]

Holy ****, I didn't realise Paul is signed to 24/25

23-24 only $15 million guaranteed (still a lot to pay to leave, but would save $15 million) and 24-25 is a team option.

[timO]

Ayton is gonna sign with other team, maybe a 4 year Max, okc spurs Magic pacers blazers detroit etc have enough CAP.

And phx Will not match It.

[Luke Skyowner]

Read on Twitter

It´s like Lakers, blaming everything on a aging superstar. Kind of weak that fans not calling out their 1 and 2 guy. They scared that Ayton will leave.

[Dundalis]

They need to sign Ayton. I think I rate Ayton pretty high compared to most around here. The guy is only 23 and big men usually take a big longer to mature. I also think the Suns didn't feature him enough in their offense. We saw what he could do when Booker went down and they went to a more traditional pick and roll offense with CP3 and Ayton.

Suns really screwed up drafting Jalen Smith over Haliburton. Then trading Jalen Smith and now thinking about letting Ayton walk. It just doesn't make sense.

His complete lack of mental toughness is not really teachable though. The talent is there, but we have seen loads of super talented players come through the league and completely waste their potential because of lack of any mental toughness. That said, I think in the right situation he could be a very useful player.

[ElectricMayhem]

Holy ****, I didn't realise Paul is signed to 24/25

then what are they supposed to do? waste cap space when no star is coming? suns should be thanking cp3 for what he did.
they were a lotto 1st round without him.

Couldn't they thank him without paying him the GDP of Mozambique?

The 4-year deal is actually about halfway between Tuvalu and Kiribati. Mozambique's going strong with a GDP of $12.65 billion.

[Doranku]

Not sure why Bridges' horrific series is being glossed over. Dude got the bag in the offseason and then proceeded to average 10/5/3 on 48% TS while getting absolutely TORCHED on defense all series long. I mean Luka was blowing by this guy at will.

Said it at the time and I'll say it again. The Suns will regret choosing to pay Bridges over Ayton for years to come.

[hauntedcomputer]

I thought the Suns were the most well-rounded team in the NBA this year.

There's a reason I am not a highly paid and dashingly handsome executive.

That said, all the pieces look good to me. Something's just not fitting. Honestly I thought Javale should've played a lot more early on, he could've smoked those beanpoles Kleber and Powell. And really, they just happened to look terrible in the most important game of the season. The Mavs were just on fire--they weren't even moving the ball. It was all Brunson, Dinwiddie, and Luka creating their own shots. The offense looked awkward but I'm putting it more in the category of an off night and not a baseline. I would run it back and try to toughen up, giving Paul more rest.

[Ill News]

I thought the Suns were the most well-rounded team in the NBA this year.

There's a reason I am not a highly paid and dashingly handsome executive.

That said, all the pieces look good to me. Something's just not fitting. Honestly I thought Javale should've played a lot more early on, he could've smoked those beanpoles Kleber and Powell. And really, they just happened to look terrible in the most important game of the season. The Mavs were just on fire--they weren't even moving the ball. It was all Brunson, Dinwiddie, and Luka creating their own shots. The offense looked awkward but I'm putting it more in the category of an off night and not a baseline. I would run it back and try to toughen up, giving Paul more rest.

I mean, you're not wrong in that they were the most well-rounded team in the NBA. Their offensive and defensive rating were really high, they have a Point God at the helm, and they won a lot of clutch games.

The problem with them is that even at their best, they simply don't have that one player who's a freak or nightmare matchup for their position. I'm talking about a LeBron, Giannis, Steph, KD, or Luka. Booker's a special player, but he's a tier below the cream of the crop in the league; CP3 is old and always injured when it matters. They also didn't really have anything special as a team, like Boston's defense this year or the Warriors' offensive wizardry at their peak. They were just really, really good, but they were beatable. Their identity was they would just out-execute you to death, but a great defense or a transcendent talent can overcome that. Just look at what happened in the Finals last year. Giannis just **** wrecked them.

So yeah, they still project as a solid team, but this was their chance I think. Even if they still end up the #1 seed next year, no one will believe they could actually win the title anymore for the reasons I stated above.