The Phoenix Suns, two years removed from one of the more surprising playoff pushes in recent history, now posses one of the worst records in the NBA. Last season was ruined by a combination of injuries and the ill-fitting backcourt of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas. This year has fallen apart due to injuries again, infighting between players, coaches and management, and the roster not coming together as originally planned.

Phoenix is at at a crossroads, which may seem strange for a team at the bottom of the standings. The Suns have several win-now pieces on their roster (Bledsoe, Knight, Tyson Chandler, Mirza Teletovic, P.J. Tucker), but those pieces are combined with very young players who need experience (Devin Booker, Alex Len, T.J. Warren). The mix is clearly not working and this summer will determine the direction Phoenix takes over the next few years.

In many respects, the Suns' offseason began at the Trade Deadline when they dealt away Markieff Morris to Washington. Getting a top-9 protected pick for Morris (which seems likely to convey this year) was seen as a bit of a coup. Morris had no future with Phoenix and his reputation around the league had seemingly sunk. The Wizards took a chance to add a talented player. For the Suns, it was an easy decision to move on and get value when it was offered. 

The first priority for the Suns this offseason should be to hire their next head coach. They need to make sure the next coach can control the roster and fits with the vision the front office has for the franchise. Earl Watson has done a solid job in an almost impossible situation, but he’s not likely to be the choice to lead the team going forward. The Suns would be well served to reach out to experienced, established options like Tom Thibodeau or Jeff Van Gundy.

Of course, before a coach like Thibodeau or Van Gundy would sign on, they would want to know the club is committed to being a playoff contender in the near-term. To get to that decision point, Phoenix needs to consider their needs against their haves.

The Suns seem set in the backcourt with the combination of Bledsoe, Booker and Knight. Both Knight and Bledsoe can play either PG or SG. Booker, while playing some PG this year, is a natural SG. Phoenix also needs to decide if they want to continue the two PG system they’ve run for the last few seasons. In that scenario, Booker might need to shift up to SF. That would leave Phoenix small, but potentially a tough team to defend. Especially if they choose to push pace and spread the floor.

That shifts attention to the frontcourt. Out of necessity, the Suns have spent a lot of time playing Chandler and Len next to each other at the big positions this season. Chandler no longer has the athleticism to guard PFs, especially the rangy stretch 4s that hang out around the arc. Len is not now, nor ever will be, a power forward. He’s too slow of foot and commits too many fouls to be chasing anyone around the perimeter. Both of these players are pure centers and should be playing as such. Because of this, Phoenix may need to make a decision if Chandler is part of the future or not. Tyson Chandler has already stated he's not interested in being part of a rebuild. If that is the direction the Suns choose, it would be in their best interest to deal Chandler away. That could be difficult as his production no longer matches his salary, but the increasing cap should ease that process somewhat.

If the Suns choose to try and contend, they could be best served to keep Chandler as the veteran backbone of their defense and deal Len in a package for an established player. With Len and a package of first round picks, the Suns could potentially fetch a return of an established PF or scoring wing player. In this scenario, Phoenix would be best served to hang on to P.J. Tucker as well, as his contract is reasonable for a player who provides solid defense, rebounding and decent shooting from three. Mirza Teletovic has been terrific this year as a stretch 4. He’s hit nearly 40% from behind the line, while making over 2 three pointers a game. If the Suns are choosing to push for the playoffs Teletovic would be a nice bench piece.

If Phoenix does go the playoff route, they’ll be mentioned as a destination for Al Horford, as he would fill their hole at PF very nicely. The presence of Bledsoe and Knight probably keeps them from pursuing Mike Conley Jr., but they will chase wing scorers/shooters. RFAs Bradley Beal, Evan Fournier and Harrison Barnes would all be a nice fit for the Suns. Any of them would be very good alongside Devin Booker, especially if Bledsoe or Knight is shifted to a role as the first guard off the bench. Nic Batum would be a terrific fit on the wing for Phoenix as well. It also wouldn’t be shocking to see the Suns get a meeting with Kevin Durant, should he choose to entertain offers this summer. Most of those players are currently out of Phoenix’s price range for the amount of cap space they project to have, but they could easily free up the necessary space to chase a big name.

Phoenix could go an entirely different direction and choose to blow up the team and rebuild. They could trade Chandler, Tucker (or simply waive Tucker before his salary fully guarantees on 6/30) and possibly Bledsoe or Knight. They can take whatever assets they get for those players and pair them with Booker, Len, and T.J. Warren (who was looking like a solid contributor as a bench scorer prior to breaking his foot). The Suns have three projected first round picks as well, including one that is currently sitting as the third pick. If they jump to one or two and can select Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons, that could set this team up for years with young talent across all positions. Keeping that young core together could be a bit of a challenge, but the Suns would have a few years to worry about that. 

If you look beyond the Suns' bleak record, you can easily see options for this team to get back into contention. They can get to the requisite cap space to add a player or two this summer. They have assets in the form of young talent and picks if they want to add vets through trade. They have vets they could trade to further build their asset base if they choose to fully rebuild. The first key is that the front office sets a vision for the future, hires a coach to execute that vision on the floor and then stays on that path. Phoenix is a market players like. They’ll get meetings with FAs and no one really seems to complain about going to Phoenix when traded there. They were somewhat close on LaMarcus Aldridge last summer, but close doesn’t build champions. Phoenix either needs to seal the deal this summer or they need to rebuild. Floundering around without clear direction will put the franchise in the spin cycle of mediocrity for years to come.

Offseason Details

Guaranteed Contracts (7): Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker, Tyson Chandler, Archie Goodwin, Brandon Knight, Alex Len, T.J. Warren

Partial/Non-Guaranteed Contracts (3): John Jenkins, P.J. Tucker, Alan Williams

Potential Free Agents (4): Chase Budinger, Jon Leuer, Ronnie Price, Mirza Teletovic

“Dead” Money on Cap (1): $777,777.00 (Michael Beasley)

First Round Draft Picks (as of 3/22/16): #3, #13, #28. Also, rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic

Maximum Cap Space: $33,713,388.00

Projected Cap Space: $18,158,784.00