PHOENIX — The 2024-25 NBA regular season officially kicks off in about nine weeks — and that’s a great time to project what the next version of the Phoenix Suns will look like.
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz played a big role in projecting the Suns’ offensive power, estimating that they will rank as the 4th-best scoring team in the NBA this season. season.
Swartz had three main reasons for the ranking after Phoenix’s disappointing 10th-place finish in offensive rating last season: the point guard additions, the supporting cast of shooters and the new voice in head coach Mike Budenholzer’s locker room.
For a team that features three of the best offensive players in the world in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradey Beal, those numbers should have been higher and now will be with the addition of Jones and Monte Morris.
Jones had a historically efficient season with the Washington Wizards last year, becoming the first NBA player to record an assist percentage above 34% while recording a turnover rate below 9%. Jones’ 7.3 assists per game ranks 12th in the league while his 1.0 turnovers per game ranks tied for 203rd.
Morris had just seven total turnovers in 33 games between the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves, while adding 69 total assists.
– Swartz on PG Acquisitions
The lack of a pure point guard was considered a frequent fatal flaw on the roster last season – and the hope is that it has been rectified by bringing in two of the NBA’s most efficient floor generals – particularly what could be considered the most profitable signing of the offseason in Jones.
These additions should lead to more consistent fourth-quarter performance and a drastic improvement in the assists-to-turnover ratio.
As for Budenholzer, the two-time Coach of the Year should have a much sharper philosophy that would lead to more success over the course of a full season.
New head coach Mike Budenholzer has consistently led some of the NBA’s best offenses during his five seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, with kills ranked 4th, 8th, 6th, 7th and 12th overall.
– Swartz on Budenholzer
You can read here to get a more complete look at what Budenholzer has done over the course of his career as a head coach on the offensive side of the ball, but to put it briefly, he pushes pace, three-point volume and movement – those are three things that this particular set of personnel can be exemplary at.
Finally, the supporting spaces and returning talent might fit better with the big three this time around:
Durant, Booker and Beal are still a three-headed offensive monster and role players like Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkić and Royce O’Neale can all hit shots and/or pass at a high level for their position.
Damion Lee is also back from a year-long injury and is shooting 44.5 percent from three-point range for the Suns during the 2022-23 season.
– Swartz on the supporting cast
O’Neale, Allen and Lee are essential as returning sharpshooters – as all three have shined as stationary three-point threats at various times during their tenures with the Suns.
Nurkic could be the centerpiece of the Suns’ offense being elite this season, as the big man could reinvent himself as a floor spacer this season after struggling in that role with short-term volume last season.
If Nurkic can be a threat on the high block and even from the three-point line, this is absolutely one of the most complete, if not most potent, offenses in the NBA.
