PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns have plenty of detractors and naysayers heading into the 2024-25 season.
Some believe the peak of this core has already been reached. Others argue that Kevin Durant will soon begin his natural decline. Some even believe that Mike Budenholzer is a lateral transfer from Frank Vogel — cultural fit notwithstanding.
Zach Buckley from Bleacher Report He bucked the trend to some extent — as he ranked the Suns as the second-most likely franchise to win an elusive first title this season — and here’s his detailed reasoning.
“A team with as many stars as the Suns should never be allowed to exist as a sleeping giant. Yet Phoenix has encountered enough obstacles in its first encounter with the Kevin Durant-Devin Booker-Bradley Beal triumvirate that it feels like people are too quick to dismiss what kind of club it could be.
“You can quibble about the injury risks and the overall depth of this team, but you have to acknowledge how high their ceiling is. The Suns had 16 different three-man combinations log at least 400 minutes together last season; all of them outscored the opposition by more than five points per 100 possessions.
“Their 10th-ranked offense has been a bit disappointing, but perhaps a coaching change from Frank Vogel to Mike Budenholzer and a revamped point guard rotation now featuring Tyus Jones and Monte Morris will fix that. Their 13th-ranked defense has likely met (or exceeded) expectations and should get a boost from first-round rookie Ryan Dunn, arguably the best defender in this year’s draft.”
– Buckley on Suns’ potential title run
It’s a very well-thought-out argument. Booker is generally a phenomenal playoff player, despite the narratives that follow him. Durant is an all-time great. Beal is unlikely to return to 30-point-per-game form, but he still has an untapped ceiling that he could reach in his second year in the Valley.
They’ve also found a way to reshape the roster in subtle, but highly consequential ways. Coach Budenholzer is also the ideal architect of the roster that was assembled this summer — there could be more than five players on the roster who are threats to go a full season shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range.
The offense should be much better this year than the 10th-place finish it had last regular season – and it could even be among the elite of the league.
It’s actually too early to give up on the upside of this flagship. It’s extremely difficult to conceive that a team like the Orlando Magic – or even the Memphis Grizzlies – has better potential or a better chance of winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2025.
The Suns trailed only the Minnesota Timberwolves, who notably won 4-0 when the two teams met in the first round of the 2024 playoffs.
