- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,129,127
- Reaction score
- 59
Joanne Zwicker of Sun City is fine with her Phoenix Suns staying largely where they are after a 45-win season and return to the NBA playoffs after missing it last season with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
“I think this team this year was wonderful,” she said. “I just love watching them develop. They seem to get along with each other so well, they're enthusiastic, and I hope (Suns team owner) Mat Ishbia doesn't mess with them and start moving them around.
"He needs to give them another year anyway, to see what happens. The ones that are injured, they'll get better. They'll be back. Like Mark Williams. He'll be back in. It'll be good.”
The Arizona Republic asked readers for their opinions on what the Suns should do this offseason.
This is the second installment, as fans discussed what the team should do moving forward with Jalen Green and the center position in the first mailbag.
Ishbia addressed the roster at his end-of-season news conference.
“Do we take calls about opportunistic trades and ideas, of course we do,” Ishbia said last month. “However, our massive, massive lean is I like this team, I like where we're going, I like the direction of the organization, I like the culture that we built, I like the identity that we have and we're not going to do anything silly to mess that up.”
Like Zwicker, Suns fan Mark Perkins of Phoenix is cool with the team building continuity and focusing on player development, but he’s looking for Booker to raise his level of play.
The franchise’s all-time leading scorer averaged a playoff career-low 21.3 points, 4.8 assists, and a playoff career-worst four turnovers in the first round against defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept the Suns.
“Personally, I think Devin Booker is a great guy and is a great face for the Suns franchise,” Perkins wrote. “Problem though, he's absolutely not worth his most recent contract extension of $75M a year and not even worth his current contract of $50M a year. Being the face of the franchise, I would have expected Booker to carry the team against Oklahoma City. He was schooled by Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) and didn't show up when the Suns needed him most.
“It's apparent that their newest owner (Ishbia) is attempting to win a championship at all costs. Look at the mess of a team they attempted to create with Booker, Durant and Beal. Why would you pay Beal $50M a year for a guy who had a history of being injured? I loved Kevin Durant and wished we could have kept him.”
Perkins isn’t calling for Ishbia to trade Booker or Green, though.
“Moving forward, I think the Suns need to continue to work with their young team and hopefully they can continue to mesh better,” Perkins wrote. “It would be great to see a few of their young players step forward and be more dominant. It doesn't make sense at this point to deal Booker or Green. They really need a healthy team, especially their star players. It was very disappointing to see Jalen Green and Grayson Allen miss so many games with injuries. Hopefully, next season those injuries are a thing of the past."
A right hamstring injury limited Green to 32 games in the regular season while Allen dealt with multiple injuries, playing just 51 games.
Michael Ulfers of Phoenix also believes the Suns should place an emphasis on continuity and player development.
“That will be instrumental in the program’s success over the next 3-5 years,” Ulfers wrote. “The core of this team needs an entire offseason and training camp together that will carry over into October. They were the biggest surprise in the league last season and essentially came together on-the-fly. ... The window is open. Don't slam it shut with unnecessary turnover.”
Ulfers isn’t against the Suns making a trade if it means addressing their lack of size at the power forward position.
“The Suns need a power forward who aligns with their identity and spaces the floor to open up the offense,” Ulfers wrote. “It would require parting with a fan favorite in Grayson Allen, but if they can turn him into Bobby Portis (also Taurean Prince to match salaries), it instantly gives the Suns more size/length, defense and rebounding. They’d be losing one of the best 3-point shooters in the league over the last few seasons, but gaining a legitimate floor spacing big who also makes sense next to Booker and (Dillon) Brooks.”
Ulfers is all for the Suns re-signing unrestricted free agents Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, but wrote they aren’t “starters on a contender.”
Mark Williams is a restricted free agent, meaning the Suns can match any offer sheet from another team.
Ulfers has an idea of how much Phoenix should pay Williams, who averaged 11.7 points and eight rebounds in a career-best 60 games, but the 7-footer missed the playoffs with a recurring left foot third metatarsal stress reaction.
“Match selectively,” Ulfers wrote. “Williams' injury history is impossible to ignore. He missed the playoffs when the team needed him the most. The Suns shouldn't exceed $12-15 million annually on a player who can't be counted on in high-leverage moments. A three-year, $36-45 million deal reflects his value: high upside with significant risk. Anything more is betting against the house.”
Brooks and Green are up for extensions.
The max extension Brooks can land is four years for $125.4 million after the 2026 NBA Finals. As for Green, he’s eligible for a max extension of four years, $195.2 million Oct. 1.
“Wait on both,” Ulfers wrote. “Brooks is going to be 31 years old next January, and committing to players in their early 30s should require proof the production will age gracefully. Jalen Green hasn’t shown enough to warrant a lucrative extension either, and locking him into one now could make him untradable (similar to the Beal dilemma) if he has another season like his first in Phoenix.”
Ulfers also gave his opinion on whether the Suns should start Rasheer Fleming and 7-footer Khaman Maluach next season.
Maluach and Fleming had some positive moments as rookies last season.
“I think they both can start next season, but they shouldn’t,” Ulfers wrote. “They both have the talent, but starting them won’t bridge the gap from 45 wins to 50-55 games next season. That jump requires veteran reliability, not potential. Let them earn minutes through competition, and not by default. Development happens best when young players have to take jobs instead of inheriting them.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns mailbag 2. Patience for Booker, Green; money for Williams
Continue reading...
“I think this team this year was wonderful,” she said. “I just love watching them develop. They seem to get along with each other so well, they're enthusiastic, and I hope (Suns team owner) Mat Ishbia doesn't mess with them and start moving them around.
"He needs to give them another year anyway, to see what happens. The ones that are injured, they'll get better. They'll be back. Like Mark Williams. He'll be back in. It'll be good.”
The Arizona Republic asked readers for their opinions on what the Suns should do this offseason.
This is the second installment, as fans discussed what the team should do moving forward with Jalen Green and the center position in the first mailbag.
Ishbia addressed the roster at his end-of-season news conference.
“Do we take calls about opportunistic trades and ideas, of course we do,” Ishbia said last month. “However, our massive, massive lean is I like this team, I like where we're going, I like the direction of the organization, I like the culture that we built, I like the identity that we have and we're not going to do anything silly to mess that up.”
Like Zwicker, Suns fan Mark Perkins of Phoenix is cool with the team building continuity and focusing on player development, but he’s looking for Booker to raise his level of play.
The franchise’s all-time leading scorer averaged a playoff career-low 21.3 points, 4.8 assists, and a playoff career-worst four turnovers in the first round against defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept the Suns.
“Personally, I think Devin Booker is a great guy and is a great face for the Suns franchise,” Perkins wrote. “Problem though, he's absolutely not worth his most recent contract extension of $75M a year and not even worth his current contract of $50M a year. Being the face of the franchise, I would have expected Booker to carry the team against Oklahoma City. He was schooled by Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) and didn't show up when the Suns needed him most.
“It's apparent that their newest owner (Ishbia) is attempting to win a championship at all costs. Look at the mess of a team they attempted to create with Booker, Durant and Beal. Why would you pay Beal $50M a year for a guy who had a history of being injured? I loved Kevin Durant and wished we could have kept him.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Perkins isn’t calling for Ishbia to trade Booker or Green, though.
“Moving forward, I think the Suns need to continue to work with their young team and hopefully they can continue to mesh better,” Perkins wrote. “It would be great to see a few of their young players step forward and be more dominant. It doesn't make sense at this point to deal Booker or Green. They really need a healthy team, especially their star players. It was very disappointing to see Jalen Green and Grayson Allen miss so many games with injuries. Hopefully, next season those injuries are a thing of the past."
A right hamstring injury limited Green to 32 games in the regular season while Allen dealt with multiple injuries, playing just 51 games.
You must be registered for see images attach
Michael Ulfers of Phoenix also believes the Suns should place an emphasis on continuity and player development.
“That will be instrumental in the program’s success over the next 3-5 years,” Ulfers wrote. “The core of this team needs an entire offseason and training camp together that will carry over into October. They were the biggest surprise in the league last season and essentially came together on-the-fly. ... The window is open. Don't slam it shut with unnecessary turnover.”
Ulfers isn’t against the Suns making a trade if it means addressing their lack of size at the power forward position.
“The Suns need a power forward who aligns with their identity and spaces the floor to open up the offense,” Ulfers wrote. “It would require parting with a fan favorite in Grayson Allen, but if they can turn him into Bobby Portis (also Taurean Prince to match salaries), it instantly gives the Suns more size/length, defense and rebounding. They’d be losing one of the best 3-point shooters in the league over the last few seasons, but gaining a legitimate floor spacing big who also makes sense next to Booker and (Dillon) Brooks.”
You must be registered for see images
Ulfers is all for the Suns re-signing unrestricted free agents Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, but wrote they aren’t “starters on a contender.”
Mark Williams is a restricted free agent, meaning the Suns can match any offer sheet from another team.
Ulfers has an idea of how much Phoenix should pay Williams, who averaged 11.7 points and eight rebounds in a career-best 60 games, but the 7-footer missed the playoffs with a recurring left foot third metatarsal stress reaction.
“Match selectively,” Ulfers wrote. “Williams' injury history is impossible to ignore. He missed the playoffs when the team needed him the most. The Suns shouldn't exceed $12-15 million annually on a player who can't be counted on in high-leverage moments. A three-year, $36-45 million deal reflects his value: high upside with significant risk. Anything more is betting against the house.”
Brooks and Green are up for extensions.
The max extension Brooks can land is four years for $125.4 million after the 2026 NBA Finals. As for Green, he’s eligible for a max extension of four years, $195.2 million Oct. 1.
“Wait on both,” Ulfers wrote. “Brooks is going to be 31 years old next January, and committing to players in their early 30s should require proof the production will age gracefully. Jalen Green hasn’t shown enough to warrant a lucrative extension either, and locking him into one now could make him untradable (similar to the Beal dilemma) if he has another season like his first in Phoenix.”
Ulfers also gave his opinion on whether the Suns should start Rasheer Fleming and 7-footer Khaman Maluach next season.
Maluach and Fleming had some positive moments as rookies last season.
“I think they both can start next season, but they shouldn’t,” Ulfers wrote. “They both have the talent, but starting them won’t bridge the gap from 45 wins to 50-55 games next season. That jump requires veteran reliability, not potential. Let them earn minutes through competition, and not by default. Development happens best when young players have to take jobs instead of inheriting them.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns mailbag 2. Patience for Booker, Green; money for Williams
Continue reading...
