PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns currently employ one of the best scorers in NBA history, a four-time All-Star, a three-time All-Star, a coach who has won a championship and several veteran, accomplished role players.
And for the past two months, they've basically been terrible.
The Suns entered the season with championship aspirations thanks to their Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, but are struggling with a 17-19 record as the midpoint of the season nears. Now, general manager James Jones and owner Mat Ishbia have to decide whether to stand pat, make minor changes or blow up the roster as the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaches.
Here's a look at the Suns' situation:
The season so far
Over the summer, the Suns hired coach Mike Budenholzer, an Arizona-native who won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks over the Suns in 2021. He replaced Frank Vogel, who led the Suns to a 49-33 record last season before the team got swept by the Timberwolves in the first round.
The coaching change seemed to work in the season's early weeks: Durant, Booker and Beal were healthy and the Suns jumped to an 8-1 start. But in the ninth game, Durant suffered a calf injury, which kept him out of the lineup for a few weeks. That started a run of relatively minor, but constant injuries to multiple players that meant Budenholzer was constantly shuffling his rotations.
Since the hot start, the Suns are just 9-18 and have tumbled all the way to the 12th spot in the Western Conference, which would be out of the playoff field.
So, what's the problem?
The injuries certainly haven't helped, but there have been other problems.
The trio of Durant, Booker and Beal has never quite seemed to mesh over the past 1 1/2 seasons, even though all of their individual numbers are pretty good. Budenholzer recently moved Beal to the bench in an effort to spread out the scoring and the three-time All-Star has responded with some good games, even if he hasn't seemed particularly excited about the move.
“It’s something that is going to take some time," Budenholzer said. “It’s like everything, there’s been some positives, there’s some things we got to work through and continue to just improve, but obviously it’s something we felt was good for the team and could help us.”
There are also problems in the post. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic is averaging just 8.6 points, which is his lowest mark since he was 21 years old in 2016. Nurkic was also moved to the bench and didn't play at all in the team's 123-115 win over the Hawks on Thursday.
Can they trade their way out of this mess?
Great question.
The Suns have one of the most expensive rosters in the league and don't have a lot of room to maneuver. They've also shipped away most of their upcoming first-round draft picks in other trades, so they don't have many assets.
Beal is making roughly $50 million this season, while Nurkic is at $18 million and both are also under contract next year, making them tough contracts to move. Beal also has a no-trade clause. The Suns have been linked in various reports to disgruntled Heat star Jimmy Butler, but from a salary cap perspective, it would seem hard to acquire him unless Beal is part of the trade.
The best trade chips would certainly be Durant and Booker, but the Suns don't seem to have much of a taste for moving either player.
The next steps
The Suns have won two of three games since moving Beal to the bench and there's a winnable stretch of games coming up, starting with home matchups against the Jazz and Hornets this weekend.
If Phoenix can climb above .500 over the next couple weeks, the front office might be inclined to stick with the core group and make more minor changes. Otherwise, there might be some major moves ahead.
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