To succeed in the future you must evaluate what made the past so great. That can be used in all aspects of life and, of course, in basketball.
The Phoenix Suns have the 4th best winning percentage in the history of the NBA. They only trail the Celtics, Lakers, and Spurs in that ranking. Despite never getting to hoist up the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the Suns have consistently been one of the great teams in the association.
Unfortunately, this hasn't continued into the current decade. Actually, the Suns are in the midst of their worst playoff drought in team history. They currently have a young superstar in 21-year-old shooting guard Devin Booker, a young core around him, and multiple assets they can use in order to add more talent to the roster. What's next?
What did make the past so great? Why are the Phoenix Suns a top 10 NBA franchise?
It's always been the point guard and a big man.
One of the two defining duos in the history of the Phoenix Suns are Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley. The other is Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. Those two duos dominated for a number of years and were the catalysts behind excellent Suns teams.
There are a few ways the current Suns team can attempt to mimic the past. First, find a point guard. Looking around the league, there are plenty of quality point guards that could be had with the right deal. Whether it be Kemba Walker on a lesser deal or going more expensive and attempting to acquire John Wall or Damian Lillard, the Suns have options.
Then there's the draft. If the Suns were to go with a big man early, point guard would become a necessity with either Miami's first-round pick or Milwaukee's, if Milwaukee's transfers. With those picks, you can hope to draft Trevon Duval out of Duke or even attempt to package the picks and grab Colin Sexton. But, if the Suns hope to go point guard with their first pick in the draft, which will surely be high, there's only one target. It's Trae Young.
Trae Young, averaging 29.6 points and 9.6 assists per game, could be the perfect fit next to Devin Booker. Booker wouldn't need to facilitate the ball as he does now, and could simply focus on getting the ball in the hoop. As he is currently averaging over 25 points per game, having such an impactful scorer such as Young on the roster would only open things up for him. Young himself would get more scoring chances than he could on any team in the top 10 in the draft outside of Cleveland or Boston. He would also be able to get the ball to capable shooters such as Troy Daniels or Dragan Bender. With all of that, Young could immediately come into Phoenix and put up 18 and 8 in his first season. If the lottery balls fall Phoenix's way, watch out for Trae Young in purple and orange.
Then there's the big man. The Suns have a multitude of big men on the roster currently, and it feels like none of them are very good. Marquese Chriss and Bender have potential but have struggled their first couple years in the league. Other than that, the other big men on the roster are essentially journeymen. Tyson Chandler and Greg Monroe aren't going to be on the roster next season. Alex Len has become an excellent rebounder, but that's all. Clearly, the Suns need a guy who can rebound effectively and score the ball enough to take pressure off of the backcourt.
While the Suns would have to make a trade to get a quality point guard, there are some very exciting big men who are going to hit free agency soon. Clint Capela and Aaron Gordon are both going to be restricted free agents this summer.
Both are important members of their current team, but if the Rockets make a splash in free agency Capela could be let go. If the Magic want to blow it up and start over again, Aaron Gordon could be made available through a sign-and-trade deal. Either way, those two would be huge signings for the Suns and could begin to form an excellent pick and roll duo with Devin Booker.
In the draft, there are two fantastic center prospects.
Deandre Ayton is likely to be the number one overall pick, so the Suns would need some luck from the lottery if they have their eyes on Ayton.
The more likely prospect for the Suns is Mohamed Bamba or Mo for short. Mo Bamba is shooting over 50%, gets almost 11 rebounds per game, and is protecting the rim to a tune of 4.3 blocks per game. The defensive prowess of Bamba easily makes him one of the most enticing prospects in this class.
The Suns are in dire need of excitement. The past has shown us that the Suns succeed when they have their point guard and their big man. As of right now, they have neither. But not all hope is lost. With guys like Trae Young and Mo Bamba in the draft to go along with Walker, Gordon and Capela all being made available through trade or free agency, this is the summer of opportunity. Phoenix already has its next superstar in Devin Booker.
It's time to start being aggressive and to start winning and now is the time to make it happen.
