The Phoenix Suns were met with plenty of hype after assembling a star-studded trio of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. However, an underwhelming regular season campaign, capped by a first-round playoff exit, has dramatically cooled expectations.
This is reflected when the conversation turns to the top contenders in the NBA, especially in the Western Conference. Obviously, the Suns can’t be ignored. They’ve brought in a championship coach, picked up a new point guard, and still have a ton of firepower. But even with all that, you don’t see many fans putting them in the same conversation as the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, or Minnesota Timberwolves.
That said, one anonymous NBA executive is still bullish on the Suns. He thinks last year was an outlier season and believes Phoenix is poised to bounce back, projecting them as the team to beat in the West this season.
“The team to beat in the West is Phoenix, believe it or not. I think their top-end talent is just ready to make a move. KD [Kevin Durant] and Book [Devin Booker] are really, really good. They had an outlier year last year with trying to get everything working together. I think [Mike] Budenholzer and Tyus Jones are great additions. I think they will figure out a way to use some draft compensation and [Jusuf] Nurkić contract to get even better [in a trade]. I think the team that emerges from the West in Phoenix. I believe in Kevin. I believe in Booker. I believe in Budenholzer. Denver, Dallas, Oklahoma City are options. But I think the one-two punch in Phoenix is better than the one-two punch anywhere else.”
