Suns Still Have 2 Objectives for This Offseason
The Phoenix Suns had a blueprint heading into the offseason, and they've stuck to it.
It's easy to give lip service when you're in a position of power, but general manager James Jones was adamant from the first few days of the offseason the Suns were going to keep the band together.
“I’m not going to change my approach to team building, which is to create and construct a team that has a ton of depth, a ton of skill and great chemistry,” Jones said to media members in a zoom call. “We just need to be better and I think after a summer where our guys improve, we will be.
“As far as free agency and those things, we’ll address them at the proper time. That happens in July/end of June, but we want to continue to keep our consistency and continuity, and keep the guys that we have and continue to help those guys improve upon the things that we did this year.”
After the team won 64 games last season, who can blame Jones?
Faces such as JaVale McGee, Aaron Holiday and Frank Kaminsky have departed Phoenix, although the Suns were able to hold onto Bismack Biyombo and Deandre Ayton.
The pursuit of Kevin Durant (in the public perception at least) is still on, but with so much uncertainty left in that entire ordeal, a safe bet might be to count on Phoenix continuing with their current roster.
We're slowly edging closer to the beginning of the regular season (less than two months, but who's counting?), yet there's still two duties the Suns need to handle before play gets underway.
Extend Cameron Johnson
We've already gone over what Johnson's fair pay might be in a previous article, but Phoenix's pivotal sixth man is up for a contract extension and undoubtedly deserves a raise after his early start with the Suns.
Jae Crowder is on the way out, whether it be through trade this season or free agency next offseason, and Johnson is poised to take over as a starter sooner rather than later.
"If I can get something done, I’d love to do it, but the same thing I said with DA. There’s a business side of it which you open your eyes to and then there’s the personal side of it which you have to open your eyes to. There’s always a balance between the two," said Johnson to the Arizona Republic.
"Definitely as the summer goes on, and we can call a spade a spade. All these trade rumors going around. That’s the business side of it and you have to expect a team to do what’s in their best interests and you have to expect individual people, in turn, to do what’s in their best interests, but the bottom line is I’ve really loved my time here and if we can get something done, I’d be very happy about it.”
The Suns have Booker, Bridges and now Ayton locked under contract for the foreseeable future. It's time for Johnson to join that club and continue to keep Phoenix's youthful core intact.
Supplementing a Backup PG
The Suns added Damion Lee and Duane Washington Jr. (albeit on a two-way deal) to add to a bench backcourt that already featured Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet.
However, Phoenix still would benefit greatly from a true point guard who can come off the bench and operate an offense while matching scoring with efficiency running the floor.
Chris Paul is another year older, and the wear and tear on him during the postseason brought legitimate concerns last season. Paul will still be the man running the show in Phoenix's most pivotal moments, but a viable presence is needed in his absence. Nobody currently on the roster has proven, to this point, they're that guy when push comes to shove.
There's a handful of options available for the Suns, as names in the likes of Dennis Schroder or Kemba Walker have been tossed around as potential suitors for the job.
One anonymous league executive told heavy.com Walker would be a great fit in Phoenix:
“There was talk about him going to Charlotte, and that would be a good story for a team that might need one with the (Miles) Bridges stuff. But if he wants to play for a contender, he’s probably best off looking at Phoenix. They need another point guard, they need depth behind Paul. Give him a non-guaranteed deal and see how it goes, you can still make a change in January.”
Both objectives can be accomplished before the offseason comes to a conclusion, as these two moves can pay dividends for the short and long term in Phoenix.
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