Suns Starters Sit in Top Ten Rankings After Free Agency Frenzy
There's no doubt about it: The Phoenix Suns have a fairly good starting lineup.
That's evident from Phoenix's run to the 2021 NBA Finals and a regular season that set multiple records last year.
However, the Suns haven't managed to grab their first title in franchise history, and with Chris Paul's age only going up, the clock is ticking for the team to make good on whatever he has left in the tank.
Valuable young pieces such as Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton (at least for now) give the Suns a bright future to build from, especially if guys such as Cam Johnson can continue to improve and add to the arsenal.
Of course, the possibility of acquiring Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets still exists, but until that happens, Phoenix will roll with their familiar lineup (a fairly successful one in recent memory).
Heading into the 2022-23 season, how do Phoenix's starters stack against the rest of the league?
Bleacher Report says the Suns' starting lineup stands fairly high in the NBA, putting them at No. 7 in their recent rankings of starting fives across the league following the initial first wave of free agency:
Suns' Starting Lineup Ranks No.7 in NBA
Starting Five: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton
2021-22 Net Rating: Plus-8.1
"The Phoenix Suns put up an eye-popping plus-34.9 net rating in 50 possessions with Bismack Biyombo in Ayton's place last season, which helps illustrate why the franchise wasn't interested in paying through the nose to keep Ayton until it absolutely had to. The Suns are so good at positions 1 through 4 (throw Cam Johnson in there over Crowder if you want) that it hasn't really mattered who's manning the center spot," said B/R's Grant Hughes.
"Paul, Booker, Bridges and Crowder teamed with JaVale McGee to produce a plus-20.6, and they were a plus-26.4 with the mighty Frank Kaminsky at center. A return to health from Dario Saric will provide a downsized look next season, and we should expect that configuration to smoke opponents just like all the others.
"Ayton is a cut above all the other players who spent time at center for Phoenix last season, assuming he's interested in playing for the Suns after the awkwardness of the past several months. His hands, mobility and overall two-way talent were major factors in the team's 2021 push to the Finals.
"If this ranking seems a spot or two too low, understand it's pricing in the unknown future of Ayton. The $133 million offer sheet Phoenix matched can't be viewed as a clear sign it wants to go forward with Ayton at center. That's possible if fences can be mended, but the decision to match may have been more about retaining a valuable asset that would have otherwise gotten away for nothing. Ayton, the Suns or both could agree it's better for the big man to stay home until he can be traded on Jan. 15.
"This is a ranking of starting fives, and Ayton is (or was) an important part of the Suns'. But their top four might still deserve this position if the fifth piece was a tackling dummy.*
*Which Paul would still find a way to yell at."
B/R's Top Ten Starting Lineups
6. Brooklyn Nets
7. Phoenix Suns
Of course, things could drastically change with the assumed departures of Durant and Kyrie Irving from the Nets. We're only a couple weeks into the offseason, and many dominoes could fall with other moves as well.
However, the Suns are once again sitting in prime position to make a deep run into the postseason.
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