Analyst: Suns' Roster is Fatally Flawed

PHOENIX -- Seemingly everybody has poured in their two cents on what the Phoenix Suns can do to improve their championship chances this season.

Analyst after analyst has stepped on their soapbox to deliver an ultimate solution, and ESPN's Michael Wilbon was the latest on a recent episode of "NBA Today" where he deemed Phoenix's roster as "fatally" flawed:

"Red Auerbach wouldn't solve their biggest problems. Phil Jackson wouldn't solve their biggest problems. Pat Riley wouldn't solve their biggest problems. No. Their roster is flawed - fatally flawed," he said.

"They don't have the pieces. This is what happened all year. People want to sit around and you know I spent a lot, a chunk of my life in Arizona. People want to blame one of these guys, the two or three - no. They don't have a person to run and organize that team in the moments that matter most in games.

"Fourth quarter and crunch time? [Phoenix] don't have it. Not on the roster. [Mike] Budenholzer, if he comes in and they make a substantive change. I'm not talking about subtle changes. I'm not talking about end of the bench or even depth. I'm talking about primary roster alteration. Can they do that? How do they do it? They have to trade one of those guys - and I know which one I have in mind - to alter what is going on with the Suns. And it's not going to be just bringing a new head coach in.

"... This is a player's league. You have to have somebody on that team who's going to run it and organize it at the times that matter most in the game. They don't have that."

The point guard position has been the talk of the town after Phoenix dealt Chris Paul last summer. With Devin Booker and Bradley Beal at the helm, the Suns were confident an offense also involving Kevin Durant could function without a "traditional" point guard.

They still believe that to be the case.

“I think the team could benefit from having a point guard,” Suns GM James Jones told reporters weeks ago.

“I believe the team could benefit from having backup forwards, backup centers. I still always go back to your best players on the floor. That’s a narrative we’ll hear a lot, point guard, point guard. Sure, that’s great. Who do you want? Who is available given the way we’re built? Who can fit with this group? Whose game seamlessly fits with this group and when you put that player on the floor and you take the ball out of someone’s hands, whose hands are you taking it out of and who are putting in that position?”

In an offseason where it feels like all options are on the table, Phoenix will again be a team to monitor as their championship window looks to remain open.