The Suns’ roster looks significantly different compared to last Opening Day
Where are the role players from a season ago now? All over the world…
We stand on the edge of a new season, with the Phoenix Suns set to tip off Wednesday in Los Angeles against the Clippers. It’s been a year since we last felt this familiar surge of excitement, and what a difference a year can make.
Entering last season, our hopes were high. The moves James Jones made during the summer of 2023 appeared sound. He brought in young, athletic, high-upside talent to bolster a team with one of the league’s highest payrolls. It seemed like a smart approach.
We believed that a few of those players would emerge and provide the necessary support for the Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. Though the team lacked a traditional point guard, we understood it would be an experiment, and we hoped it would succeed.
The role players struggled, prompting James Jones to hit the reset button at the trade deadline. Despite the changes, the season ended in disappointment, as the Suns were swept out of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves after finishing with a 49-33 record.
Looking back at the roster, it’s hard not to feel foolish. These were the players we thought would elevate the Suns to the next level? It brings to mind the conversations we had before last season, when we looked back at the 2022-23 roster that fell to the Denver Nuggets in the second round and saw that several players from that team were still unsigned.
