Devin Booker made history but the Suns made heartbreak inevitable
The Suns are still in the mix but the walls are closing in.
Week 16 of the Phoenix Suns’ season felt like a marathon with no finish line. The trade deadline is a fever dream. Rumors swirl, deals dangle on the edge of reality, and just when you think something has to happen, the clock runs out. Then comes the exhale. The roster, for better or worse, is set.
Meanwhile, there’s still basketball to be played.
We clung to the hope that deadline magic might shift the team’s trajectory, but instead, Week 16 was when reality settled in. The preseason visions? Dead on arrival. The Suns, despite their star power, are once again a team built for the wrong era, trying to force a square peg into a round, pace-and-space league.
It’s a cruel twist of fate. Just like the Seven Seconds or Less Suns were built a couple of decades too soon, this version of the team feels a decade too late. Back then, a roster stacked with max-contract stars was a blueprint for success. Now? It’s a straitjacket, squeezing out depth, cohesion, and adaptability in an era that demands all three.
So what’s left? Ten weeks of searching for silver linings in a season that hasn’t gone as planned. We squint at the future, trying to spot something — anything — that translates beyond this year. Bol Bol had a hell of a week, so sure, let’s cling to that. If this season has taught us anything, it’s that hope is relative.
