Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team.
Each week the Fantable - a round table of Bright Siders - give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1 - If the Suns do make it to the Play-In tournament, do you think they have a chance to actually advance to the playoffs?
OldAz: Their only chance is if OKC takes their foot off the gas down the stretch much like the Suns did when they won 64 games and ran away with the regular season. That season the Suns got into a funk and struggled more than they should have in the first round before imploding against Dallas. If the Suns have any shot, it will be more about OKC not playing up to their potential.
Rod: With the extremely tough schedule they have to deal with just to get into the play-in games, if they can make it there, then I would have a hard time betting against them to win their way to that 8th seed spot in the actual playoffs. Why? Because they’re very likely going to have to defeat several teams that are better than them in this final regular season stretch to get there than they would potentially face in the play-in stage.
With that said, I’d also have a hard time actually betting for them either.
The beating they took against the Celtics was a harsh lesson on not overestimating their chances to get there but it wasn’t enough to make me completely rule out their chances. Facts are facts, though. With the degree of difficulty they face with their remaining schedule, the Suns quite likely aren’t going to get the chance to play in the play-in games, but if they do get there, I’d give them a 50-50 chance of advancing.
If they were to actually get beyond the play-in stage, they’re most likely done in just 4 games vs OKC and that’s it for this season.
Voita: Oh. Hell. No.
Outside of a few fleeting sparks, this team has shown no ability to sustain a fire. If the Suns were cavemen, natural selection would have wiped them out by now. Any small variable snuffs out their fire-making ability, and facing a team above them in the standings is like battling the elements—challenges they simply can’t overcome. Wind? Rain? Doesn’t matter. The fire dies, and they stand there, clueless, watching the embers fade.
Get to the playoffs. Freeze to death.
Q2 - If it’s possible to do (which we have now found out that it’s NOT), waiving and stretching Beal’s salary along with some other roster cost-cutting measures could get the Suns below the 2nd tax apron while also keeping KD. Although it would add a lot of dead money to the Suns’ cap sheet for many years, is this an option you would seriously consider?
OldAz: Consider, sure. But I am not sure how seriously. Beal’s issues are well-documented, and the Suns have played well without him. However, this option, while getting them under the 2nd apron still severely limits their ability to fill out the roster with long athletic defenders that will be needed if they are keeping KD. Being under the 2nd apron (in my opinion) is a gun with one bullet because as soon as you use any of the options it opens up, you are likely right back over the 2nd apron.
Rod: No. I’ve always disliked the option because I didn’t want the Suns to do it because they would be saddled with so much dead money on their cap sheet for so many years. Thankfully, it’s recently come to light that it’s just not possible to stretch the two remaining years of his contract but there’s another wrinkle for the Suns to consider. The could waive him, pay out his entire $53 mil salary for 2025-26 and then use the delayed stretch rule to stretch the final year which would be paid out over the following 3 years at $19 mil per year.
I don’t like that option either because of the dead money involved, and it just doesn’t make any sense to do so. If you’re going to pay him his entire salary for 2025-26 during that season, why would you not want him actually playing, even in a much-reduced role? If you want him gone after that season, then you could waive and stretch his final contract year for the same amount ($19 mil) and number of years (3). By that time, the rise in the cap (and the apron levels) would make that much dead money a bit easier to deal with.
As I’ve mentioned before, do whatever you can to try and trade him this summer, even if you have to take back several smaller bad contracts in return. It probably won’t work simply because of Beal’s NTC, but it’s still worth trying.
Voita: Such a tough question. But I’m going with yes. I truly believe that with the right roster around Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, great things can happen. They are elite scorers, the kind of players you dream about having when the game is on the line. They can win you games. The key is investing in the right pieces around them.
I wish we could’ve seen a full season with CP3 and Deandre Ayton alongside them because that’s exactly what they need—a cerebral, accountable facilitator and a rim-running big with defensive length. It was right there for the Suns. But they overthought it. And now we’re paying the price, stuck contemplating questions like this instead of celebrating a team built to last.
So let’s try to squeeze two or three more years out of this window. That dead cap would average around 10% of their total cap. It sucks, no doubt. But it’s a price worth paying if it means we can say, without hesitation, that we did everything possible to maximize this opportunity.
Q3 - Bol Bol has shown some improvement and is a fan favorite, but is that enough for the Suns to re-sign him this offseason if it’s going to cost more than the league minimum?
OldAz: The Bol experiment has been fun, and he has had good runs in other seasons, but the one constant is that he is simply not a good defender. The only way this makes sense is if other teams show serious interest in him and the Suns pay about that same amount, hoping to trade him before the deadline next season. I just don’t see how Bol can be a contributor to winning basketball for this team.
Rod: If the Suns are going to try to get under the 2nd tax apron, I likely wouldn’t do it. Bol can be a great offensive weapon but as we’ve seen lately, defense is really what this team needs. If no other team offers him a better contract, I have no problem with bringing him back again on another minimum contract but a more expensive contract would just make it more difficult for the Suns to get under that 2nd tax apron and so far he hasn’t proved to me that he’s a player worth giving up on that goal just to keep.
Voita: Bring back Bol Bol if he’s willing to play for the league minimum. The regular season keeps proving that you need players like him to survive the grind. Every team has a guy who flashes throughout the year. Someone who teases rotational potential before reality inevitably sets in.
Bol is a solid piece to have. He alters the defense’s eye level. He can knock down threes. But his defensive issues will always limit his role, which is why he struggles to stay on the floor consistently. I like him on the team, but not for more than the minimum, especially given the Suns’ tax constraints.
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Rookie Report
Ryan Dunn - 18.0 mpg, 6.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.6 bpg, 0.4 TO, 2.1 PF, 43.4% FG%, 31.3% 3P%, 42.9% FT%
Last Week - 24.5 mpg, 9.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.3 bpg, 1.3 TO, 3.0 PF, 47.6% FG%, 46.7% 3P%, 0.0% FT%
Oso Ighodaro - 15.8 mpg, 3.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.4 spg, 0.4 bpg, 0.6 TO, 1.6 PF, 59.4% FG%, 0.0 3P%, 58.1% FT%
Last Week - 21.9 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.7 bpg, 0.0 TO, 2.3 PF, 58.3% FG%, 0.0 3P%, 100.0% FT%
Statistics courtesy of NBA.com.
Injury Report
Bradley Beal (Hamstring) - Expected to be out until at least April 1.
Last Week’s poll results
Last week’s question was “Do you want the Suns to keep Cody Martin on the roster for next season?”
90% - Yes.
10% - No.
A total of 241 votes were cast.
Suns Trivia/History
Devin Booker has more assists this season than any other season of his career. With 8 games remaining, he needs 17 more assists to reach the 500 mark on the season and be the first Sun since Chris Paul with 500+ assists in a season. Only 13 players in franchise history have had at least 1 season with 500+ assists. Steve Nash leads the Suns in the most 500+ assist seasons all-time with 8. This would be the 34th time in franchise history that a Suns player had 500+ assists in a single season.
On March 29, 1970, in just their second season the Suns upset the Lakers 114-101 in Los Angeles for the franchise’s first ever playoff win in game 2 which evened the series 1-1. They would go on to win games 3 and 4 at home on April 2nd and 4th to take a 3-1 series advantage. Unfortunately, the Suns couldn’t get the 4th victory they needed to win the series and progress to the next round of the playoffs as the Lakers won the next 3 games. It was during this playoff series that Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn gave the Suns’ home, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the nickname “Madhouse on McDowell.”
On April 3, 2002, the Suns lost 89-83 - in an overtime game - to the Philadelphia 76ers. It is the lowest point total by the Suns ever in an overtime game. Curiously, the Suns 2nd lowest point total in an overtime game (84 points) was in an 84-83 overtime win against Minnesota on Feb. 26, 2013.
Quote of the Week
“I prefer to play 48 minutes every night, but I know how realistic that is. I feel like I’m always simmering hot regardless. I might be 0-for-10 and you’ve seen games this year I start 1-of-9 and I end up finishing the game shooting well because I feel like I’m always hot. Maybe that’s a little overconfidence in myself or delusion, but that’s how I feel when I’m out there.” - Kevin Durant
Important Future Dates
April 13 - NBA Regular Season ends
April 14 - Rosters set for NBA Playoffs 2025 (3 p.m. ET)
April 15-18 - Play-In Tournament
April 19 - NBA Playoffs begin
May 12 - NBA Lottery
June 25-26 - NBA Draft
This week’s poll is...
Poll
Should the Suns pay Bol Bol more than the vet minimum if that’s what it takes to keep him on the roster?
0%
Yes.
(0 votes)
0%
No.
(0 votes)
0 votes total Vote Now
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