*NEW ACQUISITION
StartersThe team revolves
around DEVIN BOOKER and
DEANDRE AYTON, and how
much they develop will
determine how much
upside they have in
the short and long
term. They went and
got veterans—RICKY
RUBIO, ARON BAYNES, FRANKKAMINSKY—to shore up
the culture for them....
Booker has figured out
how to be productive,
which is really hard to
do in the NBA. Having
Rubio next to him,
Booker won’t be as ball-
dependent. He hasn’t
shot it as well as he’s
capable of sometimes
because he’s had it in
his hands too much....
Ayton averaged adouble double as a
rookie, which is also
tough to do. He’ll be an
upper-tier big, but the
question now is how
committed he’ll be on
defense and whether
he’ll do the dirty work—
setting screens and
rebounding. Will he be
the physical presence
his body suggests he
should be?... MIKAL
BRIDGES doesn’t needthe ball to be effective.
He can guard multiple
positions and make a
shot. I think that’s what
they were hoping for
when they drafted CAM
JOHNSON as well.... Point
guard has been such
an issue for them in
recent years, and with
Rubio and TY JEROME,
they tried to address
that.... DARIO ŠARIĆ is
gritty, plays hard—they wanted guys like
that with a feel and
toughness. KELLY OUBRE
was a bright spot in
a tough season. He’s
athletic and versatile,
and they don’t have as
many players like that
as in the past.... If
they can just be steady
and have the young
guys make progress on
defense, you can call it
a successful year.TELLING NUMBER
For four years, Devin Booker has
been one of the most exciting,
explosive scorers in the NBA. And
yet, in those four years, the Suns have
averaged A PATHETIC 21.8 WINS
PER SEASON, with a blistering high of 24 in 2017.
Phoenix tumbled back down to 19 wins last season
despite taking Deandre Ayton first overall.
The Suns are basically the bizarro Sixers.
Phoenix hasn’t been trying to tank as blatantly as
Process-era Philadelphia and yet has made lottery
pick after lottery pick. The good news is that some
stability is on the way. The highly respected Monty
Williams becomes the fifth coach since 2016.
Ricky Rubio is an actual NBA-level point guard
who can help settle the backcourt. Dario ˇSari ́c is
a modern power forward with some stretchiness
to his game. If nothing else, their presence will
allow Booker and Ayton to grow in a nurturing
environment—something that’s been missing in
Phoenix for years. —R.N.21.8
Projected Lineup
Bench
SF
KELLY
OUBRE JR.
15.2 PPG; 4.7 RPG;
44.5 FG%; 32.0 3FG%ENEMY LINES
A rival scout weighs inRICKY
RUBIO*
12.7 PPG; 6.1 APG;
1.3 SPG; 40.4 FG%PG SG
DEVIN
BOOKER
26.6 PPG; 6.8 APG;
46.7 FG%; 32.6 3FG%PF
DARIO
ŠARIĆ*
10.6 PPG; 5.6 RPG;
43.7 FG%; 36.5 3FG%DEANDRE
AY TON
16.3 PPG; 10.3 RPG;
0.9 BPG; 58.5 FG%CSF
MIKAL
BRIDGES
8.3 PPG; 3.2 RPG;
2.1 APG; 43.0 FG%SG
TYLER
JOHNSON
10.9 PPG; 2.9 APG;
41.3 FG%; 34.6 3FG%102MICHAEL GONZALES/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (AYTON)PHOENIX
2018 – 19 RECORD 19– 63 5th in Pacific
Suns COACH MONTY WILLIAMS 1st season with Suns∂25 wins ∂Miss the playoffs ∂Devin Booker draws the NBA’s first quintuple team.THE
WEST
Crystal Ball: