The Phoenix Suns are nearing the end of their Big Three era, which has not gone well. To say they have not met expectations is an understatement. They have dramatically underperformed to the point that they are a lottery team.
That leaves a question: How did we get here?
Let us start with the 2020–21 season, which many call the good old days.
The season prior, the Suns had gone 8-0 in the NBA bubble before missing the playoffs entirely, so this season, they came in young and chipper. This season, they traded for Chris Paul from the Thunder to add depth and leadership to this team. They won 50 games in this shortened season and made the playoffs. DeAndre Ayton, their No. 1 overall draft pick, was giving Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic trouble in the postseason, with both players giving him high praise afterward. They made it to the finals and went up 2–0 before the Bucks destroyed them. It wasn’t a big deal because the team was so young, and they generally had more time to gel.
In the 2021–2022 season, the Suns achieved a franchise-best regular season record of 64–18, securing the top seed in the Western Conference. However, despite high expectations, their postseason ended in utter disappointment. The Suns got served the Luka Doncic special, with the Mavericks torching them in game seven of the Western Conference Semifinals, despite the Phoenix Suns being up 3–2 after Game 5.
Their starting five went ice cold to begin the first half, combining for 15 points. Paul and Devin Booker combined for 3 points, all of which came from the free throw line. Doncic ended the half with 27 points, missing only three shots. The entire Suns team had 27 points at halftime. They lost the game so severely that the Suns had to write a letter of apology to their fans.
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game on March 24, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
After this, the Sun’s chemistry deteriorated. During that game seven collapse, head coach Monty Williams got into it with DeAndre Ayton and his subpar performance. The front office was compelled to match the Pacers’ offer for Ayton and extend Booker the supermax deal, which restricted their cap space. The Suns started the 2022-2023 season 30-27 and traded for Kevin Durant. Concluding the regular season with a 45-37 record, they beat the Clippers in five games in the first round before losing to the eventual champion, the Denver Nuggets, in six games. Paul and Ayton were not available in this series, which placed immense stress on the rest of the team as they lost games. After this, they fired Williams at the end of the season, presumably due to Ayton wanting him gone and their issues bleeding over into team chemistry.
By the start of the 2023–2024 season, they had traded Ayton for Jusuf Nurkić. The trade value of Ayton went down after the motivation issues became apparent. This is where they also made the Bradley Beal trade, sending Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, four first-round picks and six second-round picks for Bradley Beal, Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd. This was widely regarded as the worst deal possible due to the overpayment, and it would continue to haunt the franchise throughout the year. When the Washington Wizards gave Beal his 50-million-year contract with a no-trade clause, it was universally agreed to be the worst contract in the league by a mile.
This trade would probably have been okay had Beal replicated the production that made him such a force; however, his averages dropped, and the Suns finished sixth in the Western Conference with a 49–33 record. They got embarrassingly swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, who went to the Western Conference Finals. Then, coach Frank Vogel made a point about having a point guard on the roster, and the front office declined this because it would take the ball out of the hands of Booker, Beal and Durant. He was fired at the end of the season, having lasted only a year before Mike Budenholzer was hired.
As the 2024–2025 season commenced, the Suns aimed for an improved performance compared to the previous year. However, the team has faced challenges in achieving cohesion, resulting in a record of 33–37 as of March 25. This places them 10th in the Western Conference, putting their playoff aspirations in jeopardy.
The team’s recent underperformance has ignited conversations about potential roster changes and the franchise’s future direction, with discussions including the possibility of trading Bradley Beal for Jimmy Butler. However, this discussion fell through, as Butler has since joined the Warriors and Beal has found himself on the bench. In addition to the financial burden of having Booker, Beal and Durant on the roster, the team lacks control over any future draft picks until 2032, complicating their decision-making process.
The outlook does not appear particularly promising, suggesting a challenging horizon for the basketball team in Phoenix.