Suns' offseason: offense or offense
When the Suns lost to the Nuggets in the playoffs, many would have guessed that the Suns would change dramatically in the offseason. But five people on the Suns' core team (Durant, Booker, Ayton, Paul and Monty) went three, which was still beyond the expectations of many.
First of all, Monty's class, his departure actually accounted for only a small part of the team's record. The more important reason is that the conflict between him and Ayton has reached the point where it is impossible to reconcile. In order to solve this problem, the management chose to abandon Monti, also thinking that the team would change its coaching ideas.
Monty didn't worry about finding a job, and an offer was handed to him immediately after class. At first, Monty wanted to rest for a while, but he couldn't hold the Pistons too much, so he quickly became the Pistons' head coach again.
In Monty's place is Vogel, and I think one of the reasons Vogel fits into the Suns is that he's a head coach who is very good at tapping into the team's defensive potential, and that's what the Lakers did for 20 years. With a team like the Suns that plays its offensive card, Vogel can focus more on the defensive end.
The Suns' new owner, Matt Ishbeia, is a very big man who wants to make big moves in the league, as can be seen by trading Durant last season. Ishbia was not idle in the offseason, and he quickly made a big job in the league.
Paul's departure was not a surprise, and at the end of the season, news came out of the Suns that they were going to cut Paul. In the end, Paul was sent to the Warriors in a trade, and the Suns got Bradley Beal in a three-way deal.
The moment I saw the deal struck, there was a phrase in my mind: offense or offense. In the playoffs, Booker and Durant have shown their ultimate individual offensive ability with two guns.
Durant averaged 29 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 blocks per game in the playoffs, shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range. Booker averaged 33.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.7 steals in the playoffs, shooting 58.5 percent from the field and 50.8 percent from three-point range. But two people in one play was obviously not enough, so the sun gave everything to find Bill.
Of the points averaged over the past five years, Durant ranks 6th with 27.8 points per game, Beal ranks 9th with 27 points per game, and Booker ranks 10th with 26.6 points per game. All three are scorers who can compete for the top scorer.
The attendance of the three men is certainly not good, with Durant playing 47 games last season, Beal 50 and Booker 53. But if it's the regular season, the offensive firepower of two men is enough to support the team. The combination of three people is easily reminiscent of the Nets' Big Three, and the offensive firepower is not bad at all.
In addition to getting Bill, the Suns also got a lot of quality role players for the Big Three. Eric Gordon signed it in just 2 years and 6 million, apparently he saw the potential of the new Big Three, after all, Roundface Don does not have a championship ring yet. It's conceivable that Roundface will get more open three-point shots next season than he did during the Rockets.
The operation of keeping Okogie on the base salary is great, and although Okogie is not very good on offense, the team's attack has overflowed, and what is missing is a defensive elite like Okogie. Okogie is likely to be in the starting line-up next season.
Yuta Watanabe is a very good functional role player, who was very compatible with Durant during his time in the Nets, and his playing attitude is full of defensive positivity; Polpol is a half-wasted lottery ticket, and it is not a loss to try the base salary.
Signing Diop for 2 years and 5 million is an underrated operation, and Diop averaged 9.7 points per game with the Spurs last season, shooting 50.8% from the field and 39.4% from three-point range, and he is likely to be a surprise.
Still, the Suns' roster depth was an issue, and to solve Ayton's problem, the Suns opted for a zero-for-all, sending Ayton and Kamara, and getting Nurkic, Little Talk, Grayson Allen and Keane Johnson.
From the beginning, the Suns wanted to solve both Monty and Ayton at the same time, and there was no sequential relationship, but Ayton's trade has never had good chips. When the Bucks were seen out of Allen, the trade was struck, and while losing a potential star like Ayton, the Suns had enough stars and what they lacked was roster depth.
Many people say that the Suns lost money in this deal, but you have to consider Ayton's lack of effort in the playoffs last season, sending Ayton away is inevitable, and the return can also meet the Suns' needs, and that's enough.
Looking at the Suns' roster right now, they hardly have a point guard, but as Durant said, he, Booker and Beal can dribble through halftime, and the team doesn't need a serious point guard to hold the ball.
In basketball, whether offense can solve all problems, next season's Suns will give us the answer.