The Suns made their usual bids for stars.
Also, as usual, Phoenix came up empty.
Then… nothing.
The Suns had the NBA’s quietest offseason. They drafted Josh Jackson (No. 4) and Davon Reed (No. 32) and re-signed Alan Williams to a completely reasonable three-year, $17 million contract. Otherwise, they mostly stayed quiet.
Alex Len remains a restricted free agent, and Phoenix has enough cap room to do something big – especially if it includes renouncing Len. But at this point in the summer, fireworks are usually finished.
The Suns could have made a late splash by trading for Kyrie Irving. They didn’t push too hard, logical considering they’re unlikely to win enough during the final two seasons before Irving’s player option to justify the cost of acquiring him.
Phoenix wanted the type of offseason the Denver had, landing a star like Paul Millsap while its payroll was low. When that didn’t happen, the Suns settled for the type of offseason the Heat couldn’t have – rolling over cap space, setting up to tank again and trying again next summer.
Aside from overspending on lackluster veterans, there just wasn’t much else for the Phoenix to do.
The Suns already have promising young players (Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Tyler Ulis and Derrick Jones. Jr.). They have veterans to set a tone (Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley). They even have a few between players who could be part of the next winner in Phoenix or get moved before that (Eric Bledsoe, T.J. Warren and Alan Williams).
It was a bummer that Brandon Knight got hurt, but he was unlikely regain positive trade value. Davon Reed’s injury was also a bummer, but I didn’t have the highest hopes for him, either.
Getting Jackson at No. 4 was treated by many as a boon. But I always projected a player of that caliber to be available.
This offseason just didn’t move the needle in any way.
The Suns did very little, and as long as they don’t offer Len a huge contract or do something else wild, that was fine given the circumstances. High draft picks and cap flexibility are always good to have.
Offseason grade: C