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The Phoenix Suns 2022-23 season came to an end at the hands of the NBA champion Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets eliminated the Suns in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals. Granted, the Suns were the only team in the 2023 playoffs to take the Nuggets to six games, but it was still clear that the team as currently constructed was not a championship team.
So, the Suns shook up their roster with a major move. The Suns sent a trade package highlighted by Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards in exchange for star guard Bradley Beal. Phoenix now has arguably the best big three in the NBA in Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Beal.
Because the Suns have three stars on large contracts, they won't have a ton of money to spend on free agents this summer. But they can still add quality veterans to the roster and make valuable moves around the margins. With all that being said, let's look at the two best Suns targets in free agency after the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night:
2 best Suns targets in free agency after 2023 NBA Draft
Torrey Craig
Torrey Craig played just 21 games in his first season with the Suns back in the 2021-22 campaign, but he put together arguably the best year of his pro career in his second year with the team.
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Craig has been an inconsistent threat to score from behind the three-point arc in his pro career, but he shot the ball with terrific efficiency from deep this season. He converted an impressive 39.5% of his three-point shots on 3.2 long-range attempts per game. It's important that the Suns surround their three-headed monster of Durant, Booker, and Beal with players who can provide floor spacing and make catch-and-shoot threes, and Craig checks both of those boxes.
Craig's three-point shooting ability is one of his most valuable traits, but he brings more to the table than just long-range shooting. He's also a versatile and active defender, as he averaged 0.6 steals and 0.8 blocks per game during the regular season.
The Suns would be hard-pressed to find another attainable free agent on the open market with Craig's three-and-d skillset. Hence, Phoenix should re-sign him this offseason.
Derrick Rose
After trading Chris Paul, the Suns are light on point guard depth. If the season began today, Cameron Payne — who has little experience as a starting point guard in the NBA — would likely get the starting nod. Payne is a quality NBA point guard but is a score-first one at that. So the Suns would be wise to add a veteran point guard or two in free agency, and New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose makes a lot of sense as a free-agent target.
Rose certainly isn't the player he was yesteryear in his heyday with the Chicago Bulls, but he's still a capable scorer and playmaker. The main reason Rose played very little for the Knicks during the 2022-23 season was that they were stacked at the floor general position with Jalen Brunson and Immanuel Quickley — it wasn't because Rose wasn't good enough to be in a rotation.
At this juncture, it's unclear who the Phoenix Suns will target in free agency this offseason. But what's already abundantly clear is that they should look to re-sign forward Torrey Craig and sign Knicks point guard Derrick Rose.
