The Phoenix Suns have been a near-guaranteed W for the past few years, but a rival coach argued things might be different in the near future. According to that coach, Dario Saric, whom the Suns acquired in a draft night trade, could be the difference-maker for them giving them some semblance of identity going into the 2019-20 season.
“The last couple of years you knew you had a win unless (Devin) Booker got hot. They just didn’t have anything else,” said the coach, according to Keith Smith of RealGM. “Now, they sort of have an identity. You have to be on your game now. I think the guy who is being underrated there is Dario Saric. He’s really a great fit next to Ayton. He’s already done that for years next to (Joel) Embiid and (Karl-Anthony) Towns. I bet he’s the best of all the guys they added.”
Saric gives Phoenix a spacing presence that they hadn't had before, as their previous trials with Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss, and Ryan Anderson (for a brief stretch) were all for naught.
The Suns have added shooting at most positions — selecting the best shooter in the draft in Cam Johnson, keeping restricted free agent Kelly Oubre Jr., while adding Frank Kaminsky and Saric as stretch bigs.
Saric will give the Suns a good dynamic at the four-spot, but will need playing time to do his damage, which he did in his time with the Philadelphia 76ers and his 68 games with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, stretch in which he shot a strong 38.3% from deep.
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