At one point during the NBA offseason, the Phoenix Suns seemed poised to make a groundbreaking roster move. They were one of the teams heavily linked to Kevin Durant during the height of his trade request. Additionally, Deandre Ayton's dispute with the team made fans wonder if a deal was imminent. A transformation was coming in Arizona.
And then, the fires stopped. Kevin Durant called off his trade request from the Nets. Ayton patched up his relationship with the Suns. All of a sudden, Phoenix was dead-set on running it back for the 2022 – 2023 NBA season. That's not necessarily a bad thing: they did earn the first seed in the Western Conference with their roster.
However, there's certainly some areas that could be improved upon for the Suns in the 2022 – 2023 season. Some positions, in particular, needed a bit of a change of scenery to be better than their previous form. Here's what the Suns should've done in the 2022 NBA offseason.
Suns offseason move they needed to make
Adding frontcourt
There's a couple of positions that could be pointed out as an issue for the Suns in the 2022 season. For example, their backup point guard situation has been questioned by some fans. After a breakout postseason during their run to the Finals, Cameron Payne regressed significantly in 2021. His scoring and efficiency took a nosedive as teams caught on to his herky-jerky style of play.
So, should the Suns have acquired a backup point guard to replace Payne in 2022? Well, not really. For one, Phoenix doesn't really need to send out a Payne-led lineup for the most part. They have done well staggering the minutes of Chris Paul and Devin Booker, so Payne wouldn't always be alone leading a bench lineup. The other reason is that the backup PG free agent pool left a lot to be desired. The Suns likely would've overpaid to acquire a backup PG; something they can't afford to do.
A much more glaring problem for the Suns is their frontcourt rotation. On paper, they have a solid frontcourt rotation. They have the likes of Jae Crowder, Cam Johnson, Torrey Craig, Bismack Biyombo, and Deandre Ayton. The return of Dario Saric should also help them greatly. So, what's the issue with this group?
Well, it's the lack of flexibility with these players that causes the most concern. The NBA's gradual transition to position-less basketball means that players are expected to play multiple roles for the team. Traditional fours should learn how to play as a small-ball five. Centers should be able to match up well with quicker power forwards.
The Suns… don't have that kind of flexibility in their frontcourt. Crowder, Johnson, and Craig lack the height to be a small-ball five, and have little experience playing that position. A quick glance at Basketball-Reference and 82games.com show that the trio of forwards have logged little to no minutes at the center position.
Saric, in theory, should be the perfect small-ball center. However, his recent injuries put his defensive versatility into question. As for the Suns centers, well, they don't exactly play like a stretch five, and are not well-suited to guard wings on the perimeter. Ayton is a lot more adept than Biyombo at handling ball-handlers. However, both are at their best when they're allowed to park near the rim and protect the paint.
Perhaps the Suns should've done something to address their frontcourt versatility woes (Chris Boucher or Danilo Gallanari, maybe?). Their lineup has served them well in the regular season. However, the playoffs is a completely different beast. Teams will throw different looks at them to try and throw them off. Without the right personnel, the Suns could find themselves struggling at the biggest stage again.
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