After moving 2-time MVP and 8-time All-Star Steve Nash, the Phoenix Suns have reloaded quickly. The Suns will have their ups and downs in the regular season, but this is a team others will try to avoid come playoff time.
Letting go of Nash was challenging for the Suns, but at age 38, it was time. It’s time to start over for the Suns. And, time for Nash to chase a ring with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns also parted ways with Josh Childress (via amnesty) and Grant Hill, who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, as a free agent.
While this may not be the complete team management sees going forward, the Suns will have a good combination of veteran leadership and toughness (Scola), as well as youth and quickness (Dragic and Brown).
This team should win games and entertain fans as the season wears on, but expect plenty of growing pains at the beginning.
As the NBA.com and ESPN have reported, the Suns have been busy this off-season, adding guard Goran Dragic, and forwards Louis Scola and Michael Beasley.
At point guard, the Suns have started over with Goran Dragic, who shined in a 2010 western conference semi-finals playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. Last season, Dragic helped the Houston Rockets to the tune of 11.7 ppg, 5.3 apg, and 1.3 spg in only 26 minutes per game (mpg).
Dragic Highlights:
While Nash is impossible to replace, Dragic is a reliable playmaker. Also, the Suns have possibly found a permanent replacement for Nash in the draft with Kendall Marshall, 21, out of North Carolina. He was one of the top point guards in college basketball, so he should be a good fit for a Suns team, who just lost an aging All-Star point guard. Not to compare a rookie to Steve Nash, a future Hall of Famer, but Marshall is also a very good decision-maker with the basketball.
Marshall Highlights:
The Suns hope the future is bright for Marshall and Dragic, and the Suns also resigned Shannon Brown for two years at $7 million dollars.
While signing Michael Beasley, three years at $18 million, is seen by some as a risk, Beasley is extremely talented, and he is capable of much more than the 11.5 ppg and 4.4 rpg that he gave the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. Beasley, who is 23 and 6’10, remains a project. He has shown potential, and perhaps he can flourish in this new environment.
Beasley Highlights:
At the power forward spot, Louis Scola adds muscle, rebounding, and scoring to the Suns’ frontcourt. Scola has a high basketball I.Q. and moves the ball well. Last season, Scola gave the Houston Rockets 15.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg in 31.3 mpg.
Although their attempt to sign Gordon, a restricted free agent, was unsuccessful, the Suns signed the Hornets’ Eric Gordon to an offer sheet, which was matched by New Orleans. But, a proactive management tends to make for a happy team. And the Suns have been active this off-season.
This revamped Suns’ roster now features a younger, faster point guard; a solid, physical power forward and a stronger bench. Combine that with some strong players from last season, like Channing Frye, who put up 10.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, and 1.1 bpg last season.
The playoffs, if the Suns get there, will test this team’s resolve, and they will probably go down to a first round opponent, like the Oklahoma City Thunder. But, it will be a battle, and this team will fight.
Once this team blends its talents toward playing unselfish team basketball and high-intensity defense, the Suns should be a fun team to watch.
Rob S. De France is a College and University Instructor of English Composition living in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition. De France has played, coached, and officiated competitive high school basketball in California for many years. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.
