{"id":75882,"date":"2024-05-02T03:36:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T07:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=75882"},"modified":"2024-05-02T03:36:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T07:36:16","slug":"suns-address-roster-needs-after-first-round-sweep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/02\/suns-address-roster-needs-after-first-round-sweep\/","title":{"rendered":"Suns Address Roster Needs After First Round Sweep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Phoenix Suns were <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/29\/suns-kevin-durant-never-felt-comfortable-with-role\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">never quite comfortable<\/a> with their offense this season, largely a byproduct of having so many new faces in the locker room. However, one of their biggest problem areas was exploited by the Minnesota Timberwolves throughout the First Round.<\/p>\n<p>Without a point guard that could handle ball pressure and initiate plays, using his basketball IQ and passing prowess to create easy scoring opportunities, the Suns averaged 19.8 assists and 14.3 turnovers per game. Both marks are the third-worst among playoff teams. Their assist-to-turnover ratio (1.39) was the second-lowest among all playoff teams. They even failed to eclipse the 100-point threshold in the first two games, losing by double-digits in both contests.<\/p>\n<h2>Suns Address Roster Needs After First Round Sweep<\/h2>\n<p>On Wednesday, Suns general manager James Jones addressed questions about their roster needs, discussing the team\u2019s lack of a point guard at length.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the team could benefit from having a point guard\u2026,\u201d Jones admits.<\/p>\n<p>However, the 14-year NBA veteran sounded more exasperated than flabbergasted, saying: \u201cThat\u2019s an area we\u2019ll hear a lot\u2026 Who do you want? Like, who do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;Who is available given the way we&#8217;re built? Whose game seamlessly fits with this group? When you put that player on the floor and you take the ball out of someone&#8217;s hands, whose hands are you taking it out of and who are you putting in that position? James Jones on PG need <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Suns<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cpPONh3k1M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/cpPONh3k1M<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OPiDbjcGp4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/OPiDbjcGp4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DuaneRankin\/status\/1785814897391181945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 1, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is available given the way we&#8217;re built?,\u201d he asks. \u201cWhose game seamlessly fits with this group?\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWhen you put that player on the floor and you take the ball out of someone&#8217;s hands, whose hands are you taking it out of and who are you putting in that position?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s more than just a position \u2014a point guard or small forward \u2014it\u2019s the actual player that you can get and that you do have,\u201d Jones explains, before trying to douse concerns that the Suns were did their due diligence in trying to find said player.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIf we had the point guard that would be the best fit for this group we find them if available&#8230; I don\u2019t run away from saying we could benefit from having a point guard. I just don\u2019t think that was the answer to a lot of our problems.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To Jones\u2019 point, getting the right players is always easier said than done. However, there are several relatively low-usage point guards who can operate on or off-ball that they may have been able to acquire.<\/p>\n<h3>James Jones Had Options<\/h3>\n<p>Prior to the trade deadline, Washington Wizards point guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jonesty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyus Jones<\/a> and Utah Jazz point guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dunnkr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kris Dunn<\/a> were just two who were expected to be available. Both players are high IQ facilitators who shot at least 39 percent from 3 the past two seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Veteran guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lowryky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Lowry<\/a> was available via trade and later on the buyout market. He\u2019s declined as a scorer over the last three seasons but that would\u2019ve played into the Suns\u2019 hands, as it made his fit beside their scorers more sensible. Furthermore, he\u2019s still a top-tier shooter, converting 37.7 percent of his 3s since 2020-21.<\/p>\n<p>With their stars uncomfortable and being pushed off their spots, the Suns were swept. Jones, Dunn, or Lowry would\u2019ve helped them elude that fate if not defeat itself. That said, Phoenix\u2019s inability to stop anyone on the other team was also extremely problematic. Dominating the paint, the Timberwolves averaged 118.3 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting from the field.<\/p>\n<p>However, Phoenix wasn\u2019t built to excel defensively. They were built to overcome the staunchest defenses. There\u2019s no other reason to acquire three offensive-minded All-Stars and surround them with a supporting cast of like-minded players. Like Durant or Beal, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nurkiju01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jusuf Nurkic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/allengr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grayson Allen<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gordoer01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eric Gordon<\/a> aren\u2019t incapable of playing respectable defense. Nonetheless, their focus throughout their career has primarily been about how they can contribute offensively.<\/p>\n<h3>Negligent Roster-Building<\/h3>\n<p>To build an offensive-minded team and refuse to give them a point guard that could organize them was foolish. To do so when Suns head coach Frank Vogel explicitly asked for one is negligent. With that said, Suns owner Mat Ishbia claims not to know if there was disconnect between Phoenix\u2019s front office and head coach in that regard.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Mat Ishbia said he&#8217;s not sure the report is true that Frank Vogel wanted a point guard and the front office didn&#8217;t,<\/p>\n<p>Said to talk to James Jones about that. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Suns<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBAPlayoffs<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9TJMXs1Acy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/9TJMXs1Acy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DuaneRankin\/status\/1785788157558218851?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 1, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He <em>should<\/em> know given his role within the organization. Especially as a hands-on owner. Yet, when he says \u201cmost people will argue\u2026 you want the ball in [the Big 3\u2019s] hands as much as possible\u2026\u201d it doesn\u2019t sound like he was heavily on-board with the idea of getting a point guard himself.<\/p>\n<p>If that that\u2019s the case, he\u2019s as responsible for Phoenix\u2019s disappointing end to the season as anyone. To that point, for all of the excitement Ishbia brings with his boyish enthusiasm, the Suns had two better regular season finishes and three better playoff finishes than they had in 2023-24. At this point, he\u2019s been blowing hot air more than he\u2019s delivered results.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe that changes if they get a point guard. After all, they were mightily successful with the future Hall of Fame floor general they traded away last summer. You know the one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Phoenix Suns were never quite comfortable with their offense this season, largely a byproduct of having so many new faces in the locker room. However, one of their biggest problem areas was exploited by the Minnesota Timberwolves throughout the First Round. Without a point guard that could handle ball pressure and initiate plays, using [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":75887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28,1608,62,3],"tags":[1872,458,319,49213,569],"class_list":["post-75882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-suns","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-james-jones","tag-kris-dunn","tag-kyle-lowry","tag-mat-ishbia","tag-tyus-jones"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}