PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns did what they could to try to restructure their plans for the future with limited assets this summer.
Phoenix now has eight players 23 or younger on its roster after multiple trades this summer that notably brought in Jalen Green (23), Mark Williams (23) and three draft picks.
Still, the Suns are really going to have to hope these players pan out alongside Devin Booker, as Phoenix does not have any control of its first-round draft picks until 2032.
As the team currently stands, they are not projected to even make the play-in in almost every power ranking, so work will need to be done to continue to improve the roster, which will be difficult with very few tradeable assets.
ESPN NBA analysts Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks and Tim Bontemps are not high at all on the Suns’ future, ranking them 30th among 30 NBA teams in their NBA Future Power Rankings, which is ESPN’s projection of the on-court success expected for each team over the next three seasons.
Marks wrote of Phoenix:
“It was only three years ago when Phoenix ranked third in the (future power rankings) and had a solid foundation of young players and future draft assets. That foundation no longer exists, thanks largely to the Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal trades. Both players are no longer on the roster, and though Phoenix isn’t in financial purgatory and still has All-Star Devin Booker, its path back to relevancy is unclear.
“The Suns have no tradable firsts in the next seven years and have $23 million in dead money on their books in the next five years. One positive is that Phoenix has shifted away from building around multiple high-priced veterans to trading for former first-round picks Jalen Green, Mark Williams and selecting Khaman Maluach in June’s draft. “
The rankings were based on five categories: players, money, draft, market and management. The Suns ranked 26th in players, 22nd in money, 30th in draft, sixth in market and 28th in management.
Phoenix signed Devin Booker to a long-term extension through 2030 this offseason, so it will look to navigate the team-building hurdles in its way under new general manager Brian Gregory to maximize Booker’s prime.
The Suns are going in a new direction away from star power to creating a new identity that owner Mat Ishbia has harped on this offseason to try to make this work.
The 2025-26 season will likely be very telling about the future of the Suns as they try to implement this new identity and develop the new young players to fit in their system.