Bickley Blast: Has the Phoenix Suns’ super team turned out to be a super dud?
With the Phoenix Suns down 0-2 in the opening series of the NBA playoffs, Dan Bickley ponders whether all the excitement and hope for the organization’s first super team has turned out to be a super letdown.
Video: Felisa Cárdenas and Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports
Photos: Getty Images
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38 Comments
Beal is good but he's not producing for what he's making. We can get 2 legit pieces for 52 million a year.
With the sports teams in AZ, they should make sport betting illegal again.
This game comes down to the 3 stars whether we like it or not. Beal has to be better faciliting and scoring. Booker has to make contested shots of he's the top 10 player we think he is, and Durant needs to play more aggressive and stop turning the ball over
I think if this team had a 7ft center who could play defense and hit a mid range shot that could give them 15-20 points they would easily win. Oh wait…
Booker was never a “star”. He was just the best player on a bad team and just now people are realizing it. He never even came close to getting this team a playoff spot before CP3 and Ayton. Put the guy under pressure, give him assets, what’s the excuse now?
That last Wolves game was just embarrassing. What a clown show
Yes. As a life long Suns fan, this has to be my least favorite team…
It’s Arizona what did you guys expect championships? You fools not in Arizona
The loss of CP3 and a competent coach is pretty apparent with this team . . The one thing they had with CP3 and Monty Williams were leadership on and off the court . . There is non on both sides right now
Start IT as point guard next game
Its insane how quickly we went from the best 4th quarter team in the league, to one of the historically worst in nba history. Prior to the KD trade, if the team was within 10 points entering the 4th, you felt like they were going to win that game, some times even if they were down by 20+. Now it feels like unless we're up 20 entering the fourth, the game is already over, and even when we have a huge cushion, they still might blow it.
They’re a bunch of good players that don’t play well together. Frank Vogel is a terrible coach too. Let’s see how pissed Ishbia really is come next week when we get bounced, let’s see if he’s as mad as us true die hard fans.
The wolves defense is what Frank Vogel was supposed to bring to the suns.
Vogel is not a good coach. He rode the coattails of lebron and ad to a fluke bubble title
#SunsIn4! 🤣
If yall really believed this "superteam" was going to be good, then yall deserve this outcome because nobody outside of Phoenix believed this would work lol
Like, did yall really believe having 2 shooting guards and KD, all being known incapable of leading a team in the playoffs would work? Especially a team that has no depth or any kind leadership?!
Bruh…
Simce the coach listens to Devin thats why he need to say something about switching the lineup. Play Isaiah Thomas and Nas Little and Bol bol
Gone fishing!
Enjoy the last two games with coach Frank
I been a sun fan for years and i never seen the suns play like this in the playoffs. Why trade for Durant and Beal when we could have kept the same squad from the championship and let j Crowder stay in the 5 man lineup with cam Johnson coming off the bench. Yeah trade Atyon for Allen and Nas Little and have Bol Bol. Thats it. Imagine Nas Little, Bol bol, Grace Allen, Devin, Chris Paul, Isaiah Thomas, Nurc from Portland. Mikal Bridges who developed into a offence weapon and Play great Defense then Cam Johnson who step up to then Cam Payne. J Cawder.
I’d rather watch Eric Bledsoe than this team
Lakers vs Suns for the Cancun title 🔥🔥🔥🔥
From day one I said K.D, Booker and Beal was a bad match. No leadership, moody personalities, no cap space and injury prone. And here we are. Smh.
I’ve given up on the team. I’m a new Booker hater now
People have given up on this team, they'll probably lose on Friday and this will be it.
Coaches do not shoot the ball. Obviously. But what is part of the job is instilling good mojo. Beal dribbling around the paint is ridiculous. Barkley thinks a PG and a big man will do the trick and although that would be a roster improvement, I think something intangible is required.
I see a lot of comments on social media from non-Suns NBA fans who don't seem to understand what the Suns gave up in their trades.
1. Beal was traded for CP3 (who they were going to waive to get back the $15 million in non-guaranteed money to go under the 2nd apron and sign a taxpayer mle guy for around $5 million), Landry Shamet, and 2nd round throw-in picks. Sure, Beal's salary hurts but when you trade for KD you're going all in, you aren't saving flexibility for 2-3 years down the road. A move that was better than the alternative in the short term but will hurt in the long term.
2. KD was traded for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Jae Crowder plus 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029 first round picks and pick swaps in between those years. Jae had quit on the team, so he was just salary. Cam Johnson was due for his extension, which ended up being $25 million a year. If they kept the 2021 core of CP3, Booker, Mikal, Cam, and Ayton, they'd still be in the 2nd apron. We'd be asking Mikal to be the #2, which is a huge risk considering how poorly he played in that Mavs series. Cam Johnson is also very injury prone, and Ayton had quit on the team, which leads me to….
3. Deandre Ayton was traded for Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic. On paper, Ayton has way more talent and potential than those two, but he had mentally abandoned the team. I think the Vogel hiring was the wrong decision if they were going to move on from Ayton, but I don't really see how the team works with Ayton coming back after he checked out in two straight playoffs. Nurkic has been medicore, Grayson has had a career year, so I think its the best you could've gotten. Plus, with the 2nd apron rules, you couldn't have traded DA for two players like that starting this offseason. They'd be stuck with his max contract until 2026.
The real thing that has killed the team's depth, not the 3 trades they did, that no one talks about was Ryan McDonough and James Jones's draft fails in picking Dragan Bender (2016 #4 pick) Josh Jackson (2017 #4 pick), Jarrett Culver (2019 #6 pick), and Jalen Smith (2020 #10 pick). In that 2016-2020 period, they really only nailed the Mikal Bridges pick. The other picks were players who were not going to ever be good enough to make a playoff rotation and 3/4 are out of the league. Obviously selecting Ayton in 2018 over Luka was an enormous mistake too, though I've heard a lot of that was Sarver and not James Jones.
I appreciate what Mat Ishbia is trying to do with the Suns. At end of season, I held little hope they'd earn a Championship. So after 56 Seasons, the Suns are Sun-Burned-Toast, once again! They clearly won't win 4 of the next 5. Started following them in '68 when I was 17. I'm now 72, and doubt I'll live to see a Suns Championship.
i really dont want to see KD in this team but im not if anyone will take him 😂😂😂
just chilling today
👍
If vogel thinks they've been playing their best basketball down the stretch, i'd really hate to see their worst. This team quit on themselves and the fans in october
Super team or sold crappy beans
Ishbia has done more damage to the franchise than Sarver
Suns are definitely not a super team, more a super disappointing team. Three Way underperforming overpaid players that don't work together. Not fun to watch either. Suns fan since the seventies too. Ouch! This hurts.
In my almost 38 years of being a Suns fan I have never been more frustrated and over a roster as I am with our current roster. The lack of fight is pathetic.
Greatest big 3 failure ever..to think they are healthy in the playoffs.. its just sad 😢
Still hating on Ant 😂 he’s in y’all’s head bad
It's Vogel. I've been saying it from the beginning. Not a bad coach but wrong coach for this team.