Self-confidence is certainly not a scarce attribute in the camp of the suns.
The team failed to achieve the peak of success it had wished for after riding a shockwave of exceptional performance at the last possible games a team could play in last year. But that hasn’t hurt their collective morale as they look forward to more excellence on the horizon.
It was a historic year of spectacle like no other during 2020-21 in the Valley.
James Jones received a well-deserved Executive of the Year nomination. Monty Williams was named the league’s best coach among peers in the NBCA annual election (he came second in the league’s official vote).
But the guys who compete on the court with basketball spirit and athleticism were the real fuel for the team’s seismic eruption, and the epicenter was none other than Sir Chris Paul.
Paul, who turned 36 in May, injected an already potent young Suns group with the required veteran presence and IQ and served as the air pump behind their inflation in a potential juggernaut in the west for the next several years – natural, if he can stay healthy.
Nonetheless, something special is brewing up in the Valley and the Suns have every confidence that the guys who got them to the finals last year can steal a Larry O’Brien trophy from them sooner rather than later.
Her calm moxie in free agency fully proves this.
Phoenix’s first priority when the free agent floodgates opened was no secret. They would call on the basketball gods to find their coveted headmaster – the point god, CP3.
The asking price of CP3 wasn’t going to be cheap, though, and although the final contract number was remarkably high – a four-year, $ 120 million deal that Paul kept him in town until he was 40.
What followed was a series of re-signatures to add to the blockbuster contract.
Abdel Nader, Cameron Payne and most recently Frank Kaminsky have all relaunched PHX in relatively cheap offers that meet clear needs, strengthen their changing room – and above all keep their local talent in the house.
The only outside suitor who has joined the top-notch Suns brigade as a free agent: Javale McGee, a 7’0 three-time champion whose résumé as a board eater and rim protector speaks more than for itself.
Free Agent Center JaVale McGee has reached an agreement with the Phoenix Suns on a $ 5 million one-year deal, league sources told @YahooSports.
– Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 3, 2021
Aside from McGee, who was already building camaraderie with his new teammate Devin Booker at the Tokyo Olympics, Phoenix’s free agent streak has remained largely centripetal.
Most of their available funds have already been scattered in the above stores, and with an almost dry water source in their dividend well, they have been forced to bargain for bargains either through trade or with a veteran’s minimum salary as a financial incentive.
There are very few high quality freelance agents who will accept sums of this kind.
Phoenix’s track record so far shows this: They are mostly happy with who is currently employed internally and believe they already have the parts (aside from a few vacant squad spots) to consistently fight for a championship.
Deandre Ayton’s playoff stretch got him into circles with Hall of Fame centers when he posted staggering scoring and rebound numbers (including the WCF converting nearly 80% of his attempts on the rim) that cemented him as an efficiency – Lover.
Notice that its rise continues to swell in the fourth year.
Both members of the two-headed “Cam” monster (Cam Payne, Cam Johnson) each created invaluable roles themselves. The former is now a reliable ball handler and playmaker who can move the needle and ignite his team with quick shots on goal and energetic hectic games.
The latter shed light on the three-point arc during the postseason (44.6% rate) while flashing potential brilliance as a cutter, defender, and inside finisher.
Jae Crowder’s position as a loyal 3-and-D and spirited roughrider is unwavering, and Dario Saric offers distance + marginal presence as a backup big, who perfectly complements Phoenix’s Bench Platoon.
Devin Booker’s marksmanship is second to none, and his calm self-assurance when the lights are at their brightest makes him a rare gem with room to shimmer brighter as the 24-year-old moves on.
And Chris Paul is determined to make up for the mistakes of a haunted 2020, while at the same time acting as the guiding elderly spirit to persuade his incipient pillars.
James Jones and Co. may have made the lightest splash of competing teams in the pool of shooters available.
The Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers have all made significant gains from the free market.
But that doesn’t seem to worry the suns. They are comfortable with what they have and don’t worry about what they don’t have.
And unless an arctic cold front sweeps through the valley and cools the city down to unbearable temperatures, this team will stay warm and dizzy inside with the confidence that they will come back and better than ever.
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