Phoenix is one of the hot teams of the year after trading for Chris Paul and turning this
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PG |
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3 |
87
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#9 PG | 1 | 6' 1" | 175 | 35 | 5/6/85 | 16th season | Wake Forest |
PG |
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15 |
76
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#56 PG | 3 | 6' 1" | 183 | 26 | 8/8/94 | 6th season | Murray State |
PG |
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23 |
75
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#64 PG | 3 | 6' 8" | 210 | 24 | 3/3/96 | 2nd season | North Carolina |
PG |
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4 |
73
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#82 PG | 4 | 6' 1" | 200 | 25 | 9/14/95 | 3rd season | West Virginia |
PG |
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0 |
69
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#125 PG | 6' 4" | 195 | 22 | 7/16/98 | Rookie | Creighton | |
SG |
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1 |
87
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#4 SG | 1 | 6' 5" | 206 | 24 | 10/30/96 | 6th season | Kentucky |
SG |
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55 |
71
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#64 SG | 3 | 6' 3" | 191 | 31 | 2/25/89 | 10th season | Purdue |
SG |
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2 |
73
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#44 SG | 4 | 6' 1" | 200 | 29 | 12/9/91 | 7th season | Saint Joseph's |
SF |
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25 |
79
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#24 SF | 1 | 6' 6" | 209 | 24 | 8/30/96 | 3rd season | Villanova |
SF |
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11 |
69
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#77 SF | 4 | 6' 5" | 225 | 27 | 9/25/93 | 4th season | Iowa State |
PF |
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99 |
80
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#22 PF | 1 | 6' 6" | 235 | 30 | 7/6/90 | 9th season | Marquette |
PF |
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20 |
73
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#65 PF | 3 | 6' 10" | 225 | 26 | 4/8/94 | 5th season | |
PF |
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10 |
72
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#80 PF | 3 | 6' 10" | 215 | 20 | 3/16/00 | Rookie | Maryland |
PF |
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8 |
73
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#68 PF | 4 | 7' 0" | 240 | 27 | 4/4/93 | 6th season | Wisconsin |
C |
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22 |
85
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#6 C | 1 | 6' 11" | 250 | 22 | 7/23/98 | 3rd season | Arizona |
C |
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30 |
73
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#49 C | 4 | 6' 11" | 245 | 25 | 6/30/95 | 5th season | Vanderbilt |
The Hornets and power forward Frank Kaminsky failed to reach an agreement when his contract expired paving the way for the Suns to pick him up for a 2 year $10 million deal. Kaminsky wasn't a regular starter for the Hornets, so there's no reason to believe he will be for the Suns. What he does provide, though, is veteran experience in the front court. He joins Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson at the power forward position for the Suns. Rubio provides more veteran leadership for the Suns, only in the backcourt. His years of experience in the league will make for him filling a leadership role immediately. On top of this, he has something the Suns are yearning for: playoff experience.
Although technically drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cameron Johnson finds himself in a Suns uniform due to a trade. Coming out of the University of North Carolina, he was one of the top seniors in the draft. He has good size for a wing at 6'8.5" with an average wingspan of 6'10". He's lean at 205 lbs, which is good for his sheer athletic ability but could pose problems being physical against other bigs in the league. It's noted by analysts that Johnson could definitely use some improvement on the boards, but he does move his feet well on defense. If he's able to beef up in the next year or so, I don't see why he would have any problem increasing his physicality. It's worth noting that his three-point-percentage was the 6th highest in University of North Carolina history at 41.1, so he'll be able to attack from all points of the floor.
In short, yes. While many of the moves the Suns made in the offseason seemed confusing at first, they're seeming to piece together a semblance of a productive roster now. It's easy to look at the Suns' offseason and call it a bust when comparing it to that of, say, the Lakers, but we need to remember the Suns are a small-market team that doesn't have the same allure that LA possess. Rubio at PG is a definitive upgrade, and there's no question that he's only going to make Booker a better, more productive player. Will the Suns make the playoffs this year? No, probably not, but they'll put up a much better record than last year and leave their fans with something to be hopeful for, at the very least.