Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep-down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team.
Each week the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1 – What’s your opinion of the early part of the Suns’ regular season schedule through November (the first 21 games)?
Ashton: Only Rod would ask the Fantable to predict the first 20 games. I will not break them down, but as some comment posters have noted (Also, a shout-out to Dan-Fly), for breaking down the numbers.
Against Vegas odds, it should be about 8 games out of 20. Do you dare go against Vegas?
Let’s take
a different tack (this is a sailing term that I know nothing about. It requires mastery of using the left and right sails, depending on how the wind blows),
I want to talk about baseball on an NBA board.
Yes, Baseball.
The Arizona Diamondbacks were left for dead after they became sellers at the trade deadline. This sounds familiar, right? Some fan favorites were traded off, and by the time of this publishing, they are back to close at .500 and in a potential postseason position. What happened? The line-up was shaken up in a major way, and the young, unknown guns brought the energy to the clubhouse in an effort to prove that they belonged.
Basically, the no-names and the scrubs, or in NBA parlance, changed the direction of the team. Change the locker-room or clubhouse and see what happens.
Can the Suns do the same?
Let’s leave this question on a positive note. I will predict 10 out of 20, or .500, against a brutal early-season schedule.
Voita: Twenty games. A quarter of the season. And truthfully? It’s going to feel like climbing uphill with a backpack full of rocks.
Yes, there are “breathers” baked in. The Jazz twice, the Kings twice, even the Pelicans. But the rest? Clippers three times, Spurs twice, Nuggets twice, plus the Mavs, Wolves, Rockets, and Thunder. That’s trial by fire. If the Suns stagger out of that storm with 10 or 11 wins, you tip your cap. Because the schedule isn’t kind, and the Western Conference isn’t waiting.
The tide has risen. And the Suns, mid-retool, are going to have to swim like hell.
Rod: Actually, the early games in October (the first 6) don’t look too bad and I wouldn’t rule out the Suns being over .500 on Nov. 1. At this point, I don’t expect that to last very long as the November schedule is full of games that I think the Suns will just be too weak to handle. 15 games in 29 days, including three back-to-backs, and the final week being a 5-game in 7-day stretch, is going to be a hazardous gauntlet to run. The only positive that I can see in November is that 9 of the Suns’ 15 games are at home.
Until this team proves me wrong, I’m betting on them finishing the month of November with no better than an 8-13 win/loss record.
And I do very much hope that they will prove me wrong.
Q2 – RealGM’s Wes Goldberg stated that he likes Devin Booker to win the NBA scoring title this season. What are your thoughts on this?
Ashton: Pfffft. Can I leave it at that?
So, not only Point Book must facilitate passes, but he also needs to morph into a Shooting Guard Book where the passes he facilitated eventually ends up in his hand.
This is so wrong…on so many levels.
Wes Goldberg needs to have his head checked. Because if he believes Devin Booker can achieve a scoring title while acting as a point guard, then I would ask for a double-team to put Wes in the loony bin.
Basically, I just do not see a pass facilitator on this team. That includes Devin Booker. And Book still can’t hit threes with volume and accuracy.
You can place your new hope into CG, but that takes time.
Voita: Booker has the talent to take on the role, no question. He’ll be put in a situation where the offensive burden falls squarely on his shoulders, and on the surface, sure. Be can do it. But will he? No chance.
Opposing defenses already see how limited this roster is without a secondary efficient scorer (reminder: Jalen Green was 12th on the Rockets in eFG%), and they’ll build game plans to suffocate him. For all of Booker’s greatness, he’s not a player who generates easy points through sheer physical dominance. His weapon is the jumper, one of the cleanest in the league, and that will always keep him dangerous.
But leading the league in scoring requires something more: relentless drives, free throws, and the kind of foul-baiting artistry that creates cheap buckets. Last season, he averaged 6.4 free throw attempts per contest, good for 14th in the NBA. To flirt with the scoring crown, he’d need to push that closer to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 8.8 per game. And Booker doesn’t have Shai’s knack for manipulating contact and baiting whistles.
Layer in the physical toll of carrying an offense every night, and the bet is safer on Booker breaking down under the strain than suddenly vaulting to the top of the scoring charts. He’s an elite scorer, but not that kind of scorer.
Rod: I do think it’s possible but I’m not betting on it happening. If Book winds up NOT playing point guard most of the time he’s on the court, I think his chances are better though. Just playing strictly as a shooting guard lets him do what he does best without any added pressure or responsibility and I really hope we see that Book again this season.
If Jalen Green winds up as the Suns’ primary ball handler in the starting lineup, that alone should help free up Book from some defensive pressure and could add a few more quality scoring ops per game for Book. If Gillespie gets significant time at PG while with Book still on the court, that should help too. The main thing is really going to be how much of a threat opponents judge the other 4 players on the court with Book to be, though. If they feel as though they can’t leave those players unguarded to double Book, then I’d be willing to bet that he could go off for 30+ points on any given night.
Q3 – The Suns’ trading for Trae Young has been discussed a lot lately. What’s your opinion of the idea?
Ashton: Trae Young is a great shooting guard, but do you like him as a point guard? I loved his game in college while he was in Oklahoma. He has great assist numbers in the pros.
This could be a change of scenery choice. He changes out Hot-Lanta for…Hot Valley?
The fact of the matter remains, If Trae Young was burned in the constant humidity of the Atlanta sports cycle, which is NFL, NBA, and NBA, then maybe? Atlanta is not exactly known for their sports development these days. Their teams were way over-hyped.
But I would not do it.
One could argue that Young assisting Book could be the best thing since, well, canned peas or sliced bread? But Trae Young wants to steal the stage. And that is from Devon Booker.
I see a locker room controversy here.
Voita: I think I’ve said my peace on this one.
I’m not opposed in theory. It’s not like a Booker/Green backcourt duo is intimidating from a defensive standpoint. So why not add someone who can truly be a facilitator?
Rod: I can see why some people are for it but, unless Atlanta is prepared to sell cheap, I’d pass. Yes, I think he would be a better fit in the backcourt with Booker offensively but Trae’s lack of defense plus his price tag just makes it a no go for me.
The money is the really big problem, as I can’t see tying up so much salary in another one-way player — no matter how good he is — with so much dead money already on the cap sheet. Perhaps that woundn’t bother me that much if the Suns already had proven players at other positions and were actually trying to contend but they are going into 2025-26 with a lot of young, unproven players as well as a rookie head coach and I don’t think now is the time to take another big chance on another expensive contract.
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Suns Trivia/History
On August 18, 2005, the Suns signed Pat Burke as a free agent. Burke is still the only Irish-born player to make an NBA roster. He rarely made an impact on the court but became a fan favorite during his two years with Phoenix…and not just because of his play.
On August 19, 2005, seven weeks after the trade had been agreed upon, the Phoenix Suns complete a sign-and-trade with Joe Johnson, sending him to the Atlanta Hawks. Phoenix acquired Boris Diaw and two lottery-protected first round picks.
The 2006 draft pick acquired from Atlanta in this trade was originally owned by the Lakers, traded to Boston and then traded to Atlanta. The Suns then traded this pick — which eventually was used to select Rajon Rondo — back to Boston for a 2007 1st round draft pick (which originally belonged to Cleveland) and cash considerations. That 2007 draft pick was used to select Rudy Fernandez, whose draft rights were then traded along with the Suns’ former GM James Jones to Portland for…cash considerations.
The 2008 1st round pick (15th) was eventually used by Phoenix to select Robin Lopez.
Important Future Dates
Sept. 13 – Valley Suns Open Tryouts @ ASU Sun Devil Fitness Complex in Tempe (9 am-12:30 pm)
Sept. 23 – Media day
Sept. 24 – Training Camp opens
Oct. 3 – Preseason game vs LA Lakers @ Palm Desert, CA
Oct. 10 – Preseason game vs Brooklyn Nets (China)
Oct. 12 – Preseason game vs Brooklyn Nets (China)
Oct. 14 – Preseason game vs LA Lakers @ Phoenix, AZ
Oct. 20 – Rosters set for NBA Opening Day (5 p.m. ET)
Oct. 21 – Regular Season Begins
Jan. 5 – 10-day contracts may now be signed
Jan. 10 – All NBA contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season
Feb. 5 – Trade deadline (3:00 pm ET)
Feb. 13-15 – 2026 NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, CA
This week’s poll is…
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