PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MARCH 30: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns looks on during the second half … More against the Houston Rockets at PHX Arena on March 30, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Rockets defeated the Suns 148-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
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Arguably the most disheartening Phoenix Suns season of all time is coming to a close.
Based on the mood inside the building, through the halls, and in locker room Tuesday, the end couldn’t arrive fast enough.
While the team has stuck together and there aren’t any rifts in the Suns’ camaraderie, everyone appears to be checked out.
Rather, everyone knows there’s no point in looking through an optimistic lens right now, because the damage is already done.
With one more loss (or Mavericks win), the Suns will be officially eliminated from play-in tournament contention. The inevitable is coming, as Phoenix will host the Thunder on Wednesday, the Spurs on Friday, and visit the Kings on Sunday to finish out the schedule.
From an underachieving perspective, it doesn’t get much worse than this. The Suns were supposed to build on last year’s progress, not fall backward into chaos.
This is different than those dark years between Devin Booker’s arrival and the famous bubble run that sparked change in Phoenix. Specifically, the nightmare experiences under head coaches Earl Watson and Igor Kokoskov.
Back then – eight years ago – lofty expectations didn’t exist. Not one single time during that era did Phoenix enter the regular season believing it was a Western Conference powerhouse.
You can’t say the same about 2024-25. Not even close.
Just six months ago, the Suns were anticipating a better regular season than last year, when they won 49 games and finished with the No. 6 seed. The only viable option was improvement. Nothing less.
I even had Phoenix at 53 wins and claiming the No. 3 seed, a projection that I’ll never live down after seeing how this year played out.
Instead, they sit nine games under .500, 18 wins below that projection, without the opportunity to host any playoff games.
The Suns have entered new NBA territory, becoming the first team in history to exceed $300 million in combined payroll and luxury tax penalties to completely miss the postseason.
When teams open the checkbook to this degree, the season typically extends into May.
To make matters even worse over the last two weeks, the Suns managed to set a franchise record (in a bad way) with their latest defeat. Tuesday marked their seventh consecutive loss by double-digits, surpassing the 2018-19 team for the record nobody wants to have:
As things currently stand, Phoenix’s defensive rating is 4.8 points below league-average, giving them the second-worst defense (relative to league average) in franchise history.
The only team statistically worse? Try the inaugural 1968-69 version of the Suns, who finished with a 16-66 record after the franchise’s inception.
Since the All-Star break, Phoenix is 30th in halfcourt defense … by a wide margin. The 29th-ranked defense is 3.8 points better per 100 possessions.
There’s no sugarcoating it. Every integral figure in the Suns organization – from the front office to coaching staff and superstar players – owns a piece of the failure this year. Nobody is blameless when a team gets bludgeoned by 30-plus points on four occasions, with most of them happening in the past couple weeks.
Booker expressed just as much after the Suns suffered a 38-point loss to Golden State on Tuesday. When asked what exactly went awry for Phoenix this year, he didn’t know where to begin.
“That’s a loaded question with a lot of answers,” Booker said. “There’s not one thing, one person, one player, or one coach that’s the problem. When you have a season this bad, it’s a bunch of things. The most frustrating part is being that close (to a title) a few years ago, and now … back to where we are.”
Similarly to last April, when Booker walked up to the podium after being swept in the first round, he echoed a sentence that directly relates to establishing a winning culture, something Phoenix has failed to reclaim since 2023.
“Just no winning habits,” he said.
It raises the question of whether these next few days should be the final time Booker and Durant wear Suns uniforms. For Durant, every indication is that he’ll be shopped this summer – for various reasons. Quite honestly, it could be the scenario that works out the best for him, considering he’ll be 37 years old at the beginning of next season with only a finite amount of time before his title chances are gone.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 28: (L-R) Devin Booker #1, Bradley Beal #3 and Kevin Durant #35 of the … More Phoenix Suns walk on the court during the first half of the NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Footprint Center on October 28, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Lakers 109-105. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Regarding Booker, it’s a much more difficult call. One that I wouldn’t envy leadership for having to make.
In 95% of these cases around the NBA, the logical approach would be to sell high on Booker, who is still squarely in his prime and has a pretty good track record of health. No matter the trading partner, it would allow Phoenix to recoup some draft capital, bring in one or two established (but young) pieces, and start from the ground up.
Personally, I would be too nervous to go down that route.
At least right now.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia is firmly against putting Booker on the trade market, and it makes sense why. There is still something to be said about loyalty in professional sports, and showing players the same level of respect they give to your organization.
Blindsiding a player by trading them away can have negative ramifications on the perception of your organization and leadership. Plus, this isn’t similar to the James Harden situation with the Houston Rockets in 2020, where a disgruntled star wanted a fresh start elsewhere.
Booker loves being in Phoenix. Point blank, simple.
If there’s a scenario in which Booker does want to leave and pursue championship opportunities elsewhere … we haven’t reached it.
That reality might exist one day. But it’s not one that he believes in right now.
The more pressing matter in Phoenix is obvious, but not exactly the easiest solution. For the Suns to move forward and start fixing the mess, finding a trade partner attractive enough for Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause becomes the first priority. Beal is owed two more years and $110.7 million until he hits free agency in July 2027.
There’s a reason Beal wasn’t moved before this year’s trade deadline, however. It’s a near-impossible task to find a team willing to take on such a salary that Beal also wouldn’t mind going to. Those two things don’t necessarily align, and that isn’t changing.
Additionally, the future of head coach Mike Budenholzer needs to be resolved. Ishbia can either go ten toes down for Budenholzer and refusing to be known as the franchise that changes identities every season, or they can search the market for a long-term option after both Michael Malone and Taylor Jenkins became available this month.
That’s not going to be a simple decision, especially since Budenholzer still has four years left on his contract.
Were there any bright spots during this regular season? Sure.
It begins with the discovery of rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, who I’ll break down more in detail after the season has concluded. Both deserve credit for staying positive and impactful in the pockets of minutes they’ve received despite the team falling off a cliff.
For all of the mistakes Phoenix has made over the last couple of years, they struck gold by drafting Dunn and Ighodaro, who each possess strong basketball IQs and will be able to fit around any version of the roster in the future.
Right now, it’s hard to even focus on the positives. At some point this offseason, the team will turn the page and redirect the energy. But this is the nature of the beast, and the reality of a team who just experienced the most disappointing year in franchise history.