The Suns Are a Lesson in Modern Roster Building

Daniel Waddleton

Feb 27, 2025

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FOLLOWING TUESDAY NIGHT'S 151-148 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Phoenix Suns have fallen to 27-31, sitting 11th in the Western Conference and three games behind the Sacramento Kings for the final play-in spot.

Losers of six of their last seven, the Suns aren’t just struggling, they’re unraveling. A major shake-up in the desert feels inevitable, likely starting with a Kevin Durant trade this summer.

Yet just 18 months ago, Phoenix appeared to be loading up for a championship run. They acquired Bradley Beal, a former All-Star and 23 PPG scorer, to form a Big Three with Durant, who had arrived at the previous season’s trade deadline, and franchise cornerstone Devin Booker. It was a championship-or-bust move -- one reflected in the 2023-24 preseason championship odds, where they were tied for third in the league at 6-1.

Now? They’ve become one of the league’s biggest disasters.

How does a team with this much star power fall apart so quickly? Sure, the roster wasn’t perfect, but Beal was joining two All-NBA talents in Durant and Booker -- both coming off seasons where they averaged 29 and 27 points per game, respectively.

Five or ten years ago, this roster probably wins 50 games. They would have been flawed but undeniably dangerous, overpowering weaker opponents on talent alone before ultimately running into a more complete, well-structured contender in the playoffs that could exploit their weaknesses.

Now? They can’t even crack .500. They can’t even secure a spot in a postseason format that includes two-thirds of the league. Three different head coaches—all with NBA Finals experience this decade—have tried and failed to make this work since Durant’s arrival.

The Suns aren’t just a failed experiment, they’re a lesson in modern roster construction.

LET'S START BY going back to 2023, and highlighting what Phoenix actually gave up to acquire Durant and Beal in two separate trades:

• Mikal Bridges

• Cameron Johnson

• Chris Paul

• Four unprotected first-round picks

• Four first-round pick swaps

• Seven second-round picks

  
  

They've now committed $150 million per year to three elite shot creators while gutting their depth, flexibility, and future assets. This meant their fit needed to be perfect with little room for outside help. For a team that had just been in the Finals in 2021, it was an all-in gamble on a talented but fragile roster.

Now to be fair, some misfortune played a role in their collapse. The Durant trade was finalized in February 2023, and just two months later, the NBA introduced a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that made Phoenix’s situation much more difficult.

The new CBA introduced the second apron, a tax threshold restricting teams that exceed a certain spending limit. These teams lose access to certain trades, exceptions, and critical roster-building tools, making it nearly impossible to improve once you cross that apron. Stacking stars and still having roster flexibility was going to become difficult.

Teams were given a one-year grace period, but Phoenix was inevitably headed toward the second apron in 2024. Instead of adjusting to mitigate the upcoming restrictions, they chose to ignore them altogether, staying committed to the same roster-building trajectory despite the looming financial constraints.

A move like the Beal trade wouldn’t have been possible under the new rules. Knowing they’d soon be financially handcuffed, Phoenix may have rushed into the move, seeing it as their last chance to make a major addition before the apron shut the door on further flexibility.

The apron definitely threw a wrench into their roster-building strategy, but what’s inexcusable is how they overlooked the league’s depth of talent and failed to consider how their stars fit together, especially at that price.

THE MODERN NBA is built on versatility, not just star power. In a league deeper than ever, spending massive resources on redundant, expensive scorers is a thing of the past.

Despite having three elite scorers, the Suns finished with a solid but underwhelming 10th-ranked offense last season. In the playoffs, that offense collapsed, ranking 12th out of 16 teams as their stagnant, predictable attack was swallowed up in a four-game sweep by Minnesota. Their stars all lacked natural playmaking ability or consistent rim pressure, making it easier for the Wolves’ aggressive, disciplined defense to bottle them up.

Booker and Beal, not true point guards, really struggled against Minnesota’s relentless ball pressure, leading to constant turnovers or possessions that started with half the shot clock left. The Suns finished 25th in turnover percentage last season, highlighting their lack of a true floor general.

To address this, they acquired Tyus Jones, one of the league’s most efficient pass-first guards. While Jones improved offensive flow, his poor defense only made an already bad unit worse. Durant, Booker, and Beal aren’t high-level two-way players, and without defensive support, Phoenix plummeted from 13th to 27th in defensive rating this season.

Their center position -- arguably their biggest issue -- has made things even worse. Phoenix took a swing on Jusuf Nurkic, and it failed miserably. Without a defensive anchor, their bigs don’t clean up mistakes, struggle to secure defensive rebounds, and just overall lose the center battle nearly every night. Their rotation now features Nick Richards, Mason Plumlee, and even Bol Bol, whose flashes in highlight reels don’t make up for his tendency to float through space for much of the game.

There’s more to basketball than scoring. Durant, Booker, and Beal are obviously great players, but their weaknesses are constantly exposed because they don’t complement each other well -- forcing each of them to work deep into their deficiencies to fill these gaps.

The team desperately needs the elements none of their three stars provide, things like cutting, screening, rim protection, point-of-attack defense, and natural playmaking. But with all their money locked into three redundant scorers, they can only afford minimum free agents and have no draft capital to add young, cost-controlled talent. Minimum players rarely move the needle on a roster with major structural flaws.

The result? The Suns actually lose the minutes when Durant, Booker, and Beal share the floor, which is a disastrous outcome for a team spending over 80% of their payroll between them.

A team like Golden State proves that a top-heavy roster can work, but only if the stars are diverse and complementary. Since pairing Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green at the trade deadline, the Warriors are 6-1, outscoring opponents by nine points per 100 possessions when those three share the floor.

The key difference? They enhance each other, covering multiple basketball needs within just three players. Green is one of the best Swiss-army knife defenders of his generation -- capable of protecting the rim and defending in space. Offensively, he’s also arguably the best passer on the roster, orchestrating the offense and keeping the ball moving.

Butler is an elite isolation scorer, rebounds well for his position, has a rare nose for the ball as an offensive star, and is a connective playmaker. He also has a knack for timely cuts even when he's off the ball.

Curry’s gravity as a shooter warps defenses, making him the perfect fit alongside other offensive players who thrive with the ball in their hands

Their skills blend seamlessly, preventing the "2+2=3" effect, where too many redundant players diminish each other's impact because they all thrive doing the same thing. Instead, their offensive skill sets complement one another, with each player still effective without the ball. Additionally, their Big Three is additive on the defensive end, capable of making plays and holding their own on that side of the floor.

It also helps that Golden State didn’t gut its entire roster to assemble this group. Two of their stars were homegrown, allowing them to retain depth and maintain roster flexibility.

The ideal way to build a roster in today's NBA is the approach taken by Boston and Oklahoma City, this year’s two main title favorites. By building through the draft and making timely, but not franchise-crippling trades, both teams have managed to assemble star power while maintaining depth.

Players like Derrick White and Alex Caruso aren’t superstars, but they provide elite defense, reliable shooting, and the intangibles that hold a team together, exactly the kind of glue guys that elevate a roster beyond just talent. They’re portable stars, players who enhance a high-level roster without taking away from their teammates' impact

The Suns’ downfall should serve as a cautionary tale. This isn’t just about one failed season, it’s proof that in today’s NBA, you can’t cheat roster construction.