The Phoenix Suns, after gaining more cap flexibility, made plenty of moves this offseason.
From re-signing Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Mark Williams to swinging a big trade for Miles Bridges and signing Luke Kennard, the Suns made some waves in the early stages of free agency.
However, not everybody was a fan of these moves.
Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report named the Suns as one of five teams that got worse this offseason.
This may come as a shock due to the quantity of the moves made, but Hughes explains why the Suns got worse.
How Did the Phoenix Suns Get Worse?
Along with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks, Hughes said the Suns had a bad offseason.
Hughes said his decision had to do with spacing.
“Great spacing was one of the ways the Phoenix Suns managed to post a mid-pack offensive rating last season, despite the lack of a true setup man at the point,” Hughes wrote. “In response, the Suns shipped two excellent three-point gunners to the Charlotte Hornets for Miles Bridges, who owns a career 33.8 percent mark from three.
“Put aside the unprotected 2033 first-rounder Phoenix gifted the Hornets in the bargain, and this is still a bizarre deal that looks bad on paper.”
Much of the gripe Hughes has with the Suns’ offseason has to do with the Miles Bridges trade. It was a trade that made waves for off-the-court reasons as well.
Bridges has had personal issues interfere with what looked to be a good career. In 2022, Bridges was arrested for domestic violence and missed time as his legal issues were resolved. Obviously, that will rub a lot of media members and fans the wrong way.
Notwithstanding the off-the-court incidents, Hughes claimed that Bridges just wasn’t worth trading two impact players. Those players were sharpshooters Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale.
Was This a Bad Offseason?
While those players made a huge impact on the team, coach Jordan Ott is moving in a different philosophical direction. Ott has a new philosophy of rim protection and size controlling the paint.
Bridges fits that description, even if the stats don’t necessarily show it.
He brings better size (6-foot-7, 225 pounds) and physicality on defense than Allen or O’Neale did. While Allen and O’Neale were certainly not slouches on defense, Bridges brings better rebounding and rim protection.
The Suns have been lacking a power forward since Kevin Durant departed, so this was a natural move.
Rookie Koa Peat also fits the mold Ott seeks as a rim-protector and physical power forward. While the Suns may have given away a little too much with that 2033 first-round pick, they got Bridges and Peat as new power forwards.
In addition, bringing in Kennard, who shot 47.8% from three last year (best in the league), gives the Suns spacing.
So while the argument is that Bridges is a poor three-point shooter and a negative defender, he’s a better fit than what the Suns had.
Phoenix is building a hard-nosed defensive team with Goodwin and others leading the charge.
While they might not have the firepower to take down the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs, they should make the playoffs once again, meaning the offseason might not be as bad as Bleacher Report is making it out to be.
Suns Hit With Unenviable Label After Uncertain Offseason