PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 11: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns reacts during the second half of the NBA game against the San Antonio Spurs at PHX Arena on April 11, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. 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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After finishing last year with an uninspiring 36-46 record, the Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant and agreed to a buyout with Bradley Beal. Losing two of your three best players doesn’t normally sound like a recipe for success, especially in the loaded Western Conference. However, in this specific case, I wouldn’t be surprised if the 2025-26 Suns are just as good – if not better than – their predecessors.
Phoenix Finally Has Some Lineup Balance
While Durant and Beal are great players, their strengths and weaknesses are incredibly similar to those of franchise star Devin Booker. And since the three of them ate up such a high percentage of the Suns’ salary cap, Phoenix didn’t have the means to adequately surround those players who amplified those strengths and mitigated their weaknesses. Simply put, that iteration of the Suns lacked what is known as lineup balance.
To win in the NBA, you can’t just have talent. You need to have talent that works well together. You need to be able to put together lineups that blend on-ball scoring and spacing with things like perimeter defense and rim protection.
As it stands, the Suns are clearly a less talented team than they were last year, but they are also one that makes a lot more sense.
It starts with Dillon Brooks – one of the returning assets from the Durant deal. For the last two seasons, the Suns have struggled to pair their stars with a playoff-caliber two-way wing/forward. They now have that with Brooks.
For all his snide remarks, Brooks is a proven winner. He helped the Memphis Grizzlies become one of the toughest teams in the Western Conference, and then took the Houston Rockets from pitiful to respectable immediately upon his arrival. Brooks’ teams have won at least 50 games in three of his last four years – finishing second in the West in each of those seasons. His blend of defense (82nd percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes), shooting (39.7% from three last year), and physicality will fit nicely into almost any lineup new head coach Jordan Ott musters up (by the way, Ott’s presence is also a positive factor in all of this).
Speaking of ancillary pieces, Ryan Dunn wasn’t exactly the three-and-D ace he appeared to be in the 2024 preseason. Remember, though, that was just Year One. Besides, Dunn proved to be a positive defender (66th percentile in DEF EPM) and a much more confident shooter than he was in college (72nd percentile in 3-point volume). If he can continue to grow as a sophomore, the Suns could have two copies of this essential player archetype.
The five-spot was also a huge question mark for the Suns. They had players who technically played center, but no one who could really provide what they needed – play finishing and rim protection.
We can quibble about what they paid for him, but Mark Williams is one of the better young rim rollers in the association, placing in the 99th percentile in rim volume and the 84th percentile in rim efficiency. His ability to defend that area of the floor is far less certain, but he also has been straddled by injuries for most of his first three years, so maybe a healthy offseason can cure those concerns.
Behind him is the tenth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Khaman Maluach. Maluach will only be 19 by the time the season starts, but he projects to be a two-way menace for years to come. And to help them develop, Phoenix still has Nick Richards – a reliable veteran who will make for a good backup/spot starter until both of them really emerge.
Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Collin Gillespie, and Oso Ighodaro are all there as quality depth pieces. Allen, in particular, will be useful for his ability to provide floor spacing around Phoenix’s two primary creators (career 41.4% from three).
Speaking of which, Booker and newcomer Jalen Green will be trusted with carrying the primary load on offense. Green isn’t (yet) the offensive player that Durant and Beal are, but he does offer something the other two could not: rim pressure. Last season, Green was in the 75th percentile in rim rate – a far better mark than what Phoenix got from Durant and Beal.
This makes Green less redundant of Booker’s style than his past two co-stars were. And since there are only two of them now (as opposed to three), there are more minutes to allocate towards spacing, physicality, perimeter defense, and rim protection.
Let’s not overlook the Booker piece of this all, either. Booker is one of the best players in the league, but he’s fresh off the worst season of his prime. I’d be willing to wager that this isn’t because Booker is declining at 28. Rather, it was the byproduct of his team’s suboptimal build. As we’ve outlined, this version of the Suns is better suited for a star player to thrive. So, expect Booker to go back to the borderline All-NBA player we all know and love.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Suns over/under is set at 31.5 wins. However, I think this year’s team is better than last year’s group for all the reasons I stated above. Now, the Western Conference is probably even fiercer than it was last year. But I still think the Suns are closer to a .500 team than this line suggests.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/matissa/2025/08/29/why-the-phoenix-suns-could-be-better-than-you-think/
