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Phoenix Suns (Last Year: 46-36)
Depth Chart:
C: Robin Lopez/Channing Frye
PF: Amare Stoudemire/Louis Amudson/Taylor Griffin
SF: Grant Hill/Earl Clark/Alando Tucker/Jared Dudley
SG: Jason Richardson/Leandro Barbosa
PG: Steve Nash/Goran Dragic
Head Coach: Mike Dunleavy (7th
year)
2009-2010 Team Salary: $74.3 million
Projected 2010-2011 Team
Salary: approximately $47.8 million
Off-Season Grade: Passed
Simply stated, the Shaq experiment
was a horrible experience in Phoenix. The Suns
were able to clean up their situation by trading him to the Cavs for
Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and a future second-round pick. Wallace
and Pavlovic were released to save some money on the luxury tax Phoenix
would have to pay.
The other major move the Suns
made was re-signing Steve Nash to a 2-year contract extension.
This was huge as Nash would have become an unrestricted free agent next
summer and likely would have been targeted by several teams looking
for a veteran point guard. I am surprised Nash did not play out
this final year and explore his options next offseason, but the Suns
definitely got a great value by reaching an extension with Nash.
Other than those two moves,
Phoenix was fairly quiet this offseason. They re-signed Grant
Hill, signed Channing Frye, and drafted Earl Clark with their first-round pick. I think Clark could thrive in the Suns’ up-tempo
offense due to his versatility and athleticism.
2009-2010 Outlook:
Trading Shaq and releasing
Ben Wallace left the Suns very thin up front. Add to that a foot
injury that will sideline new starting center Robin Lopez until possibly
December, and Phoenix will be relying on Amare Stoudemire, Channing
Frye, and Louis Amudson to handle the low-post duties until Lopez gets
healthy.
Another big question will center
around Stoudemire’s health. Amare has a serious eye surgery
this offseason that made Phoenix hesitant to try to re-sign him to
a long-term contract. When Stoudemire is healthy, he’s one of
the tougher matchups in the NBA. If his eye is recovered and
he can stay healthy all season long, the Suns can be a playoff contender.
If he isn’t 100 percent, the Suns likely fall short of the postseason for
the second straight year.
Looking Ahead to the Summer of 2010:
Two words: Amare Stoudemire. The Suns power forward has a player option on the final year of his contract that would net him around $17.7 million next season. If he turns down the option, which is very possible since he would be one of the most sought-after free agents next summer, the Suns will about $5-6 million dollars under the cap. I would expect Phoenix to do everything in its power to re-sign Amare, as long as he shows he’s healthy. If Stoudemire leaves, it might be time to re-build in the Desert.
2009-10 NBA Power Ranking: 15th
Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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