I won't make this personal the way you are here. I will simply remind you how critical to this team's success Saric was in the first half of the regular season, and how critical to this team's success Craig was in the second half of the regular season. Take those two off the roster for the entire season, and this team probably wins 10-15 fewer games at least.
Now ask yourself: Are McGee and Shamet worth 10-15 wins?
Even if your answer is "yes" (and I don't see how it possibly could be), replicating last year's regular season would also depend on all of the other teams being equally unlucky on the injury front, with none of the other teams improving their rosters.
The fact of the matter is that on the cusp of a championship, the Suns, having lost two critical cogs, are electing to stand pat while every other contender in the West is improving.
I will grant you that in re-signing Paul and Payne and replacing Saric with McGee and Carter with Shamet, the Suns won't be substantively worse. But this close to a championship, and with only a two or three year window to win one with Chris Paul, is anyone here honestly satisfied with "not substantively worse", as opposed to "significantly improved", particularly when other contenders ARE significantly improved?