But we were though, compare the year before Nash signed to this year and there are a lot of similarities between the two. The Suns traded their best player who was a PG for cap relief and assets, picks and expiring contracts for Marbury and Bledsoe. JJ was young and showed potential to be a long term solution at SG going forward, the Suns screwed up giving him an extension before Nash was signed. This offseason they need to extend Booker who will be the SG for the foreseeable future. They had a raw big with a lot of talent and freakish athleticism in Stoudemire but they didn't have a player who could set him up offensively to get the most out of him. Now they have Chriss who is a freakish athlete but doesn't have anyone to set him offensively. I'm not saying Chriss is as good as Amare but they do share similar skillsets. They had a solid wing player in Marion who was a really good 3rd option but not a very good 2nd option, Warren is a good 2nd option but ideally he'd be the 3rd option for the Suns behind another star. They're the only young pieces that are locked in longterm. They had a rookie who had potential on the defensive end because of his size and how hard he played but his position and role was a bit of a question mark in Barbosa. Jackson fits that description as well but he's more refined defensively but like Barbosa he lacks a position or role on the team right now. JJ has played SG, SF, and PF for the Suns this year, Barbosa was a SG in a PG body. Both played too quick and were reckless offensively. Both seasons they had an assistant who had a good history coaching outside of the US & NBA but little NBA experience as a head coach, D'Antoni and Triano. They each took over for coaches that had long career's as backup PG's in the NBA but their skill on the court was about the same as their coaching ability, not very good in Frank Johnson and Earl Watson.
They went 29-53 and had a roster of young players with little identity and hoped to add a solid veteran to steer the ship. I don't think that's the plan for them this offseason but if there is a player who is a good fit then they'll have the money to try and bring them in. If they don't see a player that fits who they like they could trade the pick for a veteran this summer.
In Nash's first year here Amare and Barbosa were 22, Joe Johnson was 23, Quentin Richardson was 24, and Marion was 26. The Suns only played 7-8 players that first year, two of the players they had rounding out their rotations were Steven Hunter and Casey Jacobson who were only 23. They managed to flip Jacobson for Jim Jackson which was a good move. The Suns haven't done anything like that now but they have Chandler playing the veteran mentor sort of role like Jackson and Nash had to play then. The core was clearly Amare, Marion, Barbosa, and JJ before Nash signed. They also added Quentin Richardson that offseason who was just 24. They planned on keeping him but they ended up trading him for KT because they ended up contending instead of rebuilding.
Compare that to Booker who will be 22 next year, Warren will be 25, Josh Jackson, Chriss, and Bender will be 21 next season. So they're slightly younger but the players will have had virtually the same amount of experience in the NBA. When Nash was resigned the young players in the league were a bit older, most stayed in college more than just 1 year. I know some came straight from High School at 18 but there weren't that many HS to Pro players at that point, most team's had 1 of those players but that's it.
Comparing the rotation players from Nash's first year though, they have similar NBA experience compared to how the Suns will look next season....
Marion was in his 6th season while Len will enter his 6th season (if he's resigned).
Joe Johnson was in his 4th year and Booker will be in his 4th year.
Barbosa had 1 full season in the league and Josh Jackson will have 1 year experience.
Quentin Richardson was in his 5th year and TJ Warren will be in his 5th year.
Casey Jacobson was in his 3rd year and Dragan Bender will be in his 3rd year.
Steven Hunter was in his 4th year and Marquise Chriss will be in his 3rd.
Here is a link to the 2004-05 roster, which was Nash's first year back.
Here is one for the 2003-04 season before he was resigned.