I disagree w/ this a lot ... You say the West is just too deep and strong, but the Suns are a part of that! The Mavs took the Spurs to 7 games in the 1st Round ... The Grizzlies took OKC to 7 games ... These are teams the Suns were competing w/ for the last 2 playoff spots !
Given the above, I don't see how the Suns aren't close to competing. Just because there's so many contenders in the West, doesn't mean you just give up ... The Mavs aren't, the Grizzlies aren't, the Warriors aren't - Every team realizes getting out of the 1st Round isn't a given in the West, but some team's got to come out of it. The Suns could easily be one of those teams this season, given they're young and have cap room (Therefore on the rise)