Suns updates and discussion for the 2023-24 season

Cheesebeef

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Well, if we're going to be absolutely honest, the Suns have a seemingly bottomless bag of disappointments to select from as the "most" disappointing.
Truth bombs dropping like the Allies on the Dresden tonight!
 

GatorAZ

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Given the arc of this team it’s better to fail spectacularly than fail barely. If they got hot and made a conference finals run they probably run it back. Going out in embarrassing fashion is probably the best thing for overwhelming change starting with trading KD while he’s still got all-NBA team value.
 

ASUCHRIS

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I don’t think anything was as disappointing as the 2022 64 win Suns, favored by everyone to win the title, only to blow a 2-0 lead to a weak Mavs team in the 2nd round, ending with the most humiliating Game 7 home loss, literally, in league history.
Yeah, perhaps I mean more from a total season standpoint...2022 we at least had some fun during the regular season. This has been a root canal all year.
 

Cheesebeef

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Yeah, perhaps I mean more from a total season standpoint...2022 we at least had some fun during the regular season. This has been a root canal all year.
True.

The 1996 Suns team is up there tho. That was post 3-1 blown series lead to Houston when we traded for Hot Rod as the missing piece, drafted Finley
and were supposed to finally have the big man we needed. Then went a mediocre 41-41 and lost in the first round to the Spurs.

That said, after losing a consecutive blown series to the Rockets kinda made any move thereafter feels meaningless.
 
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Covert Rain

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This team has really been a struggle to watch this year. This is the fewest Suns games I have been to in person in YEARS for sure. First time I won't be attending a playoff game either unless they make a deep run.
 

Phrazbit

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This team has really been a struggle to watch this year. This is the fewest Suns games I have been to in person in YEARS for sure. First time I won't be attending a playoff game either unless they make a deep run.

They are not just extremely disappointing, but they're boring.

It's been a rough season.
 

Phrazbit

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Something tells me that this team has not been a joy to coach for Kevin Young.
 

Cheesebeef

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They are not just extremely disappointing, but they're boring.

It's been a rough season.
The boring part is the real killer to go along with the lack of any kind of personality/identity.
 

ajcardfan

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This team has really been a struggle to watch this year. This is the fewest Suns games I have been to in person in YEARS for sure. First time I won't be attending a playoff game either unless they make a deep run.
I haven't been in two years. The ticket prices are stupid high. And I absolutely hate the tier pricing.
 

Suns_fan69

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Was having a chat with my brother about this. Is this the most disappointing Suns team relative to expectations?

Maybe 94-95? Maybe Backcourt 2k? (We started being fans around late 80s, so can't speak to much before that)
 

Hoop Head

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Was having a chat with my brother about this. Is this the most disappointing Suns team relative to expectations?

Maybe 94-95? Maybe Backcourt 2k? (We started being fans around late 80s, so can't speak to much before that)

I'd say yes. Not only has it disappointed on the floor but it broke up one of the most likeable Suns teams, that was also more successful, to create itself. The 2021 Suns were fun and even when they lost it was understandable. Breaking that team up to get KD will go down as one of the worst trades in valley history. We'll be paying for it for 6 more years. There's no positive spin. We mortgaged Booker's entire prime on a 36 year old bus rider.
 

Superbone

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Was having a chat with my brother about this. Is this the most disappointing Suns team relative to expectations?

Maybe 94-95? Maybe Backcourt 2k? (We started being fans around late 80s, so can't speak to much before that)
Relative to money and draft picks spent, it's a no brainer.
 

Cheesebeef

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I'd say yes. Not only has it disappointed on the floor but it broke up one of the most likeable Suns teams, that was also more successful, to create itself. The 2021 Suns were fun and even when they lost it was understandable. Breaking that team up to get KD will go down as one of the worst trades in valley history. We'll be paying for it for 6 more years. There's no positive spin. We mortgaged Booker's entire prime on a 36 year old bus rider.
They didn’t break up the 2021 Suns. That team died the second Ayton got paid and CP3 decided to stop playing basketball after his 37th birthday.

The reality is they broke up the 2023 Suns who had just come off the most embarrassing/humiliating home playoff loss in NBA history, back to back choking 2-0 playoff losses and was back sliding even more during the 2023 season with a 25-26 record.

That team needed a trade to stay relevant. They just made a horrific one to do so.
 

AzStevenCal

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Was having a chat with my brother about this. Is this the most disappointing Suns team relative to expectations?

Maybe 94-95? Maybe Backcourt 2k? (We started being fans around late 80s, so can't speak to much before that)
Not for me but only because my expectations were never very high for this season. I thought we had a very small chance to win it all but there were at least a dozen teams I'd have said that about and most of those were above us. But relative to national expectations? Yeah, this has probably been the most disappointing ever in that regard.

I've been a fan since Phoenix was first rewarded a franchise and the KD trade is by far the most disappointing Suns related event ever AFAIC. It's probably made even worse because it hasn't been that long since we were the worst team in the league. So, as a fan, I'm already so beat down by this organization that I could never find the desire to really care about this season. I'm not angry, I'm empty.
 

Phrazbit

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Gettin another ear prepped for that necklace.

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Cheesebeef

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Gettin another ear prepped for that necklace.

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Lol… seriously.

I’ve never seen a player so ginormously destroy his legacy the way KD did dating back to gravy training on to the Warriors back in 2016.
 

Phrazbit

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Lol… seriously.

I’ve never seen a player so ginormously destroy his legacy the way KD did dating back to gravy training on to the Warriors back in 2016.

In my angry drunk outing last night I met up with someone who works for the Suns in their media, quite a bit of access. I don't ask him about inner workings stuff because it's a douchy thing to do and he wouldn't and shouldn't say anything anyway.

But... last night the filter was off for him.

He says 100% Vogel is fired within hours of the Suns getting eliminated (not a surprise but nice to hear).

He also thinks Durant is uncoachable. Durant doesn't want to play in a system, he wants to go out there and "hoop". Take guys one on one, he passes up on open catch and shoot 3 opportunities in favor of trying to beat a guy off the dribble or with a fadeaway. His ability to make tough shots is supposed to be a safety blanket when the offense can't make a play but he uses it as his primary option.

Also, and this has been discussed here plenty, that Booker used to get pissed about loses has totally changed with the subtraction of Paul and the addition of Durant. Durant has rubbed off on him in all the wrong ways.
 

95pro

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In my angry drunk outing last night I met up with someone who works for the Suns in their media, quite a bit of access. I don't ask him about inner workings stuff because it's a douchy thing to do and he wouldn't and shouldn't say anything anyway.

But... last night the filter was off for him.

He says 100% Vogel is fired within hours of the Suns getting eliminated (not a surprise but nice to hear).

He also thinks Durant is uncoachable. Durant doesn't want to play in a system, he wants to go out there and "hoop". Take guys one on one, he passes up on open catch and shoot 3 opportunities in favor of trying to beat a guy off the dribble or with a fadeaway. His ability to make tough shots is supposed to be a safety blanket when the offense can't make a play but he uses it as his primary option.

Also, and this has been discussed here plenty, that Booker used to get pissed about loses has totally changed with the subtraction of Paul and the addition of Durant. Durant has rubbed off on him in all the wrong ways.
I think this is what we thought already.
 

GatorAZ

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Was having a chat with my brother about this. Is this the most disappointing Suns team relative to expectations?

Maybe 94-95? Maybe Backcourt 2k? (We started being fans around late 80s, so can't speak to much before that)

Blowing 3-1 leads to inferior Houston teams while MJ was playing baseball will always be #1.
 

ajcardfan

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Blowing 3-1 leads to inferior Houston teams while MJ was playing baseball will always be #1.
Nothing ever gut punched as those two years. Especially the year Orlando was sitting there for the taking in the NBA Finals.

Also, when the Suns lost game 6 at home to the Sonics on Mother's Day and then lose a very close game 7 in Seattle was heartbreaking for a 12 year old kid. And, a maimed Bullets team was just sitting there for the taking in the NBA Finals.

And, when we blew 2-0 against the Bucks.

Yeah, those were way worse years.
 

sdscard4

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Those Houston losses stung big time. Especially coming off that finals run. I remember a Portland game in the 92 playoffs before Barkley I believe. It was a multi overtime game that we lost but it stuck with me all these years
 

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