NBA Sends Message With Suns Schedule

CBS Sports' Jasmyn Wimbish: "How the mighty have fallen. Turns out not having Kevin Durant on the team would completely deplete Phoenix's national stature, and this is proof. A tandem of Devin Booker and Jalen Green is going to be intriguing to watch, but clearly, the league didn't think it was worthy enough of more national spotlight."

Such is life without Durant or Bradley Beal on your squad - though the Suns underwent a massive transformation this offseason with new faces at spots such as head coach and general manager.

While the Suns lost marketability, they also simply lost ability on the court as well.

It's tough to argue the overall future in Phoenix didn't get brighter with assets returned from Durant's trade to the Houston Rockets and Beal's absence - though the Suns are projected to have some tough sledding entering the new year.

PHNX's Gerald Bourguet ranked the Suns 11th in his recent Western Conference power rankings:

"Realistically speaking, with so many new faces and so many of them being on the younger side, it’s going to take a season or two for Phoenix to right the ship, and that’s assuming they have the right pieces to begin with. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that everything comes together in Year 1, but it’d take a Coach of the Year type of effort from Ott, a return to First Team All-NBA form from Book, and question marks like Green and Williams becoming exclamation points. More than likely, this group will be fighting for a play-in spot."

The good news? Phoenix still has Devin Booker - and with that, it feels like they'll always have a shot.

Until the Suns can prove they've returned to previous levels, they'll need to earn that respect.