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Suns owner Mat Ishbia speaks with the press during a news conference at Footprint Center in Phoenix on May 1, 2024.

'Path Back to Relevancy is Unclear' – Phoenix Suns Predicted to Have a Disappointing Future Following Failed Big 3

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Reign Amurao | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 6:36 PM ET

The past five seasons for the Phoenix Suns have been interesting. The team broke their 10-year playoff drought and immediately made it to the NBA Finals. They were two games away from the Larry O’Brien trophy, but the Milwaukee Bucks were too much for them. Despite this, the Suns have maintained their relevance and competitiveness by consistently making the playoffs for the last four seasons.

Regretfully, the Suns’ potential and development were hampered by an excessive number of squad changes. When they traded for Kevin Durant, most fans were still on board. But that changed when they acquired Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards.

Phoenix formed a Big 3 with three ball-dominant players who struggled to share the rock. After all, it’s only one basketball, and they need their touches every game. The experiment with the star trio failed, and it led the front office to trade KD and buy out Beal’s contract this summer, leaving Devin Booker as the lone star.

In a recent three-season prediction by ESPN, the Phoenix Suns were projected to be at the bottom. Surprising? Not really. After a confusing offseason, NBA insider Bobby Marks believes it will take a while for Phoenix will become relevant again.

“It was only three years ago when Phoenix ranked third in the (future power rankings) and had a solid foundation of young players and future draft assets. That foundation no longer exists, thanks largely to the Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal trades. Both players are no longer on the roster, and though Phoenix isn’t in financial purgatory and still has All-Star Devin Booker, its path back to relevancy is unclear,” Marks wrote.

“One positive is that Phoenix has shifted away from building around multiple high-priced veterans to trading for former first-round picks Jalen Green, Mark Williams and selecting Khaman Maluach in June’s draft.”

The Phoenix Suns’ roster is for the fans

Nov 15, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia in attendance against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Apart from the fact that it appears unimpressive, there isn’t much to say about the Phoenix Suns’ roster. The Suns can’t make any more significant changes to the team since they don’t have a lot of tradable draft picks.

However, the administration took the action they thought would attract the supporters’ attention. In an interview with Burns and Gambo, Mat Ishbia (Suns’ owner) said that the roster that the team has was constructed for the fans.

“We have players that wanna be here, that are bought into the Phoenix Suns’ culture. I can take the criticism for not defining (that culture) well enough when I bought the team, but it is defined very clearly now,” Ishbia said.

“There is not a player on the team that does not understand what we’re about. There’s not a coach, there’s not anyone in the front office that does not understand that it’s for the fans, and we’re gonna develop a team that they’re gonna be proud of year in and year out.”