Phoenix Suns And The Ryan McDonough Era
By Simon Smith
Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
The Road Ahead
One positive for the Suns moving forward is they currently do not owe any future draft picks. Therefore, with a place at the bottom of the standings looming, the Suns will be in a great position to obtain a high draft selection in what is considered to be a particularly strong draft.
A further positive that can be realized from the current season is the form of their starting backcourt. Bledsoe is averaging 21.4 points and 6.3 assists — both career-highs — to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals.
And in just his second season, Booker is averaging 20.8 points and 3.0 assists per game.
Their most recent form is even more encouraging moving forward. Over the last 12 games, Booker has averaged 26.7 points on 49.1 percent shooting, including 48.4 percent from behind three. This represents a huge leap from his 40.0 percent shooting up until this point.
At the same time, Bledsoe has averaged 25.4 points and 7.9 assists as the Suns posted a 5-7 record.
So give credit where credit is due.
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Bledsoe and Booker comfortably represent the best moves of the McDonough era. The Bledsoe deal was a very shrewd move by McDonough, having given up a second-round draft selection and forward Jared Dudley, who was signed last summer by the Suns as a free agent.
On the other hand, Booker was taken with the 13th pick of the 2015 NBA draft, having spent just one season at Kentucky.
With Bledsoe 27 and Booker just 20, the Suns have the building blocks from which the team can build a solid nucleus.
With another poor season on the books and with a host of ageing veterans, making some trades to build around their dynamic backcourt and retool for the future would seem the logical step for the Suns.
But McDonough recently cautioned against this:
"“We’re not going to tear the thing down and build with just kids.”"
This line of thinking would make sense if the team were showing considerable promise and were clearly on the improve. But at last place in the West and not even close to being in playoff contention, McDonough’s vision for the Suns remains questionable.
Whether or not McDonough has been scared off by poor past transactions is unclear. And there has been no shortage of those.
But obviously, one thing he can control is the future. Bledsoe is presently having an all-star calibre season, while Booker is clearly one of the future stars of the league.
Barring any Godfather offers, McDonough should focus his energies on the rest of the current roster and try to emulate the success he enjoyed with the Bledsoe and Booker acquisitions.
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And for a franchise that hasn’t reached the postseason since 2010, McDonough’s next moves are going to be paramount.