Phoenix Suns: 5 takeaways from 2017 NBA Summer League

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5. “Time” is the operative word in #TheTimeline

One Summer League was never going to change this, even if the Suns had won all their games by 30 points en route to the Las Vegas championship, but the past six games hammered the point home: This isn’t going to happen overnight.

While that’s unfortunate news for a fanbase entering its 50th season without an NBA title and what looks like the eighth straight year without a playoff appearance, the emphasis of #TheTimeline movement is “time.”

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Phoenix may have had two Summer League players who saw court time as rookies last year (including one starter), a proven overseas commodity in Mike James and the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, but they only went 2-4 in Summer League overall.

The reason? Dragan Bender (19), Marquese Chriss (20), Josh Jackson (20), Derrick Jones Jr. (20) and Davon Reed (22) are all still extremely young. Tyler Ulis (21) and Alec Peters (22) didn’t play due to injury, and as a primer for the upcoming season, it’s worth noting that key players like Devin Booker (20), T.J. Warren (23) and Alan Williams (24) are all under the age of 25 as well.

#TheTimeline is very exciting for a Suns organization that’s rarely opted to build this way, but inconsistent Summer League performances served as a nice reminder that the fanbase of the league’s fourth all-time winningest franchise is going to have to embrace patience for a few more years.