Phoenix Suns: 5 biggest disappointments from 2017-18 NBA season

2. Sophomore slumps

For “The Timeline” to even come close to approaching “The Process,” Devin Booker needs help. You can’t rebuild through the draft if all the young players turn out to be busts. Unfortunately for both Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender, neither one was able to prove himself as an instrumental part of the emerging core.

Josh Jackson dazzled in the second half of his rookie year, looking like the real deal as another franchise pillar alongside Booker, but both of McDonough’s top-10 selections from 2016 underwhelmed in their second NBA seasons.

Chriss came into the season overweight and out of shape, and it wasn’t until late December and early January that he started showing the signs of progress Phoenix had been expecting from the start of the year. Unfortunately, that was exactly when he suffered a hip injury that sidelined him for nearly three weeks and took even longer for him to get back into proper form.

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After averaging 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game on .449/.321/.624 shooting splits as a rookie, his numbers fell to 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on .423/.295/.608 shooting this year. If it weren’t for the signs of life he showed in the final few weeks of the season, the draft bust talk would have reached a deafening roar by now.

Bender, meanwhile, looked every bit the part of a long-term project. He may have posted career-high numbers across the board, but that wasn’t saying much, as the seven-footer only produced 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 25.2 minutes per game. He also posted horrid shooting splits of .386/.366/.765.

Aside from efficient 3-point shooting, Bender showed very little progress after an injury-plagued rookie year. He was far too timid on offense, and despite the flashes he showed when he was aggressive, strength and confidence are still clearly issues. There were far too many nights where Bender played heavy minutes are barely showed up on the stat sheet.

The worst part is they were rarely on the same page with their flashes in the pan. Suns lineups featuring Chriss and Bender in the same frontcourt posted a horrible -17.9 Net Rating and there wasn’t much time for them to gain experience, as they played a meager 325 minutes together.

All of this is without even mentioning how long it took for Tyler Ulis, another 2016 draft pick, to look like an actual NBA player after a summer ankle surgery robbed him of his consistency. Ulis was unfairly thrust into a starting role at times because of injuries, but it wasn’t until March and April that he looked worthy of even being an NBA backup.

Bender still has potential as a stretch-5 who can defend multiple positions, but he’ll have to get stronger, more assertive on the boards and far more confident on the offensive end. Chriss has a ways to go defensively and he isn’t a prolific rebounder either, but his athleticism and a healthier diet over the summer could help in that respect.

No one should give up on Bender or Chriss just yet, but neither one cemented himself as an essential piece of The Timeline either. If you had to guess how their careers would pan out between “draft bust” and “key part of a future contender,” the vast majority would lean toward the former at this point, which was one of the biggest Suns disappointments this year.