Phoenix Suns: 3 goals for Devin Booker in 2018-19

2. Reach 30-plus wins

The Suns aren’t picking an optimal time to start trying to be competitive again, but the truth is, they had no choice the moment Devin Booker had his individual breakout season last year. It was time to start putting talent around him, especially after he inked that five-year, $158 million contract extension.

He may only be turning 22 in October, but he’s already been in the league for three years under four head coaches. It’s time to start building a more stable situation out in the desert.

Unfortunately, because pretty much every team in the West got better or stayed the same this summer, the Sacramento Kings are the only squad the Suns can confidently say they should be better than. That makes qualifying for the postseason something of a fantasy, but the team still needs to take steps forward of some sort.

"“It’s a really special year I feel like,” Booker said. “I feel like we’re hitting that turning point with the new additions we’ve added this year. I’ve been sidelined so I’ve gotten to watch it from a different angle. Bringing in those vets, Trevor [Ariza], Ryan [Anderson], with the additions of our draft, Deandre [Ayton], Mikal [Bridges], Elie [Okobo].”"

Aside from (and possibly even including) Ayton, the youngsters will need time to adjust. The veterans will too as they learn how to play with so many inexperienced guys in a new system. The onus will be on Booker to carry this team early on as he looks to correct the uninformed narrative that he doesn’t help the Suns win.

Bearing all that in mind, along with the brutal landscape out West, reaching 30 wins for the first time in his career feels like an appropriate goal, just straddling the line between optimism and realism.