Phoenix Suns: 3 reasons this time might be different

Fans have been waiting for the Phoenix Suns to turn the corner for years now, but as this young group shows signs of life, here’s why this time might finally be different.

For years now, the Phoenix Suns have been trying to turn the corner.

They tried in 2013-14, when the goal was tanking to rebuild from the ground up and instead won 48 games. They tried the following year, when attempt after attempt to build from the middle backfired. They’ve been trying with yet another youth movement ever since Devin Booker became the centerpiece, but have whiffed on draft picks and watched exiled Suns thrive elsewhere.

In the midst of a 16-54 season, it’d be foolhardy to suggest they’ve finally turned that corner. They’re 29th in defensive rating, 27th in offensive rating, 29th in Net Rating, have the league’s second-worst record and are rapidly running out of time to prove to Booker that this dysfunctional organization can build a winning product.

Even this season, the two instances it felt like Phoenix was turning the corner proved to be fool’s gold. When the Suns came out and walloped the Dallas Mavericks on opening night, it felt like the start of something beautiful under head coach Igor Kokoskov. Instead, they lost their next seven games by an average of 19 points.

In December, the Suns strung together a four-game win streak, their first such streak since 2015. A week later, they began a six-game skid, and a few weeks after that, their franchise-worst 17-game losing streak began.

Here in March, the Suns have been officially eliminated from playoff contention for quite some time. They have nothing to play for but their pride and an attempt to build chemistry before their ninth straight appearance in the NBA Draft Lottery.

And yet … it feels like we’re getting dangerously close to being able to say the Phoenix Suns are turning a corner.

Are they turning the corner? No. Even if it felt that way, this team has continually found ways to return to rock bottom before carrying on digging. Nobody should move just yet, lest the ground give way for the hundredth time.

However, even for a team that’s only 5-4 over it’s last nine games, the Suns are finally showing signs of life, resilience and consistency that have been absent throughout another lost season. This young group still has a long way to go, but here are three reasons this time might finally be different.

Honorable Mention: Deandre Ayton playing some of his best basketball yet