Phoenix Suns: 2019-20 NBA season preview
By Adam Noel
2019-20 roster
Key additions: Cameron Johnson (draft), Ty Jerome (draft), Dario Saric (trade), Aron Baynes (trade), Ricky Rubio (free agency), Kelly Oubre Jr. (free agency), Frank Kaminsky (free agency), Cheick Diallo (free agency), Jevon Carter (trade)
Key subtractions: T.J. Warren (trade), Josh Jackson (trade), Dragan Bender (free agency), Troy Daniels (free agency), Richaun Holmes (free agency), Jamal Crawford (free agency), Jimmer Fredette (free agency), De’Anthony Melton (trade)
It was a very busy offseason for Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones and his front office.
The team decided to move on from a number of young projects (Bender, Jackson) in order to win more games next season. That brought in a more experienced group of players, including a much-needed starting point guard (Rubio) and power forward (Saric). Should those two acquisitions pan out, it could yield a high amount of success from the team.
The biggest mistake the team made in the offseason was unloading a number of draft picks to unload heavy contracts (Warren) and acquire depth (Baynes, Jerome). By doing that it makes planning further into the future much more difficult and displays a poor management of assets.
While bringing in fresh faces should help in the short term and bring the Suns out of their mediocrity, it hurts to see the number of former first round picks the did parted ways with to do so. That included letting Bender walk in free agency, trading away Jackson for almost nothing and unloading an unhappy Warren to the Pacers.
As far as additions, the Suns did do a great job improving the bench, which was a massive concern last season.
Baynes brings in a toughness to the frontcourt, while Kaminsky gives the team another floor-spacing big man. Both Johnson and Jerome should have time to show why they were worthy of first-round selections and could play big minutes down the stretch for the team.