After a devastating defeat against the Dallas Mavericks this season, the Phoenix Suns are left with a lot to consider this summer.
In one corner, Deandre Ayton’s future hangs in the balance as contract negotiations are at a deadlock. Meanwhile, they are looking toward adding a veteran sharpshooter to help Chris Paul in the backcourt.
“Keep an eye on the Houston Rockets,” Windhorst said. “They’ve already done one deal this offseason. Look for a little bit of an Eric Gordon sweepstakes in play. A couple of teams that I’ve heard interested are the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns. You have Chris Paul looking for a potential reunion with his former teammate there.”
It’s no secret that the Suns are reeling after their second-round loss. They had the best record in the NBA by far before they collapsed in the playoffs. It was an embarrassing ending for everyone on the team.
“Didn’t think that would happen especially Dallas,” said Mikal Bridges. “I haven’t lost to them, the Suns haven’t lost to them in years. So it’s just like every time we play them “we have their number, we have their number. Then the motherfuckers got us. It’s going to be known every time somebody talks about a Game 7, you just know it’s gonna be thrown there. I don’t know if it set a record or anything like that, so if it did set a record, then you’re really gonna see it all the time. But other than that, whenever it’s Game 7 or just playoffs in general … You know all they remember is going to be that Game 7 … When you’re getting ready for next year, all they’re going to talk about was, ‘You remember what happened in Game 7?’ I was embarrassed, it sucks.”
With Gordon and Paul, the Suns could regain their strength as a team and make a serious run next season. Or it could be more of the same.
For now, they just need to try something, anything, to avoid a repeat of the 2022 playoffs. A veteran sharpshooter like Gordon could help them achieve that goal.
