Self-Serving Introduction
I've been a casual bandwagon fan since I was eight years old, watching a bunch of excited adults go crazy in Chandler over a bunch of guys I couldn't care less about. It was the summer of 1993 and I was an avid soccer player and though tall I never took to basketball. My favorite team was the Dutch soccer team because they had orange jerseys. I liked the Steelers because my dad told me to and due to both parents going to Penn State I knew the answer to "who's the best football coach?" was "Joe!"
The point is I could tell something special was happening and I needed to get in on it so everyone would know how cool I was. By the end of it all I knew who Barkley, KJ and Majerle were and I knew I was supposed to hate some guy named Paxson.
I'm All Grown Up!
Fast forward to 2004... I was at my friend's house and they were watching the Suns. Everyone was excited and I started getting into it. I found myself watching every game, analyzing basic stats and just drinking the proverbial Kool-aid. I noticed no matter how well they played, they felt like an underdog. This was a team I could get behind and I followed them loyally from that time on.
Like all of you I've been through the ups, through the downs and feel like we're on the verge of something special. I now live in DC and survive on League Pass and my one game a year where I sit in the second row behind the bench at the Verizon Center and yell encouragement to Aaron Nelson and anyone who will listen to me. The crowning achievement of my life was getting a strange look from Grant Hill last week in Vegas when I yelled "Grant Hill drinks Sprite" at him at 1:30 in the morning in the Cosmopolitan. In other words, much like many of you I have a problem and it's called being a huge Suns fan.
I Have A Point?
Now that I've spent four paragraphs (not so) casually trying to prove my worth as a fan I should probably get to the point: We are in a win-win situation right now. We have what I consider to be the best back court (we all know Bledsoe is back next year), one of the best benches and arguably the best front office in the league. We have a ton of draft picks and a locker room full of guys who believe hard work and practice is the key to success. We have a head coach whose employees bust their collective butts for him and rookies who look hungry.
Worst Case Scenario
So say Bledsoe signs the QO and Dragic ends up with glass ankles. PJ Tucker drinks himself diabetic and Green regresses to the point of being completely ineffective. In any scenario above (and myriad other negative situations) where does that leave us? Fortunately we have an answer to anything that doesn't involve a Plumlee or (another) Len injury. We have rookies, cap space, draft picks and a ton of guys who root for each other- even people they compete with at the same position. The best part? No one is realistically expecting a championship run and either way we're probably not going to change that this year but we're poised to make that run in the next 2-4 years.
Best Case Scenario
What if Bledsoe signs a long-term deal and he, Dragic and Thomas average 50/15/6? Green stays under the radar and gets his, Len breaks out, Kieff continues his inside scoring and gets above 40% from three. Archie hits the three with consistency, Warren comes out of nowhere and PJ Tucker learns how to dribble and run the fast break. If so we're a scary, scary team in the west. We'll win a lot of games and probably get to the second round of the playoffs. We get some notches in our belt and deal with the overload of high-mid-level talent next summer.
Win-Win
Look, I'm expecting the best case scenario because I'm a homer and I love hating on my friends who think Bradley Beal is a top-5 SG and think Gortat is a real center since he dunked 3 times after the all-star break last year. But realistically what more can we ask for? We have a bright future either way and I'm more excited now than ever in my short time as a Suns fan. I guess this is just my long-winded way of saying hi and letting you know I think it's a darn a good time to be a Suns fan.