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This is an easy exercise.
How do the Suns compare to the other Western Conference lottery teams based on each team's roster, salaries, draft picks and other factors?
The time frame is between now and the summer of 2016, when the escalating salary cap will have cataclysmic effects on the league's landscape.
The methodology for the analysis should be lucid in the following team by team capsules.
**An analysis of the Eastern Conference lottery teams will published in a separate article.**
All salary cap numbers are from NBA Contract Index on Basketball-Reference.com. Numbers include player and team options, but not cap holds.
All draft pick information is from Future Traded Pick Details on RealGM.com.
Oklahoma City Thunder (45-37)
Players
Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter (RFA), Steven Adams
Salary Cap
2015-16: $78 million
2016-17: $44 million
Picks
2015: #14
Incoming: None
Outgoing: 2016 lottery protected to Philadelphia, 2018 lottery protected to Utah
Outlook
The Thunder will be going well above the cap if it plans on retaining Kanter. With Durant hitting free agency in 2016, Oklahoma City will probably be up against the 2016 cap to keep its current team together.
A healthy team with a new coach will make OKC one of the favorites entering next season. This could be a watershed season for the Thunder, because the team's most pernicious threat is the possibility that Durant leaves as a free agent in 2016.
Verdict
OKC > Suns
Phoenix Suns (39-43)
Players
Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight (RFA), P.J. Tucker, Alex Len, Brandan Wright (RFA), Markieff Morris
Salary Cap
2015-16: $44 million
2016-17: $44 million
Picks
2015: #13
Incoming: Cleveland 2016 top 10 protected, Miami 2017 top 7 protected, Miami 2021 unprotected
Outgoing: None
Outlook
The Suns will be capped out if they retain RFA's Knight and Wright. If Phoenix re-signs them it would have around $60+ million allocated to existing contracts entering the summer of 2016. That would actually be as much or more than any of the other teams on this list besides the Thunder.
Phoenix doesn't have a star player, high lottery pick or great cap situation entering this summer, so the best bet is for them to explore any and all trades. The Morris brothers' legal situation doesn't help.
Verdict
See below.
Utah Jazz (38-44)
Players
Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Dante Exum
Salary Cap
2015-16: $55 million
2016-17: $50 million
Picks
2015: #12
Incoming: Golden St. 2017 unprotected, Oklahoma City 2018 lottery protected
Outgoing: None
Outlook
Utah has its six core players locked up for at least two more seasons at a price tag of less than $50 million. The Jazz will hit free agency about $10 million under the cap.
The oldest player of Utah's core is Hayward, who is just 24. The team can add a veteran this summer and let that group grow together.
Utah's combination of players, cap situation and future picks is very similar to that of the Suns, but probably slightly better.
Verdict
Utah (barely) > Suns
Denver Nuggets (30-52)
Players
Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler, Jusuf Nurkic
Salary Cap
2015-16: $61 million
2016-17: $33 million
Picks
2015: #7
Incoming: New York 2016 (right to swap picks), Portland 2016 lottery protected, Memphis 2017 top 5 protected
Outgoing: None
Outlook
Denver is in great shape to pick in the top 5 in 2016. The Nuggets need young talent, because Nurkic was the only player under 25 years old to log at least 1,000 minutes for the team last season. Yes, a group of players mostly in their primes scraped out 30 wins.
The Nuggets only veterans under contract through 2016-17 are Lawson (27) and Faried (25), so the team can build around them or move them in a total rebuild.
Verdict
Suns > Nuggets
Sacramento Kings (29-53)
Players
DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Darren Collison, Ben McLemore
Salary Cap
2015-16: $55 million
2016-17: $57 million
Picks
2015: #6
Incoming: None
Outgoing: 2016 top 10 protected to Chicago
Outlook
DeMarcus Cousins is one of the most talented players in the league, but after five seasons in Sacramento he's surrounded by guys like Jason Thompson and Carl Landry. Those two combine to chew through $13 million in salary in each of the next two seasons.
It's hard to see where the improvement is going to come from for this roster unless they can package a player/pick for a better piece to complement Cousins. With DeMarcus locked up for three more seasons they at least have some time to figure things out.
Cousins and a top 6 pick are better assets than anything the Suns have. Still, the Kings have some dead weight and haven't shown the ability to build around its star player.
Verdict
Kings (barely) > Suns
Los Angeles Lakers (21-61)
Players
Kobe Bryant, Julius Randle, Jordan Hill
Salary Cap
2015-16: $49 million
2016-17: $9 million
Picks
2015: #4, #27 (from Houston)
Incoming: None
Outgoing: 2016 top 3 protected to Philadelphia, 2018 top 5 protected to Orlando (see RealGM.com for exact details)
Outlook
The Lakers will almost surely couple a top five pick with last year's lottery selection (Julius Randle) and sign a big fish in free agency this summer. At that point, they can do just a little more maneuvering and have just those three players under contract entering the Summer of 2016 ready to go after two max free agents.
All of this is contingent on Kobe Bryant stepping aside after his current deal ends after next season.
The Lakers last attempt at building a super team failed spectacularly, but a hasty rebuild seems inexorable... because they're the Lakers.
Verdict
Lakers > Suns
Minnesota Timberwolves (16-66)
Players
Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Gorgui Dieng, Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic, Zach LaVine
Salary Cap
2015-16: $57 million
2016-17: $56 million
Picks
2015: #1
Incoming: None
Outgoing: 2016 top 12 protected to Boston, 2018 lottery protected to Atlanta
Outlook
The Timberwolves top selection in this year's draft will give the team seven first round picks on rookie deals on its roster. Shabazz Muhammad probably has some trade value, too, but I didn't list him since he's missed a lot of time.
It almost seems ridiculous that a roster with this much talent stumbled to the worst record in the league, but a plague of injuries derailed Minnesota's season. Now it can likely add Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor to the fold.
The Pekovic contract seems a little questionable at this point, but the Timberwolves young talent is absurd. Even being located in Minnesota doesn't put too much of a damper on the team's fourdroyant future.
Verdict